Winter, star of Dolphin Tale, shares connection with Garland girl

Winter has made a big splash since Dolphin Tale opened in theaters.

Winter plays herself in the film based on the true story of her rescue and rehabilitation with a prosthetic tail. The bottlenose dolphin lost her tail due to an infection after being caught in a crab trap.

I love the movie. Besides a host of fine actors (including Morgan Freeman), a couple of impressive child stars, and of course, the dolphin, it’s just a great family movie to enjoy. The film’s setting at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is also Winter’s real home since the day she washed up on a Florida beach as a baby (she’s six now).

A 12-year-old Garland girl, McKenna McGough, went to see the movie three times in its first two weeks in theaters. Her favorite part is a night scene, where Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) and Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) camp out next to Winter’s tank, along with Hazel’s dad, the aquarium doctor (Harry Connick Jr.) Sawyer gets pulled into the tank and enjoys a beautiful moonlight swim with the dolphin.

McKenna says the movie is “Terrific! Most of it is really true.” And she should know.

Long before the rest of us got to see Winter in Dolphin Tale, McKenna knew her. The Coyle Middle School (Rowlett) student calls the dolphin her friend. And Winter returns the affection.

McKenna sees Winter each summer when visiting relatives. That’s how the two met in the first place. Her family vacation to Tampa, Florida in 2007 resulted in a trip to the Clearwater aquarium after McKenna saw a brochure about Winter.

McKenna, eight years old when they met, admired Winter’s acceptance of the artificial tail, especially since she had her own disability. Tumors in both ears left McKenna with hearing loss from age five. She needed to wear a hearing aid. But she didn’t want to—refused to. She didn’t like school kids noticing and asking questions.

McKenna has worn her hearing aid ever since meeting Winter. And she goes back to the aquarium each year to visit. Winter remembers her friend too. “She stops what she’s doing and eyeballs me and makes clicking sounds,” says McKenna.

Last fall McKenna had a really special visit with Winter. As part of a feature story taped for the Oprah Winfrey show, she got to swim with the dolphin for about an hour. “I did some tricks with her and saw some of her exercises,” she says.

Now Winter’s a big star with a lot more fans. Around 6,000 people visited her at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in just one recent week in October.

McKenna McGough hopes to get back to see Winter next year. Hopefully the crowds will thin out by then, so these two friends can spend some quality time together.

Story by Patti Richter of Heath. Photo courtesy of Stacy McGough, McKenna’s mother.

To submit your news and events, email editor@BlueRibbonNews.com.

  aquarium, Coyle Middle School, dolphin, Dolphin Tale, feature, Florida, Garland, McGough, McKenna, movie, prosthetic, Rowlett, tail, tale, Winter