Brave Acushnet Woman Saves Dolphin Off the Coast of Mattapoisett
An Acushnet woman sprang into action Friday afternoon to save a thrashing dolphin off of a Mattapoisett beach.
Elissa Roberge was traveling on Prospect Drive, headed toward the shoreline when she noticed a group of walkers looking out into the marshy area.
“I’m very nosy,” she said. “So, I pulled over to see what they were looking at.”
The group had their eyes on a dolphin that appeared stuck in a shallow part of the water.
When Roberge noticed a woman walking out toward the dolphin, she decided to help.
“When I got to her, I noticed she had already been in and tried to release the dolphin but she couldn’t get far out enough,” Roberge said.
The woman’s feet were badly cut up and bleeding from being barefoot, so Roberge took over the rescue mission.
“It didn’t try to bite me or anything. It just looked like it needed help,” she said. “I just grabbed it by the tail and its fin, and it wasn’t easy. There were huge rocks and my hands are all cut up from it.”
Roberge managed to get the dolphin as far out as she could without putting herself in danger, and soon, the police arrived to inform the group of helpers that wildlife rescue was on the way.
On Thursday, Fall River Shellfish Constable Bob Smith captured a pod of dolphins in Fall River and mentioned that the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was closely watching them. Hopefully, they came in to help this struggling dolphin.
“I’m not sure what happened with it. I just hope it made it out,” Roberge said.
It was a moment in time that Roberge will never forget.
“It looked me dead in the eyes, I rubbed it and tried talking to it,” she said. “I am a huge animal lover. I was happy I was there to be a part of it.”