The seal pup nicknamed Sandy is fattening up at PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood, the only local resource for rehabbing a small number of seal pups each season. The terribly thin pup weighed only 7.7 kgs, or slightly less than 17 lbs, when taken to PAWS on August 15th after spending the night on a West Seattle beach. A healthy pup her age should have weighed about 23 kgs (approx 50 lbs). As of September 24th, Sandy had doubled her weight in rehab to 36 lbs and she is reported to be great at catching live fish! She is due to be released in a few weeks. In the photo, Sandy shows off her new beachball body with a pal in the rehab pool. She will be released when her weight reaches 50 lbs, a sufficient blubber layer to sustain her as she makes the transition back into the wild. Thank you PAWS!

Tags: Sandy, rehabilitation