ITALY: Large Newfoundland rescue dogs have been trained to jump from helicopters to rescue bathers running into trouble in Italy

Record ID: 784608

  • Title: ITALY: Large Newfoundland rescue dogs have been trained to jump from helicopters to rescue bathers running into trouble in Italy
  • Date: 16th September 2007
  • Summary: R (L!2) LAKE ISEO, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 15, 2007) (REUTERS) PISEGNO VILLAGE ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ISEO, NEAR BRESCIA RESCUE HELICOPTER FLYING OVER LAKE COASTGUARD BOAT WITH DOG ONBOARD MAN WEARING WETSUIT JUMPING FROM HELICOPTER INTO THE LAKE, FOLLOWED BY NEWFOUNDLAND RESCUE DOG VARIOUS DOG HELPING RESCUE MAN IN LAKE AS PART OF TRAINING EXERCISE DOG JUMPING INTO HELICOPTER HELICOPTER TAKING OFF
  • Embargoed: 1st October 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAENQQEG2NBTERCJ11ZQAP3X2P3
  • Story Text: Silence at Lake Iseo in Italy was shattered by the sound of helicopters on Saturday (September 15) as authorities staged an unusual rescue exercise.
    These large shaggy dogs were originally bred as working dogs in Canada, but these days, they have traded snow for warmer waters.
    A pioneering Italian dog enthusiast says he is the first person in the world to have taught Newfoundland dogs to jump from helicopters to rescue people running into difficulties at sea or in lakes.
    The dogs which have been patrolling Italy's beaches this summer, along with volunteers from Protezione Civile, are graduates of the Italian Dog Rescue School, set up by Ferrucio Pilenga from Bergamo, the first and only academy of its type in the world.
    He first came up with the idea in 1988, when he decided to teach his own dog to rescue people in difficulty in water.
    Newfoundlands have webbed feet and a water resistant coat, and are very good at swimming. But it still takes three years to full train a helicopter rescue dog.
    The dogs leap into the water along with their human colleagues. They can also go to places which their human handlers may not be able to reach. For example, they can swim right up to dangerous rocks, inaccessible to boats.
    But you would not want one of these dogs landing on your head by mistake: males weigh around 60-70 kilos (130-150 pounds), while females weigh 45-55 kilos (100-120 pounds).
    The graduates from Pilenga's school now patrol beaches from Venice to Sardinia and they are credited with saving a number of lives.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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