Army of lifeguard dogs patrols Italian beaches

Volunteer service provides life-saving dog units each summer

(ANSA) - Rome, July 21 - More than 350 lifeguard dogs are patrolling Italian beaches this summer, the national civil protection service said Monday. Trained by volunteers from the Italian School for Rescue Dogs (SICS), the heroic pooches have been working Italian beaches for twenty years and saved hundred of lives, many of them children. This year the dog units are watching over 18 different seaside and lakeside resorts from north to south.

The certification provided by SICS after the dogs complete their training is officially recognized by the coast guard, and allows the dogs to work the beaches under the authority of the national civil protection service. Two of the most famous lifeguard dogs, labradors Ariel and Flipper, were bequeathed by A.S. Roma football star Francesco Totti, who received them as a gift from a team sponsor upon the birth of his first son and decided to have them trained as water rescue dogs.