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I am SO proud of my Doggie [1]
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Date: 2023-05-01
Opus, my 145 pound female 'Landseer' Newfoundland at the Sandy River Dogpark, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oct 23, 2019. Mt Hood is in the background.
Opus is the exact dog I had waited for since Bacchus, my first Newfoundland crossed that bridge in 1985. It was almost 30 years before I could again serve a Newfie in the manner to which they expected to be served. I had already chosen her name and coloration before Bacchus crossed.
She is a ‘Landseer’ Newfoundland, named after Sir Edwin Landseer, Queen Victoria’s Court Painter, who painted them rescuing children from the sea:
‘Saved” Sir Edwin Landseer, 1856
Opus adopted me in 2014, after I had purchased and retrofitted a house that would be acceptable for her. A house with a cement pond in the back yard that she could lounge within, in an HOA with a walking path along the backyards where she could schmooze with the passersby, and accept tribute from them in the form of pets and occasional snacks. She is the alpha bitch in the community, a status that I, as president of the HOA, have no chance of ever obtaining. Part of her contract with me for serving as her assistant is that I must take her out to the Sandy River Delta Dogpark to swim and meet with her fans a certain number of days per year. We had to go over there today to meet the quarterly quota. The river was quite high with melt from Mt. Hood’s recent snowpack, but she is an excellent swimmer — probably the best in the county. After her dip and schmoozing with the other swimming doggies we headed back to the Parking Lot.
As we walked across the lot (her on a lead since we were nears CARS) we approached our car as another family (Mother/Father/Daughter/Son in wheelchair) approached their car from the opposite direction. ( I have no concerns at all about her behavior in public; she is 9 years old, she has never been in a fight, I have never even heard her growl — however, I suspect she has Jedi mind power where if a frisky pooch approaches her she just relays “this is not the bitch you seek, move along, now, move along!
She loves everybody. That’s her reason for being. The mother and daughter walked to the front of the car as Dad guided the wheelchair toward the rear. The son became excited upon seeing the giant dog (in a good way), and the father and I exchange glances. We let Opus and the son gradually approach each other and then Opus walked over and licked his hands. That invoked an even greater bliss response from the son, and then Opus licked his face. Everyone was on the verge of tears.
She is a hell-of-a-lot smarter than I am. That family is going to get a Newfoundland, a la Nana, to look after their kids, as the Barry’s did in Peter Pan:
James Matthew Barrie’s Newfoundland, named Luath,
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