Sea Turtle Hospital News
It’s on the books
The first “Canine 5K & One-Mile Turtle Crawl” is history. The event, sponsored by McColl & Associates and benefitting our hospital and Canines for Veterans was held December 3rd at the Mayfaire Town Center. Eighty-five runners, quite a few of them with their very fit and well-behaved dogs turned out, geared up and ready to roll through the perfect cool and sunny morning. And kudos to hospital volunteers Ginger and Lisa who strapped on their running shoes for the cause and ended up with very respectable times.
But it wasn’t a runners-only crowd. Our hospital mascot (Elijah, you looked “mahvalous” in plush) made a special appearance and brought along a few of his human friends for the Turtle Crawl. Although many of our patients really wanted to participate (anything for a ride in a car and a few hours out of their tank) Ms. Jean once again explained to them that, winter + reptile = cold-stunned turtle. So to appease them Ambassador Lennie appointed a very large and well-insulated special deputy to represent his peers. Carried on our turtle rescue board for the entire mile by hospital volunteers Jennifer, Amanda and Nancé the humongous stuffed turtle was cheered on to the finish line by an enthusiastic crowd, and one very inquisitive canine.
Photo: Our hospital volunteers and mascot get ready for the “Turtle Crawl.” (Photo credit: Roy Henry)
Big, wet flippers hugs to McColl & Associates, Inc. organizers of the run/crawl and sponsors of 2011 hospital graduate “Gravely.” The date (12/1/12) for next year has already been set, so mark your calendars and get your flippers in shape.
Gift Shop hours
Business has been brisk on Tuesdays with people dropping by the hospital with checks and cash in-hand ready to buy, buy, buy. We will continue to open our gift shop every Tuesday until further notice, but the last Saturday to shop for your turtle merchandise will be December 17th. On Saturday, from 10 AM to 2 PM come directly to the annex at 706 Carolina Blvd., the small house directly behind “The Gift Basket.” To shop on Tuesday just knock on our hospital door between 9 AM and 11 AM and our gift shop guru will personally escort you to our annex where she’ll assist you. Check out some of our merchandise on line before you come, and remember we can only accept cash and checks at this time. You can also shop for our logo T’s year-round at QuarterMoon Bookstore in Topsail Beach. Lori has been carrying our shirts for years; flipper hugs, lady. But if you can’t make it to our annex or Lori’s shop please use the online ordering service, and shop early for the best selection of styles and colors.
Our website: www.seaturtlehospital.org is open year-round. Stay connected with our patients and the progress of the new hospital. We’re stocked with clothing and other gifts and goodies perfect for turtle lovers. Follow the links to “Adopt-A-Sea-Turtle,” we have some pretty high maintenance patients who need all the financial and moral support you can provide. There’s still time to add your family’s name to our wall of fame with the “Family Giving Challenge.”
Stunningly quiet
I ‘m probably tempting karma by mentioning this but the typical onslaught of cold-stunned turtles arriving at our hospital by now, well, isn’t. We were all (humans and turtles) lulled into thinking the warm December days would last forever. But now we’ve been slapped back into reality by the thirty-degree nights and it’s especially important that our residents and visitors be on the lookout for turtles you see stranded on the beach, in the grasses along the shore and in the water. If it’s not moving please don’t assume it is dead. It might be cold stunned, and when rescued in time the prognosis for these critters is excellent.
If you come across a stunned turtle carefully pick it up and place it in a protected but not overly warm area (a garage, car or laundry room would work well.) DO NOT place the turtle in warm water; a sudden change in temperature will send it into shock and possibly kill it. Immediately call the Wildlife Resources Commission’s sea turtle emergency hotline number at: 252-241-7367. Someone is available 24/7 to pick up calls. Locally you can call Terry (see number below) or Jean at: 910-470-2800.
Please report any and all local sea turtle activity (hatchings, strandings, injured or sick turtles) immediately to our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at 910-470-2880. Terry can be reached at: topsailseaturtle@aol.com for non-emergencies. All sea turtles are federally protected and harassing or harming them in any way will result in hefty fines and/or imprisonment.
Questions, comments, suggestions??
Please direct any questions, comments or suggestions re: this column to me at: flippers@att.net. To be added to the newsletter list e-mail me at the same address: flippers@att.net. I’ll be doing a newsletter before Christmas. This column will appear every other week until next Spring, unless something really exciting happens.
