Trading card canines: cards featuring cuddly canines make water safety fun--and save lives.

Something had to be done.

In the summer of 2001, the small city of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., suffered an epidemic of drownings. All of the victims were less than 8 years old.

Susan DeAntonio, an arson investigator with the fire department, remembers it well. "In only eight

Then DeAntonio had an idea. While watching the firehouse dogs swim at her home, she observed that even they adhere to the buddy system. "Their handlers feel that even for a healthy, full-grown dog, it isn't safe to swim alone," she says.

The Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department water safety trading cards were born.

The size of baseball cards, each showcases a local working dog. Although trading cards have been used by the fire department before, these are the first that are designed to get the message of water safety out to youngsters.

DeAntonio, with the help of a local community group, printed 8,000 wading cards. Firefighters have distributed some, while a nearby pool and spa retailer kept a large stack on its front desk. People have even started collecting the trading cards, and kids sometimes ask for the dogs' autographs.

Fortunately, similar efforts of many citizens have paid off. The number of yearly drownings in the city has dropped by less than half since 2000.

DeAntonio doesn't think the cards would've worked as well without the dogs. "Dogs reach kids with the message, whereas adults must seem to lecture and drone on," she says.

She puts her money where her mouth is, too. When the cards ran out a few months ago, DeAntonio financed the second print run herself. "You can't always tell when prevention is working, but it's worth the effort," she says.

The eight dogs featured in the card pack all work in Southern California. First, there's Gator, who is DeAntonio's arson investigation partner. He can smell the faint remnants of fuels used to start fires.

Also working in arson investigation are Sprocket and Danali, who is not yet fully trained. Wesley and Cheyenne are both trained as guide dogs. Vox helps out at a local veterinary office and provides transfusions for canine patients. Modoc, nicknamed "Doc," is an Urban Search and Rescue dog and is FEMA-certified to search through the rubble of buildings for people during an emergency. And Cochise, who re cently died, worked to help people recover from brain injuries.

DeAntonio plans to put out bicycle safety cards later this year. She only hopes they will work as well as the water safety cards.