Millions of visitors crowd Italy's beautiful sun drenched coast every summer. That's a lot of people to protect from the dangers of the water. Lifeguards there get some help from four legged friends. Yes, they have lifeguard dogs.
In the seaside town of Civitavecchia, the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards trains dogs to work with their human lifeguard counterparts to rescue swimmers in trouble. Currently, over 300 dogs are fully trained to act as lifeguards. Labradors and Newfoundlands make the most popular trainees because of their natural affinity for the water and skill as swimmers.
These lifeguard dogs leap from helicopters or speeding boats and doggie paddle to the swimmer in trouble. Each of the lifeguard dogs wears a harness or tows a buoy that the swimmer can grab to stay afloat. The dog then paddles back to shore with the swimmer in tow.
The Italian Coast Guard estimates that it saves around 3,000 lives every year and certainly canine lifeguards deserve a good amount of credit for that.
