国外媒体:意大利海滩救生犬勇担救人重任（在线收听）

Canines to the rescue

They leap from helicopters or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy's popular beaches.

For these canine lifeguards, the doggie paddle does just fine.

Hundreds of specially trained dogs form Italy's corps of canine lifeguards. They are deployed each summer to help swimmers in need of rescue.

These "lifedogs" wear a harness or tow a buoy that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts, they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.

With millions flocking to Italy's crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year - and their canine helpers are credited with saving several lives.

It takes three years for the canines to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who coordinates the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program at a center outside of Rome in the seaside town of Civitavecchia.

"Dogs are useful in containing the physical fatigue of the lifeguard, to increase the speed at which casualties are retrieved, to increase the security of both the casualty and of the lifeguard," Gasbarri said.

The Civitavecchia center is one of a dozen around the country for the school founded more than 20 years ago in the northern province of Bergamo by Ferruccio Pilenga, whose first trainee was his own Newfoundland.

The school will train any breed, as long as they weigh at least 30 kg (66 pounds), but Labradors, Newfoundlands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because of their natural instinct for swimming. Each dog works in tandem with a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal's trainer.

它们从直升飞机或快艇上一跃而下，拯救落水的游客——这就是意大利最近在其著名的海滩度假地增设的救生犬。

救生犬的狗刨式游法足以完成任务。

目前意大利共有数百只受过特训的救生犬。每到夏天，这些救生犬会被增派到各个海滩度假地，帮助救援溺水者。

这些“救生犬”身穿套具，有时会拖着一个让落水者能抓住的漂浮物，或是一个充气救生船，让落水者坐在里面、然后将其拖上岸。和人类救生员不同，救生犬可以轻而易举地从直升飞机或快艇上跳入水中，很快接近落水者。

每年夏天，意大利海滩度假地会迎来数百万的游客。据意大利海岸防卫队介绍，他们每年营救的落水者数量达3000人——而这些救生犬就曾救过几条人命。

据意大利救生犬学校奇维塔韦基亚课程中心的协调人罗伯特?加斯巴里说，救生犬一般需要受训三年才能达到专业救生的水平。目前意大利共有300条狗已接受了完整训练，获得上岗资格。奇维塔韦基亚是位于罗马城外的一个海滨小镇。

加斯巴里说：“救生犬的作用在于，它们可以防止救生员出现体力不支，加快救援速度，进一步保障落水者和救生员的安全。”

奇维塔韦基亚课程中心是意大利救生犬学校12个培训中心之一。该学校由费鲁乔?皮伦加于20多年前在意大利北部的贝加莫省创办，他的第一个受训者就是他自己的纽芬兰犬。

救生犬学校接受任何犬种，但它们的体重至少要达到30千克（66磅）。不过拉布拉多猎犬、纽芬兰犬和金毛寻回犬是最常见的救生犬种，因为它们水性较好。每只受训犬都有一名救生员搭档，这名救生员同时担当它们的驯养师。