by Marty Haulena, DVM, MSc, DACZM

About His Story

"Few stranded dolphins make it all the way back to the wild, particularly on the west coast of California. Maybe Baker D would be different. A lot of dedicated people—mostly volunteers—kept working against the odds to give this special bottlenose dolphin another chance at life."

About the Author

Martin Haulena graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in 1993. He completed a clinical internship in aquaticanimal medicine at Mystic Aquarium in 1996 and a Master’s degree in pathobiology from the University of Guelph in 1999. He served as the Staff Veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California for nine years, and is currently Staff Veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia. Dr.Haulena’s special interests are in the medical management of aquatic animals, particularly marine mammals, with emphasis on innovative diagnostic methods such as MRIs, endoscopy and ultrasonography, developing safe anesthetic protocols, and improving surgical techniques. Veterinary students from around the world study aquatic animal medicine each year under the direction of Dr. Haulena. His professional affiliations include the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine, Wildlife Disease Association, and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. He became board-certified by the American College Zoological Medicine in 2007.