When he was only 8 weeks old, Rosemary and I brought home a wonderful little Newfie puppy named "Sweetbay's Aslen," born Sept. 8, 1994. He's now topped out at about 140 pounds, so maybe he's not so little any more, but he's just as cute and cuddly as ever. We had waited a long time to get him, and he's become a wonderful addition to our family. He's very friendly and loves people, so much so that sometimes he just demands attention from us, yet at the same time he's a good watchdog.
We named him after the character "Aslan" the lion-king in C.S.Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia), because Aslan was known for both great strength and great gentleness. Our guy has lived up to his namesake on both counts. By the way, the spelling is not a typo - the original spelling was already used so we had to use a variant to avoid duplication of names in the AKC records.
Aslen has passed his CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test, and as he gets older we are starting to train him for water-rescue and draft work (pulling a wagon), both of which are traditional jobs for a Newf. Because he is confident and calm, he has been visiting a nursing home for over a year, and he has also gone (by invitation) to two elementary schools. And he makes a great foot-warmer on cold nights!
After living with Aslen for a couple years, we were so pleased with how well he fit into our family that we decided to get him a buddy. In spring 1997 Nellie, a 3-year-old Landseer Newfoundland (white with black markings) came to live with us. Changing family circumstances at her previous family meant that (through no fault of their own) they felt they could no longer give her the attention she deserves, and we are grateful that they loved her enough to find her a new home.
Considering how hard it can be for an adult dog to suddenly change homes, Nellie has settled in very nicely. She and Aslen get along extremely well - which is a good thing, since our first night all together was spent in a motel room! When we checked in, the motel clerk asked me if we had "a dog." I truthfully answered "yes." The clerk didn't ask how big, or if we would have more than one later that evening, so I didn't go into any details. If "don't ask, don't tell" is good enough for the government, it's good enough for me.
If Aslen is a teddy bear, Nellie is a cuddle-muffin. She is the classic 110-pound lap dog, and loves nothing better than to lie on the sofa or bed with us. She also came to us already trained with a CGC, in addition to two titles: Draft Dog and Water Dog. She also sometimes visits the same nursing home as Aslen.
Here are links to a few pictures.
