Thursday August 6, 2009, 7:40 pm
Fla. Hospital Saves Hard-Luck Turtles
Converted Strip Club Has Innovative Ways To Treat Turtles
MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer

POSTED: Thursday, August 6, 2009
UPDATED: 8:53 am EDT August 6, 2009

MARATHON, Fla. -- The turtles at this waterfront hospital have been hit by boat propellers, caught in fishing nets, attacked by sharks, stricken with tumors and lost flippers.

Or, as their veterinarian puts it, they've had a heck of a lot of luck.

Most injured turtles are never spotted and die at sea. The fortunate ones are brought to The Turtle Hospital -- a converted strip club where workers graft the waterproof fabric Gore-Tex to patch badly injured shells and find other innovative ways to save lives. On this particular day, a 13-pound green sea turtle named Fin is being treated for a potentially debilitating tumor.

"He's got a new life now," says Dr. Doug Mader, the center's chief veterinarian.

___

The seafoam green hospital, halfway through the Florida Keys, offers round-the-clock care to the turtles that call the waters around this ribbon of islands home.

Morning is just beginning, and the hospital's patients are already being prepped on the X-ray room floor. Iain, an 89-pound loggerhead, and Fin are on their backs in plastic kiddie pools, being sprayed with disinfectant. Another green sea turtle on deck for surgery, 37-pound Rocky Thyme, awaits attention.

Iain is eventually lifted onto a steel cart and wheeled into the operating room. A half-dozen hospital staffers gather around the turtle, including Mader, who is wearing blue Wrangler jeans and Teva sandals.

"Ready?" Mader asks.

"Ready," says Richie Moretti, the hospital's founder and director, who assists in surgery but is not a veterinarian. And a morning of surgery begins.

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Friday August 7, 2009, 9:52 am
This is a great story. Thank you to all those involved for helping these wonderful creatures of the sea.

Friday August 7, 2009, 10:25 am
Thannnx this is so wonderful, thank God for his animal disciples

Friday August 7, 2009, 12:31 pm
May God bless these dedicated people for caring for the animals no one else seems to.

Friday August 7, 2009, 3:09 pm
The turtle is our primol mother,she brings to us life , we must remember to save her from becoming extinct,for we are all One, connecting thru one anothers divine source and Nature

Friday August 7, 2009, 4:08 pm
I am impressed!

Friday August 7, 2009, 5:12 pm
What a wonderful story.These people are truly a gift to turtles.

Friday August 7, 2009, 5:47 pm
Turtles are so vulnerable and so near extinctions. This is a very sad story.

Friday August 7, 2009, 6:44 pm
Turtles need our help. Its great to hear that humans are doing their all to save them and give them another chance in life.

Friday August 7, 2009, 8:03 pm
Thank goodness they are there. /Doing a good job and being very good people. Bless you all and know the work you are doing is good.. All animals are important, and they all need someone to look after them, that is why we are humans, we recognize helplessness, and feel compassion for things. You all go a step futher and do something about it..KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK FOR THE GOOD FIGHT.

Saturday August 8, 2009, 3:22 am

You cannot currently send a star to Rafael because you have done so within the last week.

However, I can say,"THANK YOU" for this wonderful story!

Saturday August 8, 2009, 3:55 am
OH MY -- Thanks Raffi!!! YES PLEASE VISIT SITE, the article is so very special and what wonderful BLESSED work they do!!!

Just love the name of the hospital "Seafoam Green Hospital", once a Strip Club turned into a hospital treating Turtles....Awesome!!!

Loved one of the stories the most - Hale...was entangled in fishing line and was hospitalized for 53 weeks...rest of story at site, but finally Hale got better and was released, Moraetti & Butts hug each other and a tiny head pokes up from the water about half a football field away -- IT'S HALE...THEY SAY "WE WON'T BE GETTING A CHRISTMAS CARD".

What a wonderful article, so happy there are people out there like this and helping these wonderous special turtles...this one really is a wonderful and touching show of immense commpassion, from some very SPECIAL PEOPLE!!!!

Saturday August 8, 2009, 9:54 am
A good story about humans helping, instead of killing,.
Tx Raffi