Weekly Winners: For All the Dogs We've Loved Before...

Meet Nelson. He is (was) a Landseer Newfoundland. He was 175# of big, sweet boy.

He had a head like a buffalo, people said.

Everywhere we went, he drew attention. We'd have him on a leash when we'd be walking with the boys in a stroller. People would stop and say "what a beautiful DOG!" instead of "what lovely children!" Before Nelson, people always commented on the kids. Hmmm.

Nelson had hair, that's for sure. So much, that a I collected a big bag full, and a friend spun it into yarn, and knitted a scarf for Uncle Lynn for Christmas!

Nelson was a great dog. He was protective by nature. When I'd push a child in the swing, he'd get up and walk over to the swing, take the child by the foot, and stop the swing. Not on his watch! If the kids were in the driveway on trikes or playing with trucks, he'd lay at the end of the driveway. His nickname became "Nana."

We took Nelson out on a pontoon once. I say "once" because it only happened one time. First of all, he was afraid of the space between the boards on the dock. It took 3 big men to lift him onto the boat. Everything was great until the kids went swimming. Six little boys jumped into the lake at once, splashing and hollering. Nelson jumped in, too. He could not figure out which boy needed saving the most, so he swam from one to another, trying to pull them to shore. All he had to pull with were teeth! It was quite a scene.

Imagine my surprise when recently, a dozen years after his death, we were walking near our home and met people with a Landseer Newfie, like our beloved Nelson. "Oh, what a wonderful DOG!" we exclaimed. Come to think of it, did they have children with them?

Would we have noticed? Probably not.

The little guy sitting next to Nelson is our Springer Spaniel, Trouble. More about him later!

Weekly Winners is Sarcastic Mom's production. I think I shot these snaps with a Canon Rebel of the film variety.