Augustus A. Gould (1805 - 1866) was an American doctor and naturalist, particularly known for his work on mollusks. The full title of this book is A System of Natural History: containing scientific and popular descriptions of man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles and insects. It was published twice in 1834 (Brattleboro, VT: Fessenden; Boston: Carter, Hendee)and never again.
The title page of this work indicates that most of its material is drawn from various previous works of natural history, and it identifies Gould as "editor" rather than author. Fitting. The information in Gould's entry on Newfs is only slightly edited from Thomas Bewick's A General History of Quadrupeds (1790).
The Newfoundland Dog
This animal, which came originally from the island whence it derives its name, has a remarkably pleasing countenance, is exceedingly docile, and of great size and sagacity. In their native country, they are extremely useful to the settlers on the coast, who employ them to bring wood from the interior. Three or four of them, yoked to a sledge, will draw three hundred weight of wood for several miles. In the performance of this task they are so expert as to need no driver. After having delivered their load, they will return to the woods with the empty sledge, and are then rewarded by being fed with dried fish.
The feet of this dog are more palmated than usual; which structure enables it to swim very fast, to dive easily, and to bring up anything from the bottom of the water. It is, indeed, almost as fond of the water as if it were an amphibious animal. So sagacious is it, and so prompt in lending assistance, that it has saved the lives of numberless persons, who were on the point of drowning; and this circumstance, together with its uniform good temper, has justly rendered it a universal favorite.
Gould footnotes the title of this section, with "C. f. extrarius". That would be Canis familiaris, the standard scientific name for the dog still today (when considered as a separate species from the wolf, anyway), with "extrarius" being Latin for "strange, foreign."