Dean & JoJo

This is the true story of a profound interspecies friendship between man and dolphin beautifully archived with rare photos. As a young dive instructor, Dean Bernal visits the quiet bays of the Turks and Caicos Islands and meets a wild bottlenose dolphin named JoJo. Fascinated by the beauty and playfulness of the intelligent animal, he is immediately mesmerized and they soon become close companions, diving, playing, and swimming in the crystalline blue waters of the islands. This sparks the beginning of a deep friendship that spans decades. Over the years and with great patience, Dean carefully gains the dolphin's trust.

In the safety of isolated bays they explore the coral reefs and caves while out at sea they body surf hurricane waves and get lost in lightning storms. Dean confronts sharks to save JoJo when he is small and when he matures the dolphin defends Dean from predators. But when the encroachment of man and his machines severely injure JoJo, it forces Dean to administer aid to his suffering friend to save him from certain death calling Dean to action.

He begins a campaign to protect JoJo from machines and from those driven by greed who wish to capture him. Dean seeks to safeguard his environment and habitat from destructive development and the intrusion of tourism. But it isn't easy and many are opposed to his efforts. However, after many years of international media exposure in magazines, newspapers, and films, which put pressure upon corrupt government officials and crooked businesses, JoJo is declared a national treasure and Dean is appointed his official warden.

But the battle is just beginning. There are growing controversies with unscrupulous government officials, exploitive executives, and suspicious strikes from ski boats. Later JoJo's entrapment in a strategically placed turtle net almost kills him. Still, the love for this dolphin keeps Dean fighting. And as JoJo touches more and more people, Dean learns about our human ability to heal ourselves through nature and how compassion shown to animals brings us openness, sensitivity, and peace.

The Dean and JoJo story is a wildlife adventure, a healing and lifestyle, spiritual guidance story. Dean learns about the secret mystery of dolphin language while finding true purpose.

The Dean and JoJo US publication contains 64 rare archived images and is the first of a series.The European published version was translated by Jochen Lehner who translated books by Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, Marianne Williamson, Dan Millman, B.K.S. Lyengar, JH Brennan, Thomas Bien, Lama Surya Das, Neale D. Walsch, and many other notable authors with similar merits of Dean and JoJo's purpose.