Is it safe to cook the mussels I find on the beach?

It all depends on what beach you found them on. If the area is closed for shellfish harvesting (red tide), or if the mussels in that area are spawning, you want to stay away. The warmer the water, the more the risk. Find out first from your local environmental heath board if the area you got them from is safe. If it is. go ahead and cook them, but if it isn't, stay away!

Call your local Wildlife Commission. The people who regulate game and fish also can answer questions about the legality of foraging in any given location, toxin alerts (like mercury and red tides) that may be out for certain areas, and the safety of the water the animal might be living in. Local EPA and Water Resources people might also provide info that could be helpful. If the water is not toxic and the animals are legal to harvest, then they should be safe to eat when processed and prepared properly. As with any wild foraging, absolutely correct identification of any food is as critical as food handling safety.

Probably !!

However, I would not.

Just the idea of doing something like that brings a tear to my eyes.

To make a long story short:

My husband and I were in a hotel in Atlantic City, NJ once. He found one on the beach and decided to bring it to me.

We did not know it was still alive (he thought it was dead).

When it stuck its little self out of his shell, I freaked out and begged my husband to take him back to the beach.

He did.

Sweet man that he is.

Anyway, every since them I think of 'Wilbur" and just can't see myself eating them at all (I named him)...

yea, just cook em to kill bacteria