Feb. 1 – Marathon, FL

Sombrero Resort & Marina

“When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh – yes – I already have everything that I really need.” —Dalai Lama

Saturday I went to Sombrero Beach to watch the Turtle Hospital in Marathon release Dorothy, a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle. Dorothy checked into the Turtle Hospital in July 2014. She was spotted by a 90 something year old Marathon resident named Dorothy floating at the surface near Sister’s Creek. She and family members helped rescue the turtle and contacted the hospital. In return the turtle was named after her rescuer. The turtle was treated at the Turtle Hospital for infection, high glucose, and an impaction. The Turtle Hospital in Marathon is a fully functioning veterinary hospital for sick and injured sea turtles. Their goals are to rescue, rehab, and release sick and injured sea turtles, educate the public through outreach events and local schools, conduct and assist with research aiding sea turtles and work toward legislation making the beaches and water safe and clean.

The hospital gives guided educational tours of the hospital facilities and the sea turtle rehabilitation area. It provides a presentation on sea turtles as well as a behind the scenes look at the hospital facilities and rehabilitation area. The hospital has five permanent resident turtles that cannot be returned to the wild, eight turtles that are ready to be adopted by an accredited zoo or aquarium and twelve sea turtles that are undergoing rehab at the moment. We haven’t made time to visit the hospital yet, but we hope to get there before we leave.

The crowd waiting for Dorothy to arrive

Sea turtles in the sand

Dorothy

Miss Dorothy explaining how she found the turtle

Getting ready to release Dorothy

I wasn't able to get a good picture of the release, so I found this one on the Florida Keys & Key West Facebook site.