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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Seaman: A Newfoundland Dog on the Lewis and Clark Trail

One of my favorite parts of the Lewis and Clark story is Clark's dog, Seaman. I had read every book I knew of about Seaman long before I became the author of Sacagawea's story.

Newfoundlands are one of my favorite breeds. But the Newfoundland we think of may be very different from the Newfoundland that Clark owned. Newfoundlands used to be black and white like the picture below. (Clicking on the picture will take you to a book by Alexander Anderson published in 1790.)

The Newfoundland Dog
According to Wikipedia: 
The Newfoundland is a Working dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, gray, or black and white (Landseer). They were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland, now part of Canada.[1][2] They are known for their giant size, tremendous strength, calm dispositions, and loyalty. Newfoundland dogs excel at water rescue/lifesaving because of their muscular build, thick double coat, webbed feet, and innate swimming abilities.[3]
One of the reasons the Newfoundland is such a great swimmer is its webbed feet. I can't confirm whether or not the following picture is a Newfoundland's paw, but it gives you an idea of what a web paw looks like. (The paw below appears to be a lot smaller than a Newfoundland paw.)


I am a dog lover, and I've always wanted a Newfoundland dog. However, after seeing this picture of how much undercoat these dogs have, maybe I'm blessed to have two dogs that don't shed!

http://sjdog.com/SanJosedoggroomers/SanJosedoggroomers.html


Here's a Newfoundland with black and white markings. Isn't he gorgeous?


Another black and white Newfie loving the water as he's made to do.


The following picture made me smile because in my research I read that when some of the natives first saw Seaman they thought he might be a baby buffalo. You can really see why in this picture! Even the tail looks like a buffalo's!


Here are links to my two most favorite books about Seama:



Can you think of some other famous Newfoundland dogs? I know of at least five. I'll give you a hint. One of them belonged to a French ruler.

4 comments:

  1. Need more info about seaman....!!! C:

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  2. I love Seaman, too! So glad you stopped by.

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  3. I am trying to do a proj on Seaman....this helped thanx

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Thanks for commenting!