VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 A serendipitous encounter between a professional photographer and a jogger helped rescue a baby male dolphin near the jetty in New Smyrna Beach on Wednesday morning, after the animal was found visibly stressed.<\/p>\n
Shelley Lynch said she was on New Smyrna Beach taking photos of the sunrise \u2013 in the same spot that she has every day since 2018 \u2013 when a jogger notified her of the distressed dolphin around 7 a.m.<\/p>\n
Lynch, who lives in New Smyrna Beach, knew what to do next because she also wades into the Indian River Lagoon daily to photograph dolphins and has come to know many of the animals through her work.<\/p>\n
She also knew exactly who to call. After pulling the calf from the water, she called the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and received instructions on how to proceed until help arrived.<\/p>\n
Baby dolphin rescued in New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County Beach Safety)<\/p>\n
Eventually, Volusia County Beach Safety came to the scene along with Volusia County Environmental and the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute to stabilize the young dolphin. Responders said the animal appeared highly distressed when they reached him.<\/p>\n
Baby dolphin rescued in New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County Beach Safety)<\/p>\n
The story doesn\u2019t end there. You see, Lynch is also Dr. Shelley Lynch, a licensed mental health counselor.<\/p>\n
Dr. Lynch said she uses a technique in her practice called craniosacral therapy which used a hands-on technique that can provide relief from pain and other ailments.<\/p>\n
You can see Dr. Lynch using the technique to calm the baby dolphin in the below photo and the photo at the top of this story.<\/p>\n
Baby dolphin rescued in New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County Beach Safety)<\/p>\n
Lynch said she got into photography because she had a dream where her late husband told her, \u201cI want you to have a Canon professional camera for Christmas. Let\u2019s go shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes, things just happen for a reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s healing that happened today,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cThe whole thing is truly sacred.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dolphin was taken to SeaWorld for further care and evaluation, officials said.<\/p>\n