‘You feel so light’: swimming dogs help emergency workers deal with trauma

Pete Lewin's Newfoundlands also provide emotional therapy for veterans and young people with disabilities

All you can hear is the water and the dogs paddling. That's it, there's nothing else," said student paramedic Abigail Walker after emerging from Stanton lakes in Leicestershire, where she had been swimming with three Newfoundland dogs. Until you've done it, I don't think you realise how calming it is."

It was her first time trying a type of emotional therapy pioneered by Pete Lewin, a paramedic who travels the country helping emergency services staff deal with trauma with the help of his pack of canines.