Drop Everything, and Watch a Reporter Save 2 Dolphins Washed Ashore by Hurricane Irma Right Now

NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders has covered more than 60 hurricanes since he began his reporting career in 1982. He's also based in Florida, so it should come as no surprise that Sanders emerged as one of the key players in NBC's coverage of Hurricane Irma — even going so far as to show the world how he and his team were staying safe while in the heart of the storm.

But on Sept. 11, Sanders put down his reporter's notebook and embraced the role of hero. Twice.

During a live report from Marco Island, Florida during Morning Joe, Sanders interrupted his own coverage of the area's recovery effort when he came across a baby dolphin who had been washed ashore by the massive storm. As the two anchors back in Washington, D.C. looked on, Sanders and another man attempted to return the beached animal to the now-calm waters. "It's exhausted," Sanders lamented as the animal returned to shore and he tried to help it out of the sandy shallows once again, and the live shot ended.

Five minutes later, Sanders was back on camera.

This time, Sanders was lugging a massive second dolphin back to the shoreline with a much larger group composed of locals. As viewers looked on in awe, Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist informed the audience that the smaller dolphin had been successfully rescued, saying, "Kerry reports back to us that the dolphin was safety released back out into the Gulf." For all involved, it was downright riveting television — even if Sanders couldn't manage to use his mic as he manhandled the enormous mammal.

Kerry returned to the show a bit later to explain the whole experience.

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"The last time we saw Kerry he was trying to rescue a dolphin," quipped Geist, as Sanders launched into an explanation of the whole event and why it is that he believed the pair of dolphins were actually mother and child, and yes that means he saved a dolphin family before most of us had even finished our morning coffee.

You can — and should — watch all three clips above, preferably on repeat, as it's a great reminder of the small things that individuals are doing across the Gulf to help the animals and people most in need after two mammoth storms. And here's to you, Kerry Sanders. We couldn't be more grateful for the heroic work you, your team, and all those other individuals putting their lives on the line in Florida and Texas are doing to help out those in need.