Fun and amazing Facts about the Newfoundland Dog
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There are a lot of famous Newfoundland dogs throughout history. They truly are an amazing breed! Below are just a few facts about some of those magnificent animals. If you know a good story or legend of your own about a Newfoundland, please let me know!
LEGEND OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
THE DOG IN "PETER PAN"
Nana, the protective canine of Wendy Darling and her siblings in the Disney classic "Peter Pan," is, you guessed it, a Newfie! Newfoundland's reputation as "babysitters" is legendary.
SEAMAN, a member of the famed Lewis & Clark expedition.
A black Newfie, Seaman was a member of the first American overland expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and back. He was the only animal to complete the entire trip. Seaman was purchased in August 1803 for $20 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania by Captain Meriwether Lewis while he was in the city awaiting completion of the boats for the voyage.
During the expedition, around May 14, 1805, both Lewis and Clark performed surgery on one of Seaman's arteries in his hind leg, that had been severed by a beaver bite. In early 1806, as the expedition was beginning the return journey, Seaman was stolen by Indians! Lewis threatened to send three armed men to kill the Indian tribe and got him back. As horribly gruesome as it sounds to us, Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery ate over 200 dogs while traveling the famous Lewis and Clark Trail, but Seaman was spared.
PLUTO, pet of the Croatian operatic soprano Ilma de Murska, who used to dine at table with her and was trained to eat a cooked fowl from a place setting without dripping gravy on the tablecloth.
Gentle Ben wins as the favorite hero dog for the Canine World Heroes Tribute - 165 pounds of love!
FINALLY, I found a job even my Sam could do - click to find out what it is!
RIGEL, the Newfie who survived the Titanic's demise
Caution: hard to read without tearing up!
CARLO, Emily Dickinson's Newf
Emily Dickinson named her first and only dog, Carlo. This famous Newfie was a potent influence on her life and her poetry.
PLATO, Newfoundland dog of the famous naturalist, John James Audubon, who used the dog as a retriever, and who was famous for fetching two young great white herons, as well as saving his team in a treacherous Florida storm.
RUSS, the last dog owned by Richard Wagner, who was buried at the feet of his famous master in the composer's tomb in the park of Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth, under his own plaque: "Here rests and watches Wagner's Russ."
HENRY DAVID THOREAU QUOTE
“A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find you a Newfoundland that will do as much." (Sounds like Thoreau thought more of Newfies than mankind in general, if you ask me.)
LEGEND OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
THE DOG IN "PETER PAN"
Nana, the protective canine of Wendy Darling and her siblings in the Disney classic "Peter Pan," is, you guessed it, a Newfie! Newfoundland's reputation as "babysitters" is legendary.
SEAMAN, a member of the famed Lewis & Clark expedition.
A black Newfie, Seaman was a member of the first American overland expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and back. He was the only animal to complete the entire trip. Seaman was purchased in August 1803 for $20 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania by Captain Meriwether Lewis while he was in the city awaiting completion of the boats for the voyage.
During the expedition, around May 14, 1805, both Lewis and Clark performed surgery on one of Seaman's arteries in his hind leg, that had been severed by a beaver bite. In early 1806, as the expedition was beginning the return journey, Seaman was stolen by Indians! Lewis threatened to send three armed men to kill the Indian tribe and got him back. As horribly gruesome as it sounds to us, Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery ate over 200 dogs while traveling the famous Lewis and Clark Trail, but Seaman was spared.
PLUTO, pet of the Croatian operatic soprano Ilma de Murska, who used to dine at table with her and was trained to eat a cooked fowl from a place setting without dripping gravy on the tablecloth.
Gentle Ben wins as the favorite hero dog for the Canine World Heroes Tribute - 165 pounds of love!
FINALLY, I found a job even my Sam could do - click to find out what it is!
RIGEL, the Newfie who survived the Titanic's demise
Caution: hard to read without tearing up!
CARLO, Emily Dickinson's Newf
Emily Dickinson named her first and only dog, Carlo. This famous Newfie was a potent influence on her life and her poetry.
PLATO, Newfoundland dog of the famous naturalist, John James Audubon, who used the dog as a retriever, and who was famous for fetching two young great white herons, as well as saving his team in a treacherous Florida storm.
RUSS, the last dog owned by Richard Wagner, who was buried at the feet of his famous master in the composer's tomb in the park of Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth, under his own plaque: "Here rests and watches Wagner's Russ."
HENRY DAVID THOREAU QUOTE
“A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find you a Newfoundland that will do as much." (Sounds like Thoreau thought more of Newfies than mankind in general, if you ask me.)
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BOOMER, the largest Newfoundland on record: Boomer is a Landseer (a black and white Newfie) and measures 36 inches tall at the withers (the ridge between the shoulder blades where dogs and horses are measured for height) and 7 feet long from nose to tail tip. Even for a Newfoundland, Boomer is big. (According to the breed standards, 28 inches is an average height for males. And the 180 lb. Boomer weighs more than the typical Newf too, as the average weight for males ranges from 130 to 150 pounds.)
HENRY DAVID THOREAU QUOTE “A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find you a Newfoundland that will do as much." (Sounds like Thoreau thought more of Newfies than mankind in general, if you ask me.) |
GANDER - A TRUE WAR HERO!
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Pictured to the left is the famous painting by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer: Lion: A Newfoundland Dog, 1824, showing the classic "Landseer" markings of the Newfoundland breed. Newfies routinely beat up black bears! A Newfoundland once lifted a car off a trapped toddlers leg and thus saved her life! More stories will be added as I find them - please check back! |