Newfoundland is a
large Canadian island
off the east coast of the North American mainland. Long
settled by indigenous peoples of the Dorset culture, this island was claimed as
‘newfoundland’ in 1983 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert as England's first overseas
colony under Royal Charter. It is home to a famous breed to –the Newfoundland
is a working dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, white and black or gray. They were originally bred and used as
a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland - known for their
giant size, intelligence, tremendous strength, calm dispositions, and loyalty.
The sands of Marina
are famous - the sandy shore runs from Fort St. George to Besant Nagar. Marina beach was conceived in 1884 and christened by Mount stuart
Elphinstone Grant-Duff, the then governor of Madras. The beach famed for its beauty, ambience and
rich eco system is lot polluted and at times is a bed of criminal activities
too – in some stretches and at late hours.
Crowds throng the beach on holidays and in summer to enjoy the cool sea
breeze. – and alongside you find boards
warning the beachgoers not to venture into the sea waters – sadly this rarely deters determined fun-seekers from
taking a swim.
Once in a while you
read sad stories of youngsters getting washed away – making their parents and
relatives grieve for the rest of their life.
There have been poignant tales of youth from distant places getting into
the sea waters without realising the impending danger and getting killed. There is Police patrolling but a few men on
foot and on horseback cannot control the vast shores. Sometime back, there was
news of a stray dog assisting the patrolling policemen and thus sharing their
workload to some extent. The dog provided
help in preventing many people from drowning. Named Julie, it chased and barked
at people ignoring safety norms and venture into the surfing waves of the sea,
particularly during high tide. ~ it particularly
kept watch on kids trying to enjoy the foamy waves. ToI reported that there
were no cases of drowning since Julie started 'patrolling' with the police. Some felt that Police should be training more
of such dogs.
Elsewhere in a
Spanish resort there is another doing a job as a lifeguard as reported in Daily
Mail. Here are some excerpts : A Spanish tourist resort is trying out the
idea of using dogs as lifeguards - and the idea is working so well it could
catch on elsewhere. The experiment in the coastal town of San Pedro del
Pinatar, in the southern province of Murcia, began when a human lifeguard
started taking his pet Newfoundland out to sea with him, and found he was not
only an incredibly strong swimmer, he was also able to pull a very large
weight. Since then 'Bruno' has been employed full time as a lifeguard,
assisting his owner David Alvarez on rescues and convincing the local
coastguard to recruit more dogs to help patrol the area.
Bruno's webbed feet
and ultra-buoyant coat make him a natural swimmer. He also boasts an ability to
swim up to three miles without tiring and can drag a load of up to one and a
half tonnes; its owner Alvarez first purchased Bruno as a two-month-old puppy
weighing only 15lbs, he didn't expect him to be anything more than a much-loved
pet. But after taking him to the beach one day and allowing him to swim in the
water, the lifeguard realised that his rapidly-growing canine friend might just
have the potential to become a colleague. And in the searing heat of the Spanish summer,
there is nothing black-furred Bruno loves more than to cool off with a dip in
the sea.
Although Bruno is
making front-page news in Spain, he is actually following a long tradition of
Newfoundland dogs being used for water rescue work. Earlier there was a dog named Boo of the same
breed that saved a hearing-impaired man from drowning in the Yuba River in
Northern California. It's not just his
talent for swimming that makes Bruno an ideal lifeguard. His incredible
strength and stamina means he can easily swim three miles before getting tired
and needing a rest. Alvarez has also given Bruno a few strength tests and was
shocked to discover he could quite happily drag water-filled plastic containers
weighing up to one and half tonnes back to shore. Bruno now is easily capable of dragging a drowning - and
often panicking - person back to the shore with the minimum of fuss. Bruno may be the first lifeguard rescue dog ever to be
used in San Pedro del Pinatar, and it is apparent that he is unlikely to be the
last too.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
12th Aug 2014.
