They are five Newfoundlands, and they have just received the Hero Dog award for heroic dog of the year in England. A reward given each year at the Crufts Awards to our British neighbors who organize this great canine competition, broadcast on TV on Channel 4, watched by millions of viewers and which often highlights great stories, here, in this case the one of these dogs crowned Heroes of the year.
Their names are Bob, Storm, Sonar, Ralph and Walker, they are all good big Newfoundlands, these huge dogs with long jet black hair. All were trained by Pete Lewin, 64, to save people from drowning. This is the reason why he adopted them, the Newfoundlands being known for their ability to swim and to be able to get people in distress out of the water. Except that they have specialized over the years in a different type of rescue.
For months, Pete Lewin, whose real job is a paramedic, took every day off teaching them how to bring victims to shore, training with them in a lake, until one of his his colleagues, a nurse, asks her if she could accompany him, once, to see. So he took her to the lake, threw her into the water, and allowed herself to be saved by Sonar, one of the dogs, completely abandoning himself to his swimming, hearing only his breathing, an experience of letting go that totally changed his life. Coming out of the water, she burst into tears, the dog remained snuggled up against her and she confided to Peter Lewin that the same morning she had decided to end her life during the week.
All dogs are heroes, but our Kennel Club Hero Dog of #Crufts 2022 is Pete Lewin and his team of Newfoundlands!! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/CMyrG5T0ih
— Crufts (@Crufts) March 13, 2022
“From thereexplains the paramedic to the Times, I understood that dogs could not only save physically but also emotionally. ” In the hospital of his city, near Birmingham, the word is spread. A drug addict also had the experience of letting himself be saved by dogs in the lake, with the same saving effect. Then, over the years, others have followed, recently many caregivers, overworked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the many cases of depression it has caused.
All say they have left their anxieties in the water, and above all have been revived, consoled by the gaze of these dogs, who do not judge, criticize or condemn anyone. “It looks very simple, very innocent, Pete Lewin told the BBC, but it works”. And it saves.