:: Can CH. Topmast's Duchess of Pense ::

:: ...Beauty without vanity... ::

Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear...
- Rudyard Kipling

Read the entire poem here.

What is it about the Newfoundland dog? I have had people ask me this and all I could say was, "Wait till you meet Duchess." I can't say that anymore, of course, but I still have the same reaction - the pictures come out and the stories are told again, and my heart goes back to a time when the best part of the day was getting off the school bus and seeing Duchie's huge black form hurtling down the driveway to greet us... her jowls and ears flapping in the wind and making her look like an insane bear who'd got into the Rogaine. We'd collide in mid-air and then the next ten minutes would be a tangle of massive, happy Newf, a teenage girl and her younger brother, laughing and yelping and completely ruining our school clothes. We'd open the door to the mudroom just long enough to toss our mangled bookbags in, and then we were off to explore our acreage in the way you can only explore with a Newf by your side.

First of all, in order to get a glimpse of the true wonder of this kind of dog, you need to see what it looks like. Here we have a gallery full of some of the most whimsical and heart-squeezing pictures of our own gentle giant. You'll not only see what a huge animal this dog is, but you'll have the opportunity to see how truly gentle they are. You can also see other pictures of other Newfies by clicking the "More Newfies" link above.

Then you have to understand the character. Canine, yes of course... but then something else... something more. A sense of humor, a delight in the unusual... curiosity that doesn't diminish after puppyhood... a stubborn and willful personality... a profound and abiding love for its family... an intelligence that is breathtaking. A gentleness that brings tears to the eyes, and a solemn companionship that makes you realize that you never knew what a friend was until you met this dog. You look into their eyes and you have to remind yourself that they are not humans. After a while, you don't bother to.

Then you have to meet one. No, not one, several. Because they are all so unique, so individual with their own personality, their own special paw print on your heart. You have to meet a puppy, to see what laughter looks like in living form... then you have to see an adult, to see the embodiment of nobility. Then you have to see them together to understand the incredible goofiness that runs like a river through all of them!

After all this, you still won't have grasped the full spectrum of what these dogs bring to our lives. Because to do that takes a lifetime of living with them, sharing their fun, letting them share your pain. It takes years of leaping off the bottom step of the stairwell so you don't wake her... sprawled and content, but with one ear listening to her family's breathing upstairs. Years of compromise, and adapting to their messes in your home and realizing you'd do it all and more for just one more year... just one more spring... one more snowfall with them.

And then you have to lose one. You have to feel the stillness of your hallway when you come home. No more whuffling and panting as she makes her way to shove you happily with her nose. No more black fur over everything you own, and it looks so bare... so lifeless. You have to experience the wild pound of your heart when a shadow moves outside your window and you think it's her... before you remember. The kitchen floor is dry and her water bowl is clean and empty on the shelf. Just like your heart.

Then, my friend, have you known a Newf.
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