MARATHON, FL (AP) -- A hawksbill sea turtle treated in the Florida Keys after being attacked by wild dogs in the Virgin Islands is ready to return home.
Sandy, a mature nesting female, was flown from St. Croix to Miami in the baggage compartment of an American Airlines jet last November and is to return the same way Tuesday.
She had surgery on both front flippers at The Turtle Hospital. A veterinarian removed the entire right flipper and took out a small section of the left.
Staff members cared for the animal until it could enter a physical therapy program to relearn how to swim and catch food.
Hospital officials are confident Sandy, whose species is critically endangered, can survive and nest.
----
On the Net: The Turtle Hospital
