Canine lifeguards take to the beaches of Italy
from time.com
Bruno Piccinelli, head of UCIS, Italy’s association of rescue-dog trainers, says the breeds, which are innately strong in the water, are trained from puppyhood until they are at least two years old to make water rescues. Dogs have long been taught to respond to specific types of water accidents and other emergencies as well as to use their keen hearing and sense of smell to assist in search-and-rescue missions — canines were used to help find survivors in the rubble of the recent earthquake in L’Aquila, for example. But now some 70 pooches have been authorized to act as Italy’s Baywatch, minus the suntan lotion and shades. “Now they are on patrol,” says Piccinelli.
Piccinelli, who notes that Scandinavian countries also use rescue dogs in places where lots of people gather near water, describes how the four-legged lifeguards operate: sitting up alongside their human counterparts, the dogs are trained to recognize signs of drowning. When they see someone in trouble, they paddle out to the swimmer, ideally together with their human partners, though they can also go it alone. The distressed swimmer can grab hold of the dog, which will then paddle back to safety with the rescued swimmer in tow, or the dog will drag the person in with its teeth, tugging him ashore by his arm, shirt or bathing suit. “If need be, the dogs are strong enough to pull in three people holding on to each other, or a raft with three people on it,” boasts Piccinelli. Asked if these dogs could put two-legged lifeguards out of a job, Piccinelli assures Speedo-clad guardians everywhere that “they are not meant to replace human lifeguards, but to complement them.”
