Newf! Newf!

[hellosailor]

For those of you who have never owned livestock...in the slow news days here in the US we've been made aware of a Newfoundland dog named Bilbo (no doubt after Bilbo Baggins?) who is on official duty as a lifesaving dog in England.

http://www.penwith.gov.uk/index.cfm?Articleid=19952

Bilbo is a small dog by Newf standards. The breed was once stocked--literally--as crew in the original US Lifesaving Service coast watch stations, for rescue duty. And carried aboard ships for the same purpose.

There's also another one named "Mas" who is working in Italy. Mas is teamed with a helicopter rescue swimmer, and Mas jumps out of the chopper along with his master!

Then there's the French government, which apparently doesn't have any Newfs on staff right now, but has run tests and determined that one Newfoundland dog is sufficient to pull one life boat with 20 survivors on board. Don't ask me why, they didn't say.<G>

Pets on board? No sir, that's my rescue swimmer. He's crew!

[Catamount]

We have a Newf/Golden Retriever mix, about the same age as Bilbo. Our Baxter weighs in at almost 150 pounds, is over 6 feet long from tip of nose to tip of tail, can rest his chin on the dining room table, and loves the water. He used to get very anxious when he would see people swimming as he instinctively knows it is his job to rescue them. If he swims up to you, just push his head away, grab his tail, and he will tow you into shore.