There is something completely intriguing about the ocean. Perhaps it’s the fact that we don’t know a whole lot about the mysterious blue world below. But there is so much beauty to be experienced in the world’s oceans. While we can’t see it for ourselves, we do get a taste of it when we visit aquariums. I’ve always loved aquariums for the fact that they give you a small glimpse into the beautiful world that exists below the waves.
But it’s not just us humans who are capable of becoming captivated by the ocean and all its marine life. Dogs can also find fascination in the big blue sea. Take Kevin for example. He’s a precious little golden retriever from Tampa, Florida who has become obsessed with the wonders of the ocean. Upon a visit to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Kevin had his mind blown and his world views expanded when he got to explore the different exhibits. He even made a few new friends!
The Instagram pet-fluencer is well-known on social media for having a wide-ranging hat collection that he dons every time he goes out on a special outing. The very fashionable Kevin even has a favorite hat that he often wears out of all the others in his collection. The hat is a dog hat! And that is exactly the one he wore on his aquarium outing – much to the delight of his more than 200k Instagram followers.
And it turned out that the aquarium was the perfect place for Kevin to show off his ducky hat. As luck would have it, there was another Clearwater Marine Aquarium resident who was a big duck fan as well – a dolphin named Winter. The plucky dolphin absolutely loves ducks too! It seemed like she and Kevin were meant to be friends, especially after it was revealed that her favorite toy was actually a giant rubber duck. Since Kevin is basically at celebrity status, Winter and her animal care specialist, Katie Wojdyla, made a video that they sent to Kevin prior to his visit. In it they showed off Winter’s favorite ducky, and also asked him on a play date.
Prior to their meeting, the dog and dolphin FaceTimed one another in order to get to know one another a bit better and schedule the play date. As Kevin’s owner, Elysse Gorney, shared with Travel + Leisure, she took Kevin to the aquarium at the beginning of August for a private tour of the entire aquarium. “He met so many new friends,” Gorney stated.
Kevin enjoyed his time getting to meet Winter in person. The dolphin is somewhat of an A-list celebrity herself, having first received notoriety for getting a prosthetic tail after she was entangled in a crab trap. She then went on to having starring roles in both movies, “Dolphin Tale” and “Dolphin Tale 2.” Kevin and Winter hit it off quite well. He also got to meet the aquarium’s other dolphins who are called Hope, PJ, Nicholas, and Hemingway. Kevin even got to swim while he was at the aquarium!
Check out Kevin’s aquarium extravaganza in the video below:
