Boy with Prosthetic Legs Befriends Dolphin with Prosthetic Tail MSN.com
go to original September 4, 2013

Cieran said he could have swum with Winter "for a million hours" if allowed. (Visit St. Pete/Clearwater)

When 8-year-old Cieran Kelso first watched "Dolphin Tale," he felt an immediate connection with Winter, the bottlenose star of the touching film. "His first words when he saw the film [were] 'Winter's disabled, just like me,'" his dad, Gary, told the Tampa Bay Times.

Winter was famously fitted with a prosthetic tail after losing hers to a crab trap. Kelso was only 13 months old when he had both legs amputated after contracting meningitis. But the English boy is still an avid swimmer, aided by a special set of prosthetic flippers.

When officials from the United Kingdom contacted the Florida's Clearwater Marine Aquarium where Winter lives, they began collaborating on a yearlong plan to bring Cieran and Winter together. "You guys are best friends now," Winter's trainer told Cieran when he splashed into her tank on Aug.16. The two spent an hour together, diving, kicking and swimming beside each other, a day Cieran described as "greater than great."

Read the story at Tampa Bay Times

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