Turtle – Cookies & Moo

Fluffyrelease

I was walking along the beach one sunny afternoon. It was before the beach season opened so I had Gracie with me. She’s my Cairn Terrier mix and my constant companion. As we were walking we noticed a group of people standing around something on the beach.

Of course Gracie thought she needed to voice her opinion of what was going on. We approached the group. All of a sudden I saw a sea turtle. What a wonderful surprise. Gracie continued to bark and I was afraid it would upset the poor turtle.

I was so relieved when Gracie finally stopped her barking. She realized she wasn’t going to have a new playmate in this interesting animal. I asked the gentleman who seemed to be in charge what was going on and where the turtle had come from. He explained that this turtle had been rescued several months ago and was being released from the hospital.

I looked down at this wonder and noticed she was missing her back flipper. I was concerned that she was not going to be able to swim. The nice man informed me that the turtles are able to swim very well without a flipper. I was happy to hear that the turtle should do well back in her home.

The gentleman told me that her name was Fluffy. I chuckled because it seemed to me an animal with the name of Fluffy should be a cuddly sort not a turtle. I guess with all of the turtles they have rescued through the years they are running out of more appropriate names.

Fluffy would start to go out into the surf then turn around and come back toward shore. After repeated attempts to get her to go out into the ocean, the decision was made to return her to the hospital for the day. I felt really bad for the turtle. She didn’t realize that it was her time to regain her independence.

The group of rescuers told me that they may possible take her out into the water much farther and release her from the boat. If that release was unsuccessful, they would bring her back and look for an aquarium that would be willing to take her. Of course the best solution is going back into the wild.

Gracie and I continued our walk along the beach. As I looked out to the surf I spotted several bottlenose dolphins romping in the waves. Our walk was just full of surprises. I really hated to see it end. It’s not everyday you get to see a sea turtle on the beach and dolphins in the surf.

I really am blessed to live so close to the beach. I feel close to God when I am standing on the sand lost in the beauty of creation. The vastness of the sea makes me realize that I am a very tiny part of this world and am nothing without the Lord.