Florida man rescues injured bald eagle from lake
A Florida man in Lakewood Ranch near Sarasota proved himself to be a true patriot when he dove into a lake to save an injured American eagle. Doug Hay and his wife were sitting in their living room when they heard a crash in the lake near their backyard.
By Tavares Jones, Aaron Page
Click here for updates on this story
SARASOTA, Florida (WSVN) — A Florida man in Lakewood Ranch near Sarasota proved himself to be a true patriot when he dove into a lake to save an injured American eagle.
Doug Hay and his wife were sitting in their living room when they heard a crash in the lake near their backyard.
“It was a huge splash. Huge splash,” he said. “I was in the living room and heard a crash in the lake. I looked over, and it was an eagle.”
They went to inspect the source and encountered an injured bald eagle in an alligator-infested lake. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the waters, swimming about 100 yards to come to its rescue.
“I ran out because I know they can’t swim and threw my shirt off and my flip-flops, and I jumped in because I wanted to save it,” Doug said. “When I got there I didn’t see her because she went under. I was looking around. She finally bobbed up, and I grabbed her by the legs with my right hand and started doing the dog paddle to shore.”
Doug’s wife, Diana Hay, wasn’t too happy about his decision.
“She was screaming at me,” Doug said. “Profanities.”
“I was screaming at him not to go in there,” Diana said. “He just kept going in.”
Once on land, a trapper was able to wrangle the bird and get her the help she needs. Doug says he’d do it all over again.
“That would be in my head the rest of my life if I couldn’t save this bird. I had to do it,” he said. “Just wanted to get to the eagle and save it. It’s our national symbol. It’s freedom. It’s America.”
According to Doug, there was another bald eagle circling above the lake. He suspects the two birds were fighting.
The eagle was transferred to the wildlife center of Southwest Florida in Venice, where it is expected to make a full recovery.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
