CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Swiss family of a 4-year-old girl whose dying wish was to meet Winter the Dolphin visited Clearwater Marine Aquarium for the time since her death.
Zoe Guignard died from neuroblastoma, an often fatal form of cancer. When Zoe's family learned that she only had a few days to live, the Swiss arms of Make-a-Wish reached out to former Clearwater Marine Aquarium CEO David Yates to make the meetup happen.
During treatments, the 4-year-old had a steady diet, the family told Yates, of watching Winter the Dolphin's story of triumph on Dolphin Tale.
During Zoe's visit, the production team shut down filming of Dolphin Tale 2 on a Wednesday, the only day the family could visit. While film crews were working, CMA was only open on the weekends to the public. However, the encounter between Zoe and Winter the Dolphin was "incredibly emotion," Yates said in a news release.
Four-year-old Zoe died two days after meeting Winter.
Her family traveled from Switzerland to visit CMA to honor the memory of Zoe and Winter on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The family was able to have a dolphin encounter with one of CMA's rescued dolphins.