Alan Cooper, Autobiography - Preface
What follows was written entirely for my own satisfaction but if anyone else finds it interesting then that will be a bonus. It was cathartic, this is the truth I shout ... like a captive dolphin screaming get me out of here, I doubt it will change anyone's opinion of what happened in "the dolphin sex case". Most people would rather believe the myth, that someone shagged a dolphin, that there is no smoke without fire. Twenty three years after the façade, the wounds have not healed and they never will. Being accused of animal abuse when you are in fact a protector of animals and losing my mother to heart attack during this period and not knowing if this was attributable to the accusations will ensure I will always grieve, the pain is duller but still there. Had I known at the start of my swims with Freddy what was to occur, I would have not continued.
I would be pleased if the section on freeing dolphins from captivity inspired just one person to get involved in the cause, that would then entirely justify the hours and hours spent writing and editing this book.
ALAN COOPER
AUGUST 2013