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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
47
CHAPTER
V
THE
NEWFOUNDLAND
The
dogs
which
take
their
name
from
the
island
of
Newfoundland
appeal
to
all
lovers
of
animals,
romance,
and
beauty.
A
Newfoundland
formed
the
subject
of
perhaps
the
most
popular
picture
painted
by
Sir
Edwin
Landseer;
a
monument
was
erected
by
Byron
over
the
grave
of
his
Newfoundland
in
proximity
to
the
place
where
the
poet
himself
hoped
to
be
buried,
at
Newstead
Abbey,
and
the
inscription
on
his
monument
contains
the
lines
so
frequently
quoted:
"But
the
poor
dog
in
life
the
firmest
friend,
The
first
to
welcome,
foremost
to
defend,
Whose
honest
heart
is
still
his
master's
own,
Who
labours,
fights,
lives,
breathes
for
him
alone.
To
mark
a
friend's
remains
these
stones
arise:
I
never
knew
but
one,
and
here
he
lies."
Robert
Burns,
also,
in
his
poem,
"The
Twa
Dogs,"
written
in
1786,
refers
to
a
Newfoundland
as
being
an
aristocrat
among
dogs.
Doubtless,
other
breeds
of
dogs
have
been
the
subjects
of
popular
pictures
and
have
had
their
praises
sung
by
poets,
but
the
Newfoundlands
have
yet
a
further
honour,
unique
amongst
dogs,
in
being
the
subject
for
a
postage
stamp
of
their
native
land.
All
these
distinctions
and
honours
have
not
been
conferred
without
reason
for
no
breed
of
dogs
has
greater
claim
to
the
title
of
friend
of
man,
and
it
has
become
famous
for
its
known
readiness
and
ability
to
save
persons
in
danger,
especially
from
drowning.
It
is
strong
and
courageous
in
the
water,
and
on
land
a
properly
trained
Newfoundland
is
an
ideal
companion
and
guard.
Innumerable
are
the
accounts
of
Newfoundlands
having
proved
their
devotion
to
their
owners,
and
of
the
many
lives
saved
by
them
in
river
and
sea;
and
when
Sir
Edwin
Landseer
selected
one
of
the
breed
as
the
subject
of
his
picture
entitled,
"A
Distinguished
Member
of
the
Humane
Society,"
he
was
justified
not
only
by
the
sentiment
attaching
to
this
remarkable
race
of
dogs,
but
also
by
the
deeds
by
which
Newfoundlands
have
made
good
their
claim
to
such
great
distinction,
and
the
popular
recognition
of
this,
no
doubt,
in
some
degree
added
to
the
great
esteem
in
which
this
painting
has
always
been
held.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
