Rescuing a dolphin was not how Dunedin woman Komisi Bloomfield imagined her morning playing out on a visit to St Kilda Beach.
The 23-year-old was walking on the sand about 10am today when she noticed two women having trouble on the shore with what she thought was a dog.
"I threw my stuff on the sand and just ran over to them because it looked like they were struggling and then obviously it wasn't a dog, it was a dolphin."
It was "very much in the sand" and its fin was stuck, she said.
The three women tried to shift the animal back into the water.
Miss Bloomfield grabbed her hoodie and tried to use it as a sling to hoist the dolphin back in.
"Then it kind of went out and came back in with a wave. I think it was a bit exhausted because then it kind of tumbled onto the shore."
It looked "very distressed", she said.
The other women found someone nearby and were called for help.
While they were doing this, Miss Bloomfield put her arms around the torso of the dolphin, lifted it up and waited for a wave to come, she said.
"I didn't really look at the dolphin properly - so I don't know how big it was - but it was definitely very heavy."
She pulled it into the ocean one last time, the dolphin disappeared under a wave, and she knew it was saved.
It was a "very spiritual experience" for Miss Bloomfield, who said she loved the ocean and went there whenever she could.
