On February 19th, I got a call from Sea World saying that "Buddha" was going to be released the next day and they wanted me and the other officers who help save him there for the event!
We drove out to Sea World and found out we were going to be filmed for the TV show "Sea Rescue" that is on ABC on Saturday mornings!!! Uh, no thanks! I let my fellow officers do all the talking and I just hung out with the turtle, who was renamed "Lazarus" by Sea World staff, because he almost died so many times.
Here are the Sea World crew doing a final weigh in and measure....then into the truck and off to the beach we went! Doesn't he look like he is smiling!!!
We arrived at the beach and carried him down and he took the long way but ended up in the ocean, where he belongs!! Here is a Video....I do not know when the episode of Sea Rescue will be aired, but I will let you all know. Here is the crew, the officers involved (I look very short in this picture!) and a lady from The Sea Turtle Preservation Society!
Yesterday started out just like every other day of work.... Shift meeting, a stop for my bagel and coffee, off to the park to watch the sunrise. (The Pagan in me loves that I get to greet the sun every morning!)
I was talking to another Officer about the arrest we had made the day before when we hear radio traffic from the Sheriff's Office helicopter, that it appears a swimmer is struggling in the river. Assistance is needed.
Our department has a police boat and we have an officer that is the marine unit, so he gets on the radio and says he is on his way to get the boat in the water and he needs help. I jump at the chance! The boat operator is my friend and dive buddy.
I get to the marina and we hear the helicopter on the radio saying it is not a person, it's a turtle!! We drop the boat, jump on and head out.
As we get closer, we hear the copter and can see the turtle.
He is struggling. We see he can't dive, but he is not caught up in anything. We back the boat off a bit, because if we stress him out and he can't dive, he could drown. I shot this video while we waited for another officer to arrive.
We called the great people at Sea Turtle Preservation Society and they told us if we could get it to land they would meet us. They explained it must have a crack in it's shell and air is trapped inside. This causes a bubble, that prevents them from diving.
A Sgt. from the Sheriff's Office arrives and we attempt to get this poor turtle in the boat! We take turns driving the boat closer and two of us try and grab him. He is super slimey! LOL. He has algae and barnacles growing on his shell. We get soaked! On the 4th try we get him on the boat.
It is only then do I realize how big he is!We estimate him to be about 250 lbs.
We get him to land and we try to carry him in a tarp to the truck, but that was not working. The STPS people say he is a deep sea turtle and for him to be in the river is unusual. The Indian River is a mix of salt and fresh water that runs into the Atlantic Ocean.
So the three of us just all grabbed a spot of the shell and put him in the back of the truck for his ride to Orlando. Where Sea World said they would take him in and fix his shell.
Here is his ride! LOL, If you are local, check them out, they have lots of volunteer opportunities! The lady from The STPS says that since I caught him, I get to name him...so I decided since he was big, round and calm, I would name him Buddha.
I peek in on Buddha one more time before he leaves so I can put a wet towel on him for the ride. I tell him it was awesome to meet him and to get better soon, The STPS takes my phone number so they can call me when he is ready to be released back into the ocean and they said I can come along!
