During the late war, when the Leander Frigate was stationed off Halifax in Nova Scotia, there was an old Newfoundland dog on board. He had been attached to the ship many years, and several instances were recorded of his extraordinary sagacity and sense. The sailors one and all declared that he understood what was said, and the following circumstance would appear to prove it. He was a great favourite with the crew, and of course had been kindly treated. He was lying on the deck one day when the Captain in passing by said, 'I shall be sorry to do it, but I must have Neptune shot, as he is getting old and infirm.' Whether there was any thing in the tone of voice which frightened the dog, I leave my reader to judge, but he immediately afterwards jumped overboard and swam to a ship which was near the Leander. He was taken on board and remained in it till he died. Nothing could ever induce him to return to the Leander. If the dog happened to be on shore, and any of her boats or crew came near the place where he was, he immediately made off, and nothing could make him approach his old acquaintances. The lady who told me the anecdote was at Halifax at the time, where the circumstance I have been relating was the subject of much conversation. She herself heard it from the captains of both the ships. (17 - 18)

A Newfoundland bitch had suckled two puppies until they were able to take care of themselves. They were, however, constantly following her and disturbing her in order to be suckled when she had little or no milk to give them. She was confined in a shed which was separated from another by a wooden partition some feet high. Into this shed she conveyed her puppies and left them there while she returned to the other to enjoy a night's rest unmolested. This shews that the animal was capable of reflecting to a degree beyond what would have been the result of mere instinct. (26)

Mr. Poynder, the brother to the Treasurer of Christ's Hospital, brought home last February from Newfoundland a dog, a native of that country. This animal had established a strong claim on his master's affection, from the circumstance of his having twice saved his life by his sagacity in finding the road home, when Mr. Poynder had lost his way in snow-storms, many miles from any shelter. He had also, swam more than three miles to gain the ship after his master had em barked for England, and determined to leave the animal to the care of friends at Newfoundland. Mr. Poynder landed at Blackwall and took the dog in a coach to his father's house at Clapham. He was there placed in a stable, which he did not leave until the second day after his arrival, when he accompanied his master in a coach to Christ's Hospital. He left the coach in Newgate Street, and proceeded through the passage leading to the treasurer's house; not being able to gain admittance at the garden entrance, Mr. Poynder went round to the front door, and thinks he left the dog at the garden entrance, for he did not recollect seeing him afterwards. In the hurry and excitement of meeting his friends, he for a few minutes forgot his dog, but the moment he recollected himself, he went in search of him. He was no where to be seen, and his master hastened to prepare his description and to offer a reward in the public papers. Early, however, next morning a letter arrived from the captain of the ship, in which Mr. Poynder had sailed from Newfoundland, informing him that the dog was safe on board, having swam to the vessel early on the previous day. By comparing the time on which he arrived, with that when he was missing, it appeared that he must have gone directly through the city from Christ's Hospital to Wapping, where he took to the water. (27 - 28)

A gentleman in Denbighshire had a pointer and a Newfoundland dog. The former broke his leg, and was for some weeks confined to a kennel. The latter brought him a share of his bones, and would sit for hours together by the side of his suffering companion.
One of the late chaplains of the embassy at Lisbon, brought to England with him a dog of the Newfoundland breed, so large that he was obliged to go by sea from Torquay to London, as no public coach would convey him. Though so immense in size, he was very gentle, but perfectly aware of his own powers. When his master was at the hotel at Torquay, the waiter spoke savagely to the dog, and tried to prevent him going where he wished. With one stroke of his paw he felled the waiter, and then passed on without doing him any further mischief. When his feet were dirty, he always entered the passage and ascended the stairs on tip-toe to avoid being detected, but when his feet were dry, he trod with all his weight and made as much noise as a pony. After being two days at the hotel, he wanted water. A gentleman, who related the circumstance, saw the dog go to the kitchen, take up a pail in his mouth, and carry it to the pump in the yard. He sat down by it till one of the servants came out, and then his gestures were so significant that the man pumped the pail full. When he had drank a sufficient quantity of water, he took up the pail again and carried it to the same place in the kitchen from whence he had taken it. (30 - 31)