Palermo/Alcamo Marina (gro) Their names are Kira, Marcus and Thor and they will be the focus of attention all day at the Ferragosto beach parties in Alcamo Marina. Because the three Labradors, a dog and her two sons, saved an eleven-year-old girl from drowning on the second Sunday in August. The dogs come from the Scuola Italiana Cani Salvataggio (SICS) and are specially trained to keep drowning people afloat and to pull them ashore.
From the old Arab town of Misilmeri
The girl from the inner Sicilian town of Musilmeri (Sicilian: Musumeli, seat of an emir in the 9th century) was 30 kilometers away, according to a report by the “Giornale di Sicilia” (www.gds.it) got caught in a sea current that pulled it away from the beach, so that it lost the ground under its feet, thrashed around and gasped for air. The dogs, who always look out over the water, did not miss this.
The girl is now learning to swim
The strong four-legged friends are outstanding swimmers. They brought the student back into the shallow water without the slightest injury. There the girl was met by her aunt and human lifeguards. The girl now wants to learn to swim as quickly as possible. “I was so anxious to die and suddenly I didn’t hear anything,” said eight-year-old.
The proud dogs were immediately alert again
The girl was difficult to separate from the visibly proud dogs. However, they insisted on resuming their guard duty immediately. “We went to this beach especially because I know that rescue dogs are stationed here,” said my aunt. “From now on we are all dog lovers.”
Alcamo Marina is located on the west Sicilian coast between Palermo and Trapani, about 25 kilometers south of Palermo Airport (Falcone-Bosellino airports) on the way to Castellammare and San Vito Lo Capo. Bild: gds