Boatswain
While the date of this picture is unknown, Boatswain, Lord Byron's first Newfoundland, was born in Newfoundland in May of 1803 and died 18 November 1808.
An extremely popular poet in his lifetime, Byron (1788-1824) was notorious in his life for scandalous behavior, and was also known for his great fondness for animals, and throughout his life kept a menagerie of various creatures. Of all his pets Byron was most fond of his first Newfoundland dog, Boatswain, acquired when Byron was 15; Boatswain died of rabies 5 years later, with Byron famously nursing his dog through that illness without fear of being bitten. (Boatswain is typically pronounced “boh – zun,” and is often written “Bo’s’n” or “Bos’n.” A boatswain [literally “boat –lover”] is a ship’s officer in charge of sails and rigging, and who oversees crew duties. Presumably Byron chose the name to reflect the fact Newfoundlands are famous for being water-rescue dogs.)
When Boatswain died, Byron had the dog interred in an elaborate monument on the grounds of his ancestral estate, Newstead Abbey; the tomb was built with space for Byron’s coffin when he should die, but Byron, who died in Greece, was in fact buried in the family vault in nearby St. Mary Magdalene Church.
The monument to Boatswain features the oft-quoted (by Newfie lovers, anyway) "Inscription on a Monument to a Newfoundland Dog." While for many years it was assumed that Byron wrote the entire inscription, it is now believed by Byron scholars that his friend John Cam Hobhouse wrote the first twelve lines, the oft-cited epitaph. Click on the link just above for more about Byron and his tributes, both poetic and monumental, to his beloved dog.