Watch NBC's Kerry Sanders Help Rescue a Baby Dolphin

Sanders said he had been in touch with a local dolphin-stranding network for advice

NBC reporter Kerry Sanders helped rescue two dolphins Monday after the animals were stranded along Florida Gulf Coast beaches during Hurricane Irma.

Sanders said a good Samaritan had brought a baby dolphin to a beach in hard-hit Marco Island after finding it a half mile away. Sanders and another man held the dolphin for about 15 minutes until it gained enough strength to swim away.

Less than an hour later, Sanders helped others carry an adult dolphin back into the ocean.

"I could feel it with my hand — the heart was just racing in that big one," Sanders said.

NOAA encourages people who find beached animals to report sightings to trained rescuers. Sanders said he had been in touch with a local dolphin-stranding network for advice and has participated in other dolphin rescue missions while covering past hurricanes.

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