Storm-battered state running wild
A TV reporter took a break from his regular duties Monday to rescue two dolphins stranded on Florida’s shores.
Sunshine State-based NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders was looking over damage on Marco Island in southwest Florida when he came upon a baby dolphin.
He and another good Samaritan slowly helped the exhausted and confused sea mammal back into the Gulf of Mexico before it swam away.
Then, an hour later, Sanders came upon another dolphin, this time an adult.
He and seven others hoisted Flipper and put it safely back into the surf.
“It was big. It took a lot of people to- gether to get that dolphin back into the water,” Sanders said. “It was heavy, not easy.” F LORIDA authorities want to press felony charges against heartless dog owners who left their pooches outside to fend for themselves during deadly Hurricane Irma.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officers were fortunate enough to scoop up 40 dogs — many of them tied to poles or left in outside pens, according to officials.
“There is absolutely no excuse for doing that,” said agency director Dianne Sauve.
She and Dave Aronberg, the state pros- ecutor in Palm Beach County, vowed to come down hard on these cruel owners.
“This is a prime example of animal cruelty,” Aronberg said. “We will find you, and we will prosecute you.” I T was no party boat.
About 4,000 people were stuck aboard a Miami-based cruise ship off the coast of Mexico on Monday, anxiously awaiting their return home.
“It’s just awful,” said Stephanie Smith of Washington, DC, who has been on the Norwegian Escape since Sept. 2. “I just want to go home.”
The ship, which is operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, tried to get a jump on the storm and had returned to Miami on Sept. 7, two days early, to unload. But many people couldn’t find hotel rooms or flights out of Florida, so when offered a chance to stay aboard for free, they took it.
The ship has been stationed in Cozumel, with many vacationers wondering when they’ll make it back to Miami.
“It’s really frustrating and extremely humid and hot here,’’ said Smith, a freelance TV journalist who also griped that passengers were being gouged over bottled water — $54 for a 24-pack of Dasani — and Wi-Fi at $30 a day.
The vessel was scheduled to head back toward Miami on Monday night in the hopes that PortMiami, where the cruise ship docks, would be open on Tuesday.