by Alexander Mildener, Feature Editor

A Risso’s Dolphin was found stranded on a sandbar at Jones Beach. The Coast Guard called the Riverhead Foundation who rushed to the area to rescue the disoriented dolphin.

According to THE BIG STORY, the 9ft 600 pound dolphin named Roxanne was stranded on June 7th and found later that day by the coastguard. Roxanne was treated for dehydration and gastric bleeding.

The director of the Riverhead Foundation, Rob DiGiovanni,  said the dolphin, “did not exhibit any sign of life. Initially they {the foundation members} did not see her breathing and it was not until they got up close that they saw her take a breath.”

Due to the Riverhead Foundation’s efforts, the dolphin has now completely recovered. The steps took to rehabilitate this dolphin were similar to visiting a doctor’s office.

“We follow existing protocols and follow similar procedures your doctor would if you went to the doctor and did not tell him what bothered you,” DiGiovanni state.

Although the dolphin is now healed, the Foundation had to undergo another massive project. Due to the expense of caring for the dolphin and the number of people that had to be involved in releasing the animal back into the wild, the Foundation did not have enough money to release her. The total cost in order to send Roxanne back home was $35,000. As of August 26th, the foundation had raised $5,675. According to Razoo, the foundation only had about another week and a half to complete the project.

In that limited amount of time, the Foundation did not have enough money to release the dolphin back into the wild. However, they still manage to send her back into the wild.

“We did the release anyway and took money from our budget reducing our ability to respond in other areas. We also had some organizations step up and make donations of supplies for crate and donated construction and repairs for the crate, ” DiGiovanni stated.

Average day American citizens also contributed to this cause. Each person was able to help, by adopting Roxanne for $30- $90.

California resident, Spencer Seidman stated, “It was so sad to hear that the dolphin may not be able to released because the foundation did not have enough money. I just knew I had to do something, so I adopted her for $70. Every bit counts.”

Another alternative was to donate anywhere from $1-$2000, according to Riverheadfoundation

Senior Caelyn Dorff said, “If there had been more of a big buzz about it I definitely would have donated. I believe all wildlife is precious and we should do everything in our power to save as much wildlife as we can.”

The money goes towards the Foundation’s efforts rehabilitation efforts. All money donated to Roxanne went to her release. If people chose to adopt they get would have received  a page about Roxanne, facts about Risso’s Dolphins and pictures of Roxanne.

Roxanne was eventually released into Shinecock Bay, Long Island, NY, according to this article.