Ships' Dogs: Adventures of Canines on the High Seas 1800-1897

The basis of the following illustrated short stories are actual articles printed in 19th century newspapers. Ever since I wrote the book Ships’ Cats, people have been asking me to writing a book about dogs on the high seas. Over the years, I have stumbled upon a number of good maritime dog stories, so I thought I would bring them together for you as one collection to enjoy. Most of the stories involve Newfoundland dogs, but on rare occasion another dog breed was mentioned. The nine short stories in this book capture a variety of characteristics and exploits of the ships’ dogs, ranging from heroic efforts of the canine companions to their quirky habits that set them apart from other dogs. Stories that featured the dog as a focal point started to appear in newspapers well before any stories about the exploits of ships’ cats. I decided not to include some ships’ dog stories for a couple of reasons. First, there were a few articles where a ships’ dog was mentioned, but the dog was a minor point in a larger story. These types of stories didn’t have enough ‘dog content’ to make them worthwhile including. Second, there were a few yarns about a starving crew resorting to eating the ships’ dog in desperation; however, these were tragic sagas of a morbid nature and not meant for this book. The stories included in this book are ones where the dog was the focus of the news article and the saga of interest to mariners and dog lovers everywhere.