Local News

Amputee Dolphin Encourages Dallas Girl

(CBS) For a long time, McKenna McGough -- a 9-year-old Dallas girl -- refused to wear her hearing aid.

"I just didn't like people asking about it, what's that in your ear."

After returning home from meeting Winter -- a dolphin who lost her tail after becoming caught in a crab trap -- McKenna happily began putting her hearing aid in every day all on her own.

McKenna feels that she and Winter are the same—special.

"She's just like me: she doesn't have a tail, just like I don't have a regular eardrum."

Winter now has a prosthetic tail and her recovery continues to inspire others.

For example, Stacy McGough has brought Winter into her classroom at Bob Bullock Elementary in Garland. Her classroom is full of Winter pictures and she regularly hears her students telling others they can do anything they want because Winter beat the odds.

Rudy Salas, Jim Bond, Al Landers are members of Amputee VA Support Team, a veterans support group. Amputees themselves, they've have made winter an honorary member.

"It's very touching and inspirational when you see she's happy. If you get close to her she'll look you right in the eye and she has that can do spirit," Salas says.

"If she could speak she'd probably be giving us the same message that we try to give everybody is that can spirit. That they can do it, they can recover, they can be normal.

For the amputees, Winter is a kindred spirit, but for McKenna's parents, the dolphin has been the answer to their prayers.

During the past several years, McKenna and her family have traveled to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium In Florida three times just to see Winter.

She also now actually wants to become a dolphin trainer when she grows up.

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