Our History

In 1981, when Nancy Bynes joined NCNC and the rescue committee, we were swamped with dogs. At any given time, we’d have 2 or 3 dogs at local boarding kennels with more at our homes.  Since purebred rescue was still a pretty obscure concept, we often had to advertise in newspapers to find homes for these dogs. Most expenses were paid for out of our own pockets. The majority of these dogs came from shelters, turned in by owners who had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they bought that “cute, furry little puppy”.  By the time these dogs were relinquished, they were usually between 9 and 18 months old, filthy and with little or no training.

The situation worsened in 1983 when Ch. Seaward’s Blackbeard won Best in Show at the famous Westminister Kennel Club dog show. Suddenly everyone had to have one of those big black bears. Unscrupulous breeders were more than happy to supply the impulse demand for Newf puppies. Rarely did they bother to make sure their puppies went to suitable homes.

Human nature being what it is, sometimes it takes a true crisis to open people’s eyes. On a rainy Saturday afternoon, Nancy gave a tearful report to the club’s membership, pleading for help. We had 8 Newfs in rescue. 3 were stashed at her house, 3 more were at local boarding kennels and the others were at 2 different shelters with looming deadlines.

Lots of folks spoke up with donations of money, space at their homes and offers to transport dogs around. One new club member who came forth that day was Lori Littleford. She jumped in with both feet and has been a strong advocate for homeless Newfoundlands ever since.

In 2004 NCNC formed Newfoundland Health and Rescue, Inc.  Forming NH&R Inc. became necessary as more and more rescue groups were born. Unfortunately, not all of these new groups were as serious about rescuing dogs as they were about looking like they did. Shelters were justifiably getting fed up with making the effort to contact rescue groups only to have nobody show up. Summer Poris, NCNC’s president in 2004, took on the arduous task of doing the research, retaining a lawyer and pushing the project through. Now, when we approach shelters, we’re recognized as a legitimate rescue organization and not some fly-by-night group of zealots.  We still rely heavily on donations from the public. Now those donations can be a tax write-off for the donor.

Over the years, the rescue committee has grown and changed many times. Since it is an open committee, members are always welcome to come and go as their time and emotional energy allows.

  Back