SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
We are officially in the dog days of summer. Many Americans, barking mad from the heat, flock to beaches across the country. When the waters off the coast of Maine get rough, lifeguards at Scarborough Beach State Park keep things under control, thanks in part to two good girls named Beacon and Buoy. Greg Wilfert is the manager there. He joins us from the lifeguard stand. Mr. Wilfert, thanks for being with us.
GREG WILFERT: Well, thank you for having me.
SIMON: Well, if we hadn't made it plain, Beacon and Buoy are dogs, right?
WILFERT: Yes. They're both Newfoundlands.
SIMON: How do they help lifeguards? What do they do?
WILFERT: Well, what they do is they will go in when the lifeguards go into the water. They will follow with another lifeguard and go out and pull in any person that's in trouble that the other lifeguards went for, so they're second responders.
SIMON: Oh, my gosh.
WILFERT: And they were trained by the American Academy of Canine Water Rescue down in Wareham, Mass, and so they've had a lot of training with them and then a lot of training out here with the lifeguards here.
SIMON: So they actually help save people who are having problems in the water.
WILFERT: Yeah, they can. If we have an emergency situation, someone's pulled out in a rip current, they will follow the lifeguards in. So we don't let them be first responders, 'cause we - I don't want to take a chance with that method. It's better to have them second responders, so that they're coming out and following another lifeguard in, and the lifeguards ride them, so to speak, in a dolphin hold. They wear these life jackets, the dogs do. And they go out, and the lifeguard will be kicking and swimming with them and give them commands, and they will do their job, and do it enthusiastically.
SIMON: My gosh, this is remarkable. I've never heard of this.
WILFERT: Well, I got the idea from - I've seen - I had seen pictures of over in Italy, they do it, in Croatia. So that's where I got the idea, and then I hooked up, like I said, with the American Academy of Canine Water Rescue, and was able to bring it so that it's a viable rescue technique that we use at the beach.
SIMON: They must be great swimmers.
WILFERT: They're incredible swimmers. They read the current, too, so, like, if they're in a rip current, they instinctively know which way to go to get out of it.
SIMON: Wow. I say this with respect to Beacon and Buoy, can they be distracted by, like, an ice cream cone or something?
WILFERT: Probably, if they - when people come over to the stand, yes, 'cause they are here as ambassadors, too. So they greet people, but most people would ask (laughter) before to - if they could have one. But we just brought Bell into it, and Bell's a 12-week-old Newfie, and she is watching the other two dogs train, and she's learning, and she's greeting people so that there's no problem interacting with the public.
SIMON: Oh, my gosh. Mr. Wilfert, you don't need any more ideas, but I have one I'd like to share with you.
WILFERT: Sure.
SIMON: Baywatch Canine Unit. What do you think?
WILFERT: (Laughter) I think it'd be perfect (laughter).
SIMON: I mean, theme song and everything.
WILFERT: Yeah, same song.
SIMON: Greg Wilfert is manager of Scarborough Beach State Park in Maine, and that's the summer office of Beacon, Buoy and Bell. Thanks so much for being with us.
WILFERT: All right. Well, thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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