Bowser
Ah, Bowser. He’s actually two dogs, both belonging to my sister. My sister’s first Newfie, Beastie, was a huge black beast of a dog. His kennel name was Bete Noir (Black Beast) because he was born on April 15th (income tax day) but he was called Beastie. My sister and her husband chose Newfies because they’re so wonderful with children. It’s a Newfoundland in Peter Pan who’s the nanny for the Darling children. They’re historically the caretakers, sweet and wise and mellow, and Beastie lived up to that.
Unfortunately he died young, and in turn Bowser was born. There was never any doubt in our mind that Bowswer and Beastie were the same dog — Beastie’s old soul had entered Bowser and stayed there.
Abby’s Bowser is again a combination of the two. He’s not smarter than Abby, but he’s certainly wiser, wiser than most humans or dogs put together. He looks out for Abby, will protect her from any danger if she hasn’t already managed to save herself, and views the emotional trouble she gets into with sympathy and patience.
He also has the good sense to know, well before Abby does, that Christopher is the right man, and his approval of the annoying professor only irritates Abby more.
Newfies don’t live very long, due to their huge size (it’s just too hard on their hearts). Bowser ended up being buried in an old mink coat on my mother’s land. We like to think the archaeologists of the future will be very confused by the DNA they find.
Bowser was an exemplary Newfie — he didn’t drool and never had mats. But even if his real-life counterpart did, he was a great addition to our lives, and it was wonderful to have him back again while we wrote this book, even for a while.
Have any of you had huge dogs, like Newfies, St. Bernards, Swiss Mountain Dogs, etc? My aunt Alice, who breeds Springers (the kind of dogs we always have) says that we love all our dogs, but in our lives there are certain dogs we call “heart dogs”. The ones that we somehow manage to bond with even more than the others that we love dearly. I think Milton is a heart dog for Jenny (much as we all adore Wolfie <and Veronica, who doesn’t appear in the book>).
Who were your heart dogs?
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Sophie, our 100 pound, wolf-collie-malamute mix, was the heart dog. Colored like a collie, with a bushy tail that curved over her back like a malamute and a face that was pure wolf, Sophie was a heart-stopping beauty. And when she smiled, she was just heart stopping. The wolf grin scared everybody who saw it the first time. Fortunately, it really meant she was glad to see you.
We had concerns when stories of wolf dogs attacking children came out in the news shortly after we got Sophie. But she was the gentlest dog. She’d let kids crawl all over her (we never left small children alone with her, she weighed 100 pounds, after all), until she’d had enough. Then she’d quietly go to her bed for a nap.
Sophie was the first big dog I’d ever had and the first dog my husband and I got together. I learned from her that after death, a big dog leaves a hole in the family that’s much larger than her size.
Now, she sits on the mantel, in a wooden box that’s about the same color she was. Children are still drawn to her, wanting to know what’s in the box, and how such a large dog, with such a big heart, could fit in such a small container.
I love the Akita breed but after this one, doubt I’ll have another large breed dog. Rabs weighed 116 and lived to be thirteen which is old for the breed. He was magnificent. A brindle with a huge black face.
Nikki weighs 106 (the vet prefers high nineties and we’re working on that)she’s palomino with a black face and her white patches are the purest white. She’s an amazing, loving, and very protective pal and at nine years I hate to even think of how little time we have left.
My friends think I’m weird because I talk to Nik like she’s human and she talks to me. I never have to second guess what she wants. I figure it’s like being married for a long time, we know each others habits and signals. : )
We have a Border Collie, Brown Dirt Cowboy, “Cowboy” for short, and although not a huge dog, he is the smartest dog we have ever had the pleasure to call family. He’s worked sheep, kept a wandering toddler in the yard, and chased a Rotweiler twice his weight off the property after it decided to attack my sheep and my pet goat. His heart does not recognize his size.
We live in suburbia now, and he’s retired. Although I love and respect the breed, I would not get another unless we went back to a farm again, which I doubt. After having numerous dogs, and he has by far been the easiest to train, and the most intelligent, although busiest, dog I have ever known.
Cookie, which was shortened from Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, is my heart dog. I love all my babies, but Cookie will always hold a special place in my heart. Sweetest dog ever.
