Today David swam with dolphins! Dolphins named A.J. and Tanner, to be specific — a father-son team known to be especially bright, and used as part of much cognitive research being done here at the Dolphin Research Center, on Grassy Key. That's Tanner on the left showing how fast he can swim (about 25 mph, it turns out) and AJ on the right showing that he can swim upside-down as well.
Dave's Dolphin Encounter session began with some training, learning simple commands, and lessons about where dolphins do and don't like to be touched, etc. Then into the water, where a delighted Dave met A.J. and Tanner (I'm not a strong swimmer, so chose to just enjoy watching and shooting pics from the sidelines).
The dolphins shook Dave's hands, and kissed him! They took him for a spin around the lagoon, such fun! — and the Christmas-morning look of joy on his face made me teary-eyed.
He gave them a number of commands, including the signal for them to rise out of the water and "walk backwards" on their tails — he said having them respond to his hand gestures was astonishing, and it was so interesting to see them settled in the water before him, watching and waiting for his commands.
As you might expect, Dave was the last one out of the water, hanging in to take a final shot of his two new friends.
The dolphins are so very, very bright, and surprisingly playful too. We joked on our way out that we've never had a dog as nicely trained! Just a wonderful experience for both of us.