Beacon and Buoy are not your typical lifeguards. See them in action at a Maine beach

Madeleine List
·2 min read
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Beacon and Buoy aren’t like the lifeguards you saw on Baywatch.

Instead of skimpy red bathing suits, they don red life jackets with handles on the back. And instead of glistening tan muscles, they have shiny black fur — lots of it.

But even though they don’t look like your average lifeguard, these Newfoundlands are trained to save lives just like their human counterparts.

The dogs can assist with emergency rescues by responding to distressed swimmers and helping tow them back to shore, Greg Wilfert, manager at Scarborough Beach State Park, told News Center Maine.

Beacon started working at the beach during the summer of 2022. This year, 11-month-old Buoy joined her, WGME reported. Scarborough Beach State Park is on Maine’s southeastern coast, about 10 miles south of Portland.

Photos and videos on Facebook show the dogs practicing riding jet skis and fetching items from the water in their life jackets.

Wilfert did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

The dogs were trained by the American Academy of Canine Water Rescue, a Massachusetts-based organization. The dogs earned a “land to water certification” in May, according to a post from the organization.

Newfoundlands are large and powerful and have waterproof coats and webbed feet, making them a good breed for water rescue missions, according to the Newfoundland Club of America. The dogs, which are often called “Newfies,” can weigh between 100 and 150 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club. They are named after the Newfoundland province of Canada, where the breed originated.

Besides helping protect swimmers, Beacon and Buoy with their cute faces and fluffy coats also help make beachgoers happy.

“They come up and ask if they can pat them and we let them,” Wilfert told WGME. “... they’re very affectionate dogs.”

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