Lifestyle

Dogtown! Beach resort employs first lifeguard dog

Barkwatch!

A resort in Spain has recruited man’s best friend to help patrol it’s 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, Central European News reports.

Bruno walks with his lifeguard partner as they patrol the beach.Europics

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.

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.