Barkwatch!
A resort in Spain has
recruited man’s best friend to help patrol its local beaches as its first ever
lifeguard dog.
Located in San Pedro del
Pinatar, the tourist hot spot has brought in water-loving canine Bruno to help
keep beach-goers safe this summer.
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A Spanish
tourism resort is trying out the idea of using dogs,
like the one above, as
lifeguards.
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Bruno’s owner, David
Alvarez, works as a lifeguard and thought about bringing his pet to work when
he realized what a good swimmer he was.
“When I realised what a powerful swimmer he was, I did a test
and found that he was able to pull plastic containers filled with water
weighing 1 1/2 tonnes to shore, and with his powerful webbed feet he can swim
around five kilometres before he starts to get into difficulties,”
Alvarez said.
The Newfoundland pup is a
natural born swimmer with webbed paws like a duck, allowing him to move swiftly
through the waves. His two layers of black
fur make him completely water-proof and overwhelmingly buoyant, allowing him to
rescue people with ease.
“I wasn’t sure if my employers go for it but after trials they
really love the idea, and now I think they are planning to get other lifeguard
dogs.”
What started out as a
brief experiment at the popular beach haven has now transformed into a new wave
of four-legged lifeguard.
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| Bruno regularly accompanies David Alvarez
(yellow T-shirt) on rescue missions in San Pedro del Pinatar |
The resort is currently
planning to bring in additional pooch recruits to help keep swimmers safe in
the future.
Newfoundlands are known
to be hardworking dogs that were originally used in Canada to haul wood from
the forest and pull nets for fishermen, according to dogtime.com.
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