Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/dogs-rescue-girl-ocean/

Dogs are incredible, and they’re capable of so much more than we give them credit for sometimes.

That’s true for two dogs in Italy, Luna and Igor, who went above and beyond to save the life of a 15-year-old girl.

The girl, Ilenia, was at the beach with her friends in Palinuro, Cilento, when a strong current caught her off guard and dragged her out to sea. Being stuck in an ocean current can be perilous, even for the best of swimmers.

Thankfully, two lifeguard Labradors spotted the distressed swimmer and went to her rescue.

The organization that trained the dogs, SICS Scuola Italiana Cani Salvataggio-Tirreno, shared on Facebook that the two dogs ran to the water with their handlers as soon as the saw Ilenia out in the waves.

They said (translated): “Luna, young honey-colored Labrador managed to reach her first. Together with her human teammate they secured her…and started the difficult return maneuver.”

Once they began returning to shore, the second labrador, Igor, and his handler caught up with them. Ilenia was able to grab onto Igor, who finished pulling her to shore where her worried friends were waiting.

The whole rescue was filmed by an onlooker and shared on Facebook. Check it out below:

According to the Facebook post, the Italian Dog Rescue School “has been called for years to contribute to the safety of the beach in Palinuro, under the coordination of the Coast Guard and the municipal administration.”

That school trains dogs, like Luna and Igor, in Operational Nautical Rescue, so they know how to respond to an emergency involving water. The intensive training generally takes around a year to complete, and the dogs learn how to respond in long-distance rescues, rescues with multiple victims in need, and other advanced situations.

Hopefully Luna and Igor get a big treat and a lot of love after such a successful rescue.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog