This is Digby. He is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. These dogs are an amazing breed that you don't often hear about. They re more common on the east coast of the US than else where.
Digby belongs to my eldest child, Tara. He also happens to be a world traveler as he went with his humans to Hong Kong. He does not seem to be overly fond of Asian men nor the wild monkeys that like to chatter at him when he is out. But overall he is living the life of a canine ex-pat and loving it.
I am telling you about this breed of dog simply because they are worth the telling. Just this week I was reading in Sunset magazine and saw a little one paragraph filler that mentioned this breed. The tollers are being used by Alyeska Resort in Alaska to find skiers that have been buried by avalanches. This particular breed was chosen because they are compact in size, very trainable and highly intelligent. These dogs are trained for two years starting when they are puppies until they are two, when the graduate as full-fledged rescue dogs. Not only are they used by the resort, but they are on call in the Alaska backcountry.
Digby is well trained and takes the business of taking care of his herd seriously. While I was visiting I slipped on the stairs and fell. Before I could start to sit up Digby was there. He sat on my chest to prevent me from moving until help arrived.
I know this has nothing to do with photography or my photos, although I did take the above image of this amazing dog. But I think these kinds of stories are worth telling. People and dogs doing good together is just heart-warming.
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