Dog pulled alive 9 days after quake

A golden retriever called Romeo has been pulled from the rubble of Italy's earthquake, more than nine days after he was given up for dead.

Touching footage filmed by the firemen who saved him shows the shaggy dog being lifted out from under a pile of masonry that is all that remains of his owners' house.

Appearing completely relaxed, Romeo slurps his first drops of water in more than 230 hours from a bottle held by one of the firemen.

As it becomes clear he is unscathed, the fireman holding him puts him down. Romeo then tiptoes gracefully down the pile of rubble to be reunited with tearful owners who had given up hope of finding him alive.

Romeo's owners were sleeping on the second floor of their house in the tiny village of San Lorenzo a Flaviano when the earthquake struck before dawn on August 24.

They managed to get out, but Romeo, who was sleeping on the first floor, was trapped inside.

The toll from the deadliest quake to hit Italy since the 2009 L'Aquila disaster now stands at 294 confirmed.