Milton Santini and Flipper

Note: Mitzi, the dolphin, (1958-1972), was known to movie goers as Flipper. She was Milton Santini’s first pupil back in the early 1960’s  when he ran Santini’s Porpoise School, located in Florida. Santini was a pioneer in dolphin husbandry and training. Upon her death, his beloved Mitzi was buried beneath a dolphin statue in the School’s courtyard.

Spirit Communicant Milton Santini:  Good morning. This is Milton Santini. I hardly know where to start. I was so surprised to be asked to come to talk to someone on earth. When your teacher, Dr. Cranston, approached me, his light was very bright, and so I knew he was an elevated teacher. Otherwise, I would have thought it was a joke because I know you are getting ready for Halloween and would have wondered whether was it a trick or treat kind of thing?

I was talking to Zebediah before our trance session began, and he knew that communication was possible, but I certainly did not know this. He told me he had come to talk about his life during Old Testament times. This is an incredible experience for me. I was raised Catholic, and I believed in communication with the saints, but I am certainly no saint; so I certainly didn’t dream that this was possible.

But anyway, I was very, very interested in porpoises. I knew they were very intelligent animals. I guess truly that I came to earth really to work with them. This I found out after I came to Spirit. And so I started with several, and then I started a little school to train porpoises. I wanted people to know how intelligent and wonderful they are and to protect them. Porpoises have an almost human quality about them as far as I am concerned. I did train a number of these wonderful creatures. And then some of them were sold to other places where they could perform tricks for people, but I was always very careful that they were to be well cared for. I was very particular about where they went.

When the time came for someone to want to do a movie called Flipper, they came to me. And I knew that my Mitzy could do many of the tricks that they wanted done. These tricks would be a natural for her. And I had Mr. Gripper at that time, and I knew that he could do certain other tricks. So between the two, we managed to do the movie. We set it up so that there were safeguards for my beautiful babies. They were like my family. My porpoises were my family. My wife didn’t like for me to say that because I was so devoted to them. When other movies were made, we used other porpoises as needed.

My Mitzy died of a heart attack. And, you know, I almost died myself of grief when I lost her. I had bonded so closely with her. Of all the porpoises, she was the dearest, and I think Mr. Gripper came next. And it was a huge, huge loss for me, but I had the other porpoises to take care of, and so life went on. But Mitzy had truly won my heart.

When I came to Spirit, I had no idea what I was coming to. Truly, I did not. I thought if there was an afterlife, those angels I had prayed to all those years would be here. I had no idea that this was the real life. And so they took me to a hospital-like setting, and I rested, and gradually I awakened a little bit.

I had a little dog called Rosy, and they brought Rosy to my hospital bed. And I thought I was dreaming. I would see her and then go back to sleep. She would lick my face. My father said, “No son, you are really alive. You are in a different world now. You died on earth, but you are alive over here. We want you to get strong, and when you are, we are going to take you on a very wonderful surprise. It will be so wonderful.” So as soon as I was strong enough, they took me down to the animal realm and to a huge lake, and there were my beautiful Mitzy and Mr. Gripper and some of the other porpoises. I couldn’t believe it. They were happy to see me, and I was so happy to see them. I was so happy to see them. I cannot tell you how happy I was.

So we do little tricks over here. People come. They love to see the animals. We have little shows, so to speak, and my babies like to perform. And those who took care of them before I came over were wonderful men and women. They were aware of some of these tricks, and so they kept my babies in practice. They are my children. People live and animals live, and it is so important that we take good, loving care of our animals, and that we don’t throw things in the rivers and the oceans that will pollute or cause our wonderful sea animals and fish to become entangled. It is so sad when this happens.

I thank you for this opportunity to come and talk to you. It has been a great experience. I would love to come back and talk to you again and tell you more. I am probably forgetting half of what I would like to tell you now.  I think this will be a wonderful little book that you are doing. I do send my blessing to you and to all who take care of the porpoises.

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