"Fungie changed my life"Couple dedicate life to dolphin after witnessing experience with cancer patient
A Dutch couple have dedicated their lives to documenting the exploits of Fungie the Dingle Dolphin after witnessing the effect he had on a young cancer patient who went to visit him after being told she had only six weeks to live.
Jeannine Masset and Rudi Schamart, who moved to Dingle from Holland during the 1990s, brought a 14-year old girl with terminal leukemia to see the wild dolphin, who has now been resident in Dingle Harbour for almost 24 years, after she was told she had only six weeks to live.
"She had been to see dolphins in Miami and had heard about the wild dolphin in Dingle" said Jeannine.
"She had been told she had only six weeks to live so we organised to take her out in our small dingy."
What Jeannie and Rudi witnesses that day changed their life forever as Fungie displayed real affection and gentleness towards the young girl.
"It seemed like the dolphin could sense that there was something special bout the young girl; he stood up in the water and she put her arms around him and hugged him, it stirred something deep inside our hearts."
The young girl defied the doctors following the experience and lived for another year and a half after that, passing away in 2003.
"She said that it was one of the best moments of her life, she had been to visit trained dolphins in the States but this was an experience like no other as Fungie does what he wants. He is not trained and he is free to come and go if he wishes, his interaction was totally genuine."
Moved by the experience, Jeannine and Rudi decided that they wanted to spend their lives documenting Fungie and his adventures who has been a Dingle resident for 24 years.
The result is The Fungie Forever Collection, a series of one-on-one photo portraits of Fungie in his day to day life, fishing for salmon, interacting with people, swimming and playing in the harbour with the boats.
Experts believe that Fungie is about 29 years old, the average lifespan of a bottle nose dolphin being 40 years.
"It seems that he has a real understanding sometimes, when small children or elderly people go to see him, he is very gentle" said Jeannine, "he can also be very naughty and sometimes doesn't want to play, he really has his own mind."
Jeannine is keen to stress that Fungie doesn't have magical healing powers, its the feeling that he instills in people.
"He has had such an amazing effect on the lives of so many people" she said, "its just that special sense of joy he instills, especially to those who are ill, his effect on people is amazing."
