Peter Maniate
New member
The following article originally appeared in the January, 2002 issue of Dogs in Canada magazine.
SEA DOGS AND SKIPPERS
My wildest dreams have come true - a book has just arrived in the mail entitled Sea Dogs and Skippers and it is published
in St. John’s Newfoundland. Quickly I read the covering letter which came from Flanker Press Ltd. and was signed by
Garry Cranford as both publisher and editor. The back cover of the book sums it up as “... sixteen tales of salty heroism
and tragedy by fourteen writers whose lives have been shaped by their experiences and knowledge of the North Atlantic
Ocean.” In the covering letter, Mr. Cranford sums up the connection to Newfoundland dogs: “The first two stories in this
collection debunks the famous myth of a Newfoundland dog HERO at the wreck of the SS Ethie in 1919.”
What nerve! thought I; he wants me to review a book that puts down a Newfie dog. That should make item 12,472 on
my to do list. However my curiosity got the better of me and I read and re-read the first two stories authored by Cassie
Brown. Once I got over my initial prejudice, I had to concede that her writings about the heroic rescue were well
researched and offered a viable alternative to the research done by Hilary Hyland, author of The Wreck of the Ethie, that
I wrote about in July, 2000.
In the alternate version of the story, Wisher was a small yellow Collie cross who happened to be with his master who was
helping bring the rope in from the ship wreck, and Wisher might have grabbed the rope at some point but just because
his master was holding on to it. Then an American reporter heard stories about the dog and sent these back to The
Philadelphia Ledger. The good people of Philadelphia sent in contributions for a silver collar award for the dog and Reuben
Decker was forced to accept the award on behalf of his dog, despite his protestations. Then a man from New Brunswick
bought Wisher and the collar in order to take them on tour; however, a large black Newfoundland dog was substituted
for the tour. This might explain why some versions of the story say the dog was named Tang - there may very well have
been a second dog involved.
My conclusion is that while this particular heroic Newfoundland dog story may be an exaggeration, there were many real
water rescues that were never documented as this role of the Newfie dog was so very common and just taken for granted.
Thus, just like the fictional Nana in the story of Peter Pan has come to symbolize the nanny instinct of the Newfoundland
dog, the story of Wisher, whether real or fictional, may do the same for the ocean life saving ability and instinct of our
Newfs.
[ 08-08-2007, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Peter Maniate ]
SEA DOGS AND SKIPPERS
My wildest dreams have come true - a book has just arrived in the mail entitled Sea Dogs and Skippers and it is published
in St. John’s Newfoundland. Quickly I read the covering letter which came from Flanker Press Ltd. and was signed by
Garry Cranford as both publisher and editor. The back cover of the book sums it up as “... sixteen tales of salty heroism
and tragedy by fourteen writers whose lives have been shaped by their experiences and knowledge of the North Atlantic
Ocean.” In the covering letter, Mr. Cranford sums up the connection to Newfoundland dogs: “The first two stories in this
collection debunks the famous myth of a Newfoundland dog HERO at the wreck of the SS Ethie in 1919.”
What nerve! thought I; he wants me to review a book that puts down a Newfie dog. That should make item 12,472 on
my to do list. However my curiosity got the better of me and I read and re-read the first two stories authored by Cassie
Brown. Once I got over my initial prejudice, I had to concede that her writings about the heroic rescue were well
researched and offered a viable alternative to the research done by Hilary Hyland, author of The Wreck of the Ethie, that
I wrote about in July, 2000.
In the alternate version of the story, Wisher was a small yellow Collie cross who happened to be with his master who was
helping bring the rope in from the ship wreck, and Wisher might have grabbed the rope at some point but just because
his master was holding on to it. Then an American reporter heard stories about the dog and sent these back to The
Philadelphia Ledger. The good people of Philadelphia sent in contributions for a silver collar award for the dog and Reuben
Decker was forced to accept the award on behalf of his dog, despite his protestations. Then a man from New Brunswick
bought Wisher and the collar in order to take them on tour; however, a large black Newfoundland dog was substituted
for the tour. This might explain why some versions of the story say the dog was named Tang - there may very well have
been a second dog involved.
My conclusion is that while this particular heroic Newfoundland dog story may be an exaggeration, there were many real
water rescues that were never documented as this role of the Newfie dog was so very common and just taken for granted.
Thus, just like the fictional Nana in the story of Peter Pan has come to symbolize the nanny instinct of the Newfoundland
dog, the story of Wisher, whether real or fictional, may do the same for the ocean life saving ability and instinct of our
Newfs.
[ 08-08-2007, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Peter Maniate ]