|
Grace, without training, saves 7 year old Amiya from drowning
Napoleon inspires the founding of Canadian Newf Rescue
Freeman was the model for the 1988 commemorative stamp
Big Mac was one of the longest living Hannibal Newfs
|
|
Tributes ∗ Hannibal's Angel Bear |
|
 |
Letter of Nomination
September 28, 2003
I am writing because I feel our Newfoundland bitch, Hannibal's Angel Bear ("Grace"), AKC registration number
WR078330/01, deserves the NCA Heroic Newf Award after saving our daughter from drowning this past summer.
|
|
 |
On July 20, 2003, our family went on an outing to Lake Saltonstall in Haverhill, MA. My husband
dropped off Grace, Amiya (our then almost-seven year old) and me at the lake, while he went with our baby to get gas.
Amiya, who is a beginning swimmer, began wading in the water while I watched from a dry vantage point about 20 feet
or so from the shore.
|
|
 |
Grace played with Amiya in the water for a bit, then began nosing around the meadow adjacent
to the lake. Unbeknownst to me, the bottom of the lake was covered with large boulders, so that Amiya thought she
was wading in water shallower than it actually was.
|
|
 |
Suddenly, as Amiya kept walking, the rocks ended, and she found herself in water beyond her
depth. She began splashing and floundering and calling to me for help. As I began moving toward the water, intending
to jump in fully clothed, I yelled to Grace (who was happily sniffing about the tall grasses at the edge of the meadow)
"Amiya!"
|
|
 |
She stood stock still for a moment, taking in the situation, then hurtled toward the water and first
galloped, then swam full speed toward Amiya before I had even entered the lake. Grace swam around Amiya from
behind, giving Amiya a chance to grab on to Grace's body - which she did - and pulling her promptly in to shore.
|
|
 |
Grace has never had any rescue training; she simply knew instinctively what to do when the time
came. Whether she is chosen for this award or whether some other, wonderful Newf wins it, Grace is a heroic Newf.
|
|
 |
While we, like many Newf owners, knew theoretically about the watchful, protective qualities of the
breed, their quick grasp of situations they have never before encountered and their swift actions in response, we never
thought it would actually come to the test.
|
|
 |
I will never in all my life forget how, when cold, sickening fear gripped me, Grace demonstrated
that she is much more than a ball of fur, energy, and love; a great and vigilant heart beats under that black, furry exterior.
~ Deborah Tor
|
|
In 2004 Grace received the
Heroic Newf Award from the Newfoundland Club of America. |
|
|
|
