TALES OF AL

A celebrated long-distance open-water swimmer recounts the amazing water-rescue canines at an Italian training school.

When Cox—a dog lover and author of Swimming to Antarctica, among other books—happened across a video of a Newfoundland fearlessly leaping from a rescue helicopter into a lake to save a drowning man, she was intrigued. Most canines “are terrified of loud noises,” and the large, shambling Newfoundlands she had known had never struck her as especially agile. Noting that the dog was part of the Sculoa Italiana Cani Salvataggio, the Italian School of Rescue Dogs, Cox decided to investigate. She flew to Milan to meet the school’s vice president, Donatella Pasquale, and her 2-year-old Newfoundland, Al. Pasquale had trained many dogs, including Alyssha, another Newfoundland that had become a lifesaving legend. Al, however, confounded Pasquale due to the slowness of her progress as well as the way she was distracted by everything from insects and ducks to swimmers. In the weeks that followed, Cox shadowed the SICS members to learn how the dogs became water rescuers and swam with the canines to get a sense of what she discovered was an endurance swimmer–like relationship to the water. She also witnessed as a nervous Pasquale took the sometimes-willful Al to be certified by the Italian Coast Guard as a rescue dog. It was only after Al passed that Pasquale realized her dog’s distractedness was actually a manifestation of her extreme sensitivity to signals, such as raised wings and arms. She believed other living beings were telling her that they needed to be rescued. Engagingly told in simple yet eloquent language, this unique story about the human-canine bond—and, in particular, one woman’s belief in an apparently difficult but ultimately exceptional dog—is a treat for animal lovers of all ages.

A heartwarming delight.