Regular meals, plenty of walks, the occasional biscuit – and rescuing nine people from drowning. Yes, Whizz the Newfoundland led an extraordinary dog’s life. The gentle giant was one of only a handful of dogs in the UK trained to help save people in difficulty in the water.
Owner David Pugh happily acknowledges that Whizz has been his greatest success story. He set up Newfound Friends in 1989 to showcase the work Newfoundlands can do through demonstrations of their skills in the water, all while raising money for charity.
So far, Whizz has been the only Newfound Friend to have carried out life-saving work outside of these display sessions.
The 12-stone gentle giant spent years patrolling the Bristol Channel and the River Severn with the Royal Navy, the Severn Area Rescue Association and the Marine Volunteer Service.
In 2008, Whizz pulled two young girls to safety who had got into difficulty in their dinghy off Oxwich beach, South Wales.
