Dolphin Tale 3

Chapter [18]

"Your Honor, I called for a hearing because I wish to have your opinion on this matter."

"You are Phillip J. Hordern?"

Phil Hordern nodded.

"Please proceed."

"A few weeks ago, I brought up the suggestion of implementing a breeding program at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. As we all know, Clearwater Marine Aquarium is one of the most popular tourist attractions, partly thanks to Winter, the dolphin with the prosthetic tail. I believe that by introducing a breeding program at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, we are setting ourselves up for success in the future. Not only would visitor numbers increase, but the animals would have a purpose in their lives."

Sawyer clenched his teeth as he listened to Phil Hordern speak. Everything that came out of Phil's mouth seemed like a lie, but there was nothing he could do about it—not now, at least. His eyes flicked to the right of Phil, where Colton was sitting. The two made eye contact, a sneer playing on Colton's face. Sawyer glared at him before looking away.

Hazel was sitting beside Sawyer, nervously drumming her fingers on her thigh. She bit her lip as Phil Hordern began rattling off evidence about the animals at Clearwater Marine Aquarium being bored.

"Look. I know I'm not a marine biologist or specialist in that specific area, but anybody can tell when an animal is bored. It's like humans; you can tell by the look on their faces. Every animal at Clearwater Marine Aquarium looks, and obviously is, bored."

The Judge looked bored as he stared condescendingly at Phil. "And how will a breeding program make them less bored, or not bored at all?"

"A breeding program would mean that there would be more interaction between the animals. If they got along well, then they'd be able to have fun together."

The Judge sighed. "Let's use dolphins as an example. In the records I was given, CMA 1108, "Winter", has CMA 1706, "Hope". What is wrong with having two female dolphins together in the same pool. What difference would a male dolphin make?"

"The dolphins would get a different experience, Your Honor. And when one has been around the other for an extended amount of time, things start to get boring."

Sawyer disguised his snort as a cough. Hazel shot him an odd look.

"I see. Also in the records, CMA 0987, "Nicholas", has CMA 1709, "Bondi". What difference would it make to put a female in with them?"

"The same as I said before, Your Honor."

The Judge sighed. "Very well then. Does the Clearwater Marine Aquarium representative have anything to say?"

Dr. Clay stood up. "Yes, Your Honor."

"You are Dr. C. Haskett?"

Dr. Clay nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Please proceed."

"I counter all of Phillip J. Hordern's claims. Firstly, the animals are not bored. They all have a purpose, and we keep them all entertained to the best of our abilities. And this probably sounds terribly cliché, but never judge a book by its cover; just because the animals look bored, doesn't mean they are bored. And the argument that putting a female with a male will encourage more interaction isn't supported by enough evidence. The dolphins, alone, enjoy spending time together, and have plenty of fun. And we're talking about two females in the same pool, and two males in the same pool. Then you stated that if we are together for an extended period of time, we will get bored of each other. Let me just say that my daughter, Hazel, and I have been living under the same roof for slightly more than sixteen years, and neither of us have gotten bored of the other. We learn new things about each other every single day, as do the animals. As life goes on, our bond gets stronger, and we most definitely don't get bored of each other. Yes, we have bad times, but we make up after a while. The bonds between Winter and Hope, and Nicholas and Bondi are, quite frankly, amazing."