She was a mutt. Cream coat with brown splotches. Because of her breed she wasn’t very smart and she had a lot of health problems, but a wonderful, sweet dog.
Miss her every day.
My own dog is little-ish (Jack Russell x whippet) but a good friend loves big dogs. Her favourites are Irish Wolfhounds (which I think look more like donkeys than dogs) and she currently has a Great Dane. I prefer dogs I can pick up and carry out of trouble.
I grew up with a Samoyed who came from Newfoundland. She lived 11 years and was the perfect dog for a childhood. Being 110 pounds, she got her own bench seat in the van, my brother and I had to share. Aside from getting freaked out by fireworks, she was pretty calm as we climbed over her, made her pull wagons (sled dog!), and used her for a pillow. If I ever live in a big space again, I will get a big dog.
We also have a Border Collie, a black and white smooth coat named MacIintosh. He’s definitely the heart dog. A year old when we rescued him, he was instantly a vital member of the family, and turning our lives inside out to accommodate his needs seemed second nature.
We don’t have room for sheep, so Mac quickly made the kids’ pet bunnies his “job”. He spends hours circling their 10′x10′ pen, which is moved frequently. From the air, our back yard looks like a collection of crop circles. Mac’s ten now, the kids are grown and gone, but we still have bunnies. As the saying goes, if you don’t give a Border Collie a job, he’ll find one, and you probably won’t like it.
My MiL is so not an animal person. She was terrified of Mac at first, and he knew it. So, he approached her very shyly, sat politely in front of her chair, and laid one paw ever so lightly on her knee. She melted. Shortly thereafter, Grandma’s house held a large container of treats, a special water bowl, and an orthopedic dog bed in case he might want a nap (she’s a mile down the road; he’s never there more than a couple of hours:)). I’m pretty sure he’s her heart dog, too.
THREE MONTHS BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED MY HUSBAND GOT A GERMAN SHEPHERD FROM THE POUND. HE WAS AN OLD SOUL FROM THE START AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MY HUSBAN AND OUR DEAR SWEET ELWOOD WAS INSTANT AND STRONG. I SWEAR THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER AND WOULD ROAM THE WOODS FOR HOURS TOGETHER. WE MOVED FOR JOBS AND HAD TO RENT A DUPLEX FOR A SHORT TIME. ELWOOD STILL NEVER WENT OUT OF OUR SIDE AND NEVER WENT IN THE STREET, LIKE THIS WAS NOT A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE. AMAZING. ONE NIGHT OUR NEIGHBORS HAD A PARTY AND ELWOOD WENT MISSING. MY HUSBAND SOBBED AS THOUGH HE HAD LOST A CHILD OR A BROTHER, IT WAS DEVASTATING. AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH WE NEVER DID FIND HIM AND IT HAS BEEN A HOLE IN OUR HEARTS. DEFINATELY A HEART DOG!
My angel was a Great Pyr named Rufus. He was a rescue. Before we found each other, he had been a LGD, so whenever I left for work, he’d break out of the house and find goats or other livestock in nearby aareas. he once broke into a llama farm and wouldn’t allow the owners in to feed the stock until I came to drag him home. He ended up getting bone cancer and after visiting with the oncologist a few times, he told me it was time. He was the best dog I’ve ever had, and even though we only had a few years together, he will always be my angel. I have two small dogs as well, a pom and a rat terrier, the pom is alpha. It was so funny seeing a ten pound hair ball bully a 140lb giant. Giant dogs are the best. They know they are big and they are so gentle to makke up for it. My Rufus was my child. Best baby ever.
I was always a cat person, and I was bit on the face by a dog as a young child, so I was always afraid of dogs. But, I married into a family with dogs, and I began to tolerate them, and even appreciate them.
But, when we got two puppies for our girls, and raised them, I began to know what a dog really is, and slowly lost a lot of my fear. So I’d have to say, Kengo and Colleen are my heart dogs, because they taught me to love dogs, and overcome my fear. (They are brother and sister — mutts, but with a lot of Shiba-ken in them, so they’ve got pointy “cat” ears, and a lot of intelligence and directed energy).