Singer, songwriter, actor and animal rescuer — that’s what you can refer to Billy Dean as after his life-saving attempts recently. While vacationing on the Gulf Coast with his family in April, Dean spotted a Great Blue Heron tangled in an abandoned fishing line, trapped.

A group of teenagers were attempting to help the bird when Dean stepped in, suffering a bite on his hand from the traumatized animal. The bird — a protected species — was immobilized with multiple fishing lures in its wings, but the singer managed to bring it to shore by grabbing its feet.

“The bird was alive, but had several cuts and was clearly distressed,” says Dean. “A fisherman must have cut the line, but it was hard to determine how long it had been trapped. Though we did get the bird to safety, I did end up with a nice gash on my pickin’ finger … those Blue Heron bites aren’t pretty.”

“The girls of Port St. Joe High School and a few other vacationers were the true heroes,” he continues, giving praise to the teens who tried to help initially. “I was fortunate to have been there to help them untangle the bird and bring it to shore.”

Dean and his wife called a local wildlife group, who took the protected species in to treat its multiple wounds and rehabilitate it back to health before releasing it back into the wild. Way to go, Billy Dean!

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