Newfound Friends Trivia Quiz

Answer: S.S. Ethie

Thanks to Tang, all 92 passengers were saved. The dog received a gold medal, which he wore for the rest of his life, for his courage.

Answer: Gander

Gander was once the family pet of Rod Hayden, and was called Pal. Hayden gave the dog to the Rifles, who renamed him Gander after the naval base they were defending. Gander became their mascot. He fought beside them and saved many lives, but he made his most famous rescue during a Japanese attack on the beaches of Hong Kong Island, where the Rifles were stationed. An enemy grenade landed in a large circle of Canadian soldiers. Gander grabbed the grenade in his mouth and ran with it as far away from the soldiers as he could -- before it exploded in his mouth, killing him instantly. Sixty years later, Gander won the prestigious Dickin Medal for his sacrifice.

Answer: True

Napoleon couldn't swim, and fell overboard in the darkness on the way to Elba. Even after a Newfoundland on board saved him from drowning, he hated dogs. Perhaps he was feeling bitter because his archenemy, Lord Nelson, kept a Newfoundland beside him in battle!

Answer: Villa

On February 11, 1983, a violent blizzard hit the Cape May Peninsula. Anderson, who was playing in the snow outside, was picked up by the storm and buried chest-deep in a snowdrift. She would have died of hypothermia if Villa, a Newf belonging to a next-door neighbor, hadn't heard her call for help.

She jumped the six-foot fence of her run and tracked Anderson through the snow. She found the girl and pulled her out of the snowdrift and back to her house through gale-force wind.

Answer: Kodiak

Cullen fell asleep when she was cooking. Kodiak was outside at the time, but he smelled smoke and woke his owner by banging against the door.
Kodiak's devotion to his owner showed when he was acting, too -- but not exactly in a good way! He would only obey commands from Cullen or one of her friends, and completely ignored the men on the set. He would actually leave the set if he thought a scene had been shot too many times! The dog proved he had a heart as big as his ego, though.
Besides being an actor and a lifesaver, Kodiak holds the record for being the most titled Newf in the entire history of the breed.
Another famous Newfoundland actor was Nana in the original "Peter Pan" movie.

Answer: Boatswain

Byron acquired the Newfoundland when he was a young boy living at Newstead Abbey. He was so attached to Boatswain that, when the dog died, he vowed to be buried in the same grave. It didn't work out that way, since Byron died fighting in a civil war in Greece, but he did write a famous epitaph to Boatswain, and a poem in his honor.

Answer: Seaman

The huge black dog was known to protect the explorers' camp when it was attacked by a grizzly. An American Indian was so impressed with Seaman that he offered three skins for him, but the men declined. Later Seaman was kidnapped by another group of Indians -- to be eaten at a tribal banquet. Lewis and Clark sent out a search-and-rescue party, and eventually the Indians handed the dog over.

Answer: QueQue

QueQue is known to have been such a pest to the British when they blockaded Boston Harbor that they were only too happy to admit defeat and leave!
Newfoundlands were very popular in America at that time -- George Washington and Benjamin Franklin also had Newfs.

Answer: Brumis

Brumis was a true celebrity. You could find the big black dog in the halls of the Justice Department, sometimes sneaking into the FBI section of the building! Sometimes the dog "sat in" at Kennedy's feet during top secret meetings. And any dinner guest at the Kennedy household had better watch out -- if Brumis got half a chance, he would snatch food from the table.

Note - some sites have the spelling as Brumus, but Brumis seems to be the more generally accepted version.

Answer: False

The first dog trained to leap from a helicopter to rescue drowning people is an Italian Newf named Mas. She has earned the title of First Canine Lifeguard. Mas is now eleven years old and suffers from arthritis, but she is still a celebrity. She and her trainer, Ferruccio Pilenga, are currently training more dogs to use this amazing water rescue technique.
Keep researching Newfies, and you'll be rewarded with more incredible stories of these big, furry lifeguards.