Remembering Bilbo - The Life-Saving Newfoundland

(Cornwallive.com) "Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and one of Cornwall’s best-loved and most fondly remembered had four legs, a shaggy brown coat and saved lives on the beach - Bilbo, the lifeguard dog. This beautiful, 14 stone Newfoundland used to patrol the sands at Sennen Cove with his owner Steve Jamieson, the head RNLI lifeguard, who had trained his canine friend to become an active lifesaver as well as an irresistible poster boy for promoting safety on the beach.

People stopped in their tracks whenever he was on duty, dressed in his own distinctive red and yellow jacket and often perched on the back of one of the lifeguard’s quad bikes. A gentle giant, he loved everyone, but proved time and time again that he wasn’t just a bear-like mountain of cuddly fluff."

In 2006 he caught the media’s attention as Britain’s first qualified lifeguard dog when the story broke about how Steve had patiently trained Bilbo up over the years to be a unique and priceless member of the Sennen crew.

Then aged five, Bilbo could charge into the water and rescue people in trouble from the sea in exactly the same way a certified human lifeguard would, towing them in quickly and gently behind him using a special float.

Newfoundlands were bred as water dogs and have powerful webbed feet like paddles, waterproof coats and a unique breaststroke style doggy paddle, and Bilbo seemed to have an instinctive drive to rescue. This wonder dog’s fan club kept growing and people would come to Sennen just to meet him, and be sorely disappointed if he wasn’t 'on duty.'

A couple of years later in 2008, Bilbo had been credited with saving at least three lives, as well as preventing countless potential tragedies by educating beach goers to be aware of the dangers of the sea and where to swim or surf safely. He was also regularly being asked to autograph - or paw print - the first little book about his life. The True Story of Bilbo, The Lifeguard Dog, written by Steve with author Janeta Hevizi was full of photos of the clever Newfoundland in action and was hugely popular with all ages.

But the clouds descended that year when Steve was told he could no longer bring his constant companion onto the beach in the summer to do his important work. West Cornwall’s Penwith District Council introduced a seasonal dog ban on the cove, insisting it had to be observed by all canines, including Bilbo. A suggestion that he could avoid the sand by only riding on the quad bike was said to be breaking health and safety rules. Thousands of people - both locals and holidaymakers protested, signing a petition demanding that he be regarded as a working dog so he could carry on with his unofficial beach safety job. The council eventually backtracked a little and agreed that Steve could bring Bilbo with him to Sennen beach twice a week during dog ban season for just two hours at a time in order to promote beach safety. His contribution was celebrated far and wide, and the following year Bilbo won 'Dog of the Day' on the working dogs’ day at Crufts.

A DVD was made of Bilbo in action, featuring dramatic sea rescue demonstrations with the lifeguard team, with sales raising money for three Cornish charities - The Precious Lives Appeal, The Cinnamon Trust and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

Then, in 2011, Steve decided to give up being a lifeguard and concentrate more on educating children about the sea and waves. He and Bilbo became ambassadors for beach safety, visiting schools all over the county and beyond to share important lifesaving lessons that seemed to get through far more easily when delivered by a bona-fide, 89kg doggy hero. The sad news came in May 2015 that Bilbo had died aged 12, a good age for a Newfoundland, but utterly heartbreaking all the same. Steve announced: 'My lovely boy slipped his moorings yesterday afternoon and sailed off without me. RIP Bilbo 2003-2015.' A devastated Steve said at the time: 'He was my best pal and would follow me everywhere – as I would him. I feel privileged that Bilbo chose me to spend his life with. He had the best qualities of all Newfoundlands – as Lord Byron said – he had courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices.'

Tributes came flooding in from all over the world and there were calls for a statue to be erected in his honour. And a few months later Steve accepted a posthumous award from the Cornishman on Bilbo’s behalf - the title of Teacher of the Year.

You can witness Bilbo in action in these two YouTube clips of features for the BBC’s Extraordinary Animals series Bilbo the Lifeguard Dog and Man vs Dog Life Saving Challenge The whole story of Bilbo's life is told in Steve Jamieson's book, Bilbo the Lifeguard Dog: A True Story of Friendship and Heroism, published by Pan Macmillan in 2016."