Dogs dive in to save lives

[BladesRobinson]

This was sent to attention so I pass it along for those who might find themselves in distress and needing the assistance of an airborne rescuer. Don't be surprised if it is a dog jumping out of the helicopter!


Daring dogs dive in to save lives

Coastguards in Italy have been showing off their latest rescue recruits - a team of dogs who can jump into the sea from helicopters!
The Newfoundland pups have got webbed paws and a water-resistant coat which come in really handy for perfecting their life-saving doggy paddle skills.
It takes three years to train them to become helicopter rescue dogs. They can reach areas humans can't and coastguards say they've already helped to save loads of lives this summer.

It takes three years to train the dogs to dive from helicopters into the sea

But you wouldn't want one to land on you - the shaggy pups might look cute but they can weigh up to a hefty 150kg!!
To help the dogs' training, some people have had to pretend to get into trouble in the water so the dogs could practise diving in to help them. One man, Gilles, had to pretend he was having difficulty swimming in the middle of a lake. He said: "The jump was amazing, it made a strong impression on me. The dog was incredible, very calm. I was amazed at how calm it was. It was wonderful."

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

VERY COOL. I've had Newfies in my life for most of the last 30 years. My truck license is NEWF NUT,
my Boston Whaler is Black Dog.

BUT: They don't get to 150 kg (330 pounds). The biggest I can remember was 200 pounds (90 kg)
and I suspect most 200 pounders are at least chubby.

Blades: have you got a URL I can pass on to my newfie friends?


Chuck

 

[DivingPrincessE]

have you got a URL I can pass on to my newfie friends?

CBBC Newsround | Animals | Daring dogs dive in to save lives

I've never seen a brown newfie...I like the black ones better. This is a cute story. I didn't realize they were swimmers, I thought they were more mountain dogs.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Most newfs are black. Maybe 5-10 percent are white with big black spots, what's called
a Landseer after the 19th century English painter who painted a lot of them. On canvas.
Maybe 1-2 percent are brown (my Beau's (Fairseas Beaucoup de Chien -- pidgen french for
"a whole lot of dog") mom was a brown). There's also a gene for grey, but I've never seen one.

They are very definately swimmers with a strong rescue instinct. My Blanche was almost dangerous.
She was a rescue who grew up in the city. She never would walk on grass, but get in the pool,
and she wanted you DRY. It took me a year after we got the pool to cure her of that. And
Zora, he never barked. Then one night he went to the front window and WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF.
He wouldn't stop. I went outside. Nothing down the street to the left. Nothing to the right.
Fortunately I turned back to the right to go inside -- the neighbors front window was full of fire,
the Christmas tree had gone up. We were the first call to 911. Beau got steak for dinner the
next night.