[ London Times ]
This newspaper, most correctly known simply as The Times, began publication in 1785 and continues to this day.
The November 5, 1812 edition of The Times carried the following notice of a Newfoundland doing some water rescue:
The well-known attachment of the Newfoundland dog to the human race, in cases of drowning, was displayed alongside the Fantome sloop of war in Hamoaze last week, in a most singular manner. Eleven sailors, a woman, and the waterman, had reached the sloop in a shore-boat, when, in consequence of one of the sailors stooping rather violently over the side of the boat to reach his hat, which had fallen into the sea, the boat upset, and all in it were plunged into the water. A Newfoundland dog, on the quarter-deck of the Fantome, surveying the accident, instantly leaped amongst the unfortunate persons, and seizing one man by the collar of his coat, he supported his head above water until a boat hastened to the spot and saved all but the poor waterman, whose name was Kelly. After delivering his burthen in safety, the noble animal then made a wide circuit around the ship, in search of another, but finding nothing except an oar, he took possession of it, and was deservedly welcomed on board with the acclamations of the admiring crew.
The above item appeared, verbatim except for one slight change — "last week", above, becomes "lately" — in the November, 1812, issue of Sporting Magazine, in its "Sporting Intelligence" section, p. 87.
The Sporting Magazine's version of this anecdote will appear verbatim in the November, 1813, issue of Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics, and will be recounted quite a bit later, in a somewhat edited version, in Edward Jesse's 1858 book Anecdotes of Dogs.