Florida man rescues injured bald eagle from lake near Sarasota

SARASOTA Fla 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 noted 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 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 wished to save it Doug commented When I got there I didn t see her because she went under I was looking around She definitively 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 stated Profanities I was screaming at him not to go in there Diana commented He just kept going in Once on land a trapper was able to wrangle the bird and get her the help she necessities 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 noted Just wished 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 individuals 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