Heroes come to dolphin's aid on Ayr shore

Aug 22 2008 by Lisa Boyle

WHEN a dolphin beached itself at Newton shore last week, it looked doomed.

But one man and his dog made it their mission to save the stranded creature.

And had it not been for Rodney Innes and his chocolate Labrador Coco, the dolphin would have died a slow and agonising death.

Despite the risks, brave Rodney stripped to his boxers and waded into the water in a desperate attempt to save it.

Rodney’s actions have now been praised by the SSPCA, who have hailed him a hero.

The airport firefighter explained what happened last Monday afternoon: “I was taking Coco a walk along the shore and in the distance I could see two men in the water up to their knees. The sea was pretty choppy so I wondered what was going on.

“When I got over to them I realised one of the men was my fiance’s mum’s partner, Matt, who explained to me that this poor dolphin was stuck and splashing around frantically.

“Matt, who is in his 60s, and another guy had been trying to help it but they were getting tired.

“So, I phoned the police to tell them what was happening and said I was going in to make an attempt to save it.”

Rodney, 41, continued: “I stripped off to my boxers and ran in with the dog. I tried to drag the dolphin out a few times but it was really distressed and kept getting stuck.”

But brave Rodney didn’t give up, he spent the next 20 minutes up to his neck in freezing cold sea water, stroking the dolphin to try and calm it.

Eventually, his determination paid off and the dolphin managed to get into deeper water and swim off.

Rodney continued: “I knew the risks but I couldn’t just walk on and let it die. I would have gone further into the water if I had to, it has a right to live just like everything else and I was determined to save it.

“I’m sure it knew I was trying to help.”

Doreen Graham from the SSPCA was over the moon when she heard what Rodney and Coco did.

She said: “This was a very brave thing to do considering the risks. The sea must have been really cold and it was a lovely thing for these three gentleman to get involved.

“Dolphins are very special animals and Rodney’s actions should be commended.

“We hear so many stories of dolphins saving people so it’s great to hear this story of Rodney saving a dolphin.”