Winter The Dolphin Reunited With Rescuer 14 Years Later

CLEARWATER, FL — Fourteen years ago, the world's most famous dolphin was near death.

Winter was just 2 months old when she was found entangled in a crab trap line in Mosquito Lagoon near Cape Canaveral on Florida's east coast on Dec. 10, 2005.

Fisherman Jim Savage was out in his boat when he noticed movement in the water. He discovered the baby dolphin in poor condition. The crab trap line had cut off the circulation to her tail flukes.

Savage contacted marine mammal rescuers who promptly disentangled the little Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, and she was transported her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium for treatment by the aquarium's dolphin care experts.

"It turned out to be a great day even though I didn't catch any fish," joked Savage Tuesday as he visited with Winter on the anniversary of her rescue 14 years ago.

Back then, the aquarium's first priority was to save the dolphin's life. Most dolphins trapped in monofilament and crab trap lines do not survive.

"No matter what happened to her medically, she got sicker and sicker," said Clearwater Marine Aquarium CEO David Yates. "But she refused to give up."

Eventually, she grew stronger, began to eat and showed signs that she would survive the ordeal. That's when the care team began to focus on saving her tail. Despite exhaustive efforts, the tail continued to deteriorate.

But how can a dolphin swim with no tail? How would Winter survive?

Dr. Mike Walsh, a leading marine mammal veterinarian who nursed Winter through the crisis, reached out to the Hanger Clinic in Sarasota for help.

A Scientific Breakthrough

The nationally renowned clinic is more accustomed to working with patients of the human genome. The company, which was founded in 1861 when it began making prostheses for Civil War soldiers who lost limbs to cannon fire, now creates state-of-the-art prostheses, braces, cranial helmets and other devices that allow people like St. Petersburg resident Pedro Pimenta to live normal lives.

Pimenta was an 18-year-old high school student in Brazil who loved sports when he contracted bacterial meningitis in 2009. His chances of survival were poor. The only option to save his failing organs was to amputate his arms above the elbows and his legs above the knees.

"I woke up from a coma with a completely different life," recalled Pimenta. "At first, because of six months in a hospital bed, I couldn't even sit up by myself because my muscles had atrophied."

He began to research options available to amputees and, while attending a conference to learn more, he ran into Kevin Carroll, Hanger Clinic's vice president of prosthetics.

With the help of Carroll and his team, was fitted with custom-designed prostheses. He went on to graduate from the University of Southern Florida in 2016 and now participates in triathlons. His latest passion is snowboarding.

Knowing Hanger Clinic's reputation for innovation, Walsh contacted Carroll and Dan Strzempka, manager at Hanger's Sarasota clinic, to see if there was any hope for Winter the dolphin.

Strzempka and Carroll accepted the challenge although attaching a complete fluke and joint onto an inexperienced dolphin had never been done before.

Using a laser scanner and proprietary computer-aided design software, the Hanger Clinic created an artificial tail that fit Winter's body perfectly and duplicated the tail she had lost.

The real challenge was finding a way to attach it to the dolphin's body that would allow it to adhere to her as she swam through the water.

To accomplish this, Strzempka and his team invented a special sock, now trademarked WintersGel Prosthetic Liner, that fit over the stump where her tail used to be and adhered to her delicate skin while holding tightly in place as she swam.

To everyone's surprise, Winter took to the prosthetic device as if it were her natural tail. Over a period of several months, she learned the correct body position for the fitting of the WintersGel Prosthetic Liner to reduce skin friction and help keep her artificial tail securely in place.

Constructed of a soft silicone-type material, the liner invented for Winter is now used on human amputees, providing a skin-friendly, cushioning and comfortable fit.

Winter On The Big Screen

The story of Winter's rescue and the challenge to help her swim again became the focus of the Warner Bros. movie "Dolphin Tale" in 2011, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson and, of course, Winter herself. "Dolphin Tale 2" followed in 2014.

"It's such an inspiring story, so I knew it would be big," said Yates. "But who knew it would turn into two movies, six Scholastic books and multiple documentaries?"

Winter now has a permanent home at the Clearwater Aquarium where she's visited by fans from around the world.

Yates said the famous dolphin's economic impact to the aquarium and nearby hotels, restaurants and shops is estimated to be $500 million a year.

An Unforgettable Visit

Savage wasn't alone when he visited Winter on Tuesday, the anniversary of the day he saved her. He was accompanied by his great niece, Grace Savage of Oregon, who has DiGeorge syndrome.

According to the Mayo Clinic, DiGeorge syndrome is a disorder caused when a small part of chromosome 22 is missing. Medical problems commonly associated with the syndrome include heart defects, poor immune system function, a cleft palate, complications related to low levels of calcium in the blood and delayed development with behavioral and emotional problems.

Grace wasn't even born when Savage rescued Dolphin but, due to her own challenges, became Winter's biggest fan, especially after learning the role her granduncle played in saving the dolphin.

She met Winter for the first time on Sept. 20, 2016, when Make-A-Wish Oregon funded a trip to Clearwater for her to visit her hero. Jim Savage, who hadn't seen Grace since she was an infant, was on hand for the visit as well.

Grace's mother, Katie Savage, said the dolphin's story has been a constant source of inspiration to her daughter.

“Getting through the difficult times without Winter's amazing story to keep her going would have been a lot harder," said Katie Savage.

With Grace by his side, the emotion was evident on Jim Savage's face as he reached down into the aquarium pool to pat Winter's head Tuesday.

"On that day 14 years ago, I never expected it to turn out like this," he said.