When Debbie and I were first considering fostering a Newf, I had a lot of questions and a few concerns.  However, when we were first introduced to a dog in need, my feelings quickly changed.  

The Newf had been neglected, was considerably under-weight, and had been bullied and bitten by another dog.  I decided we could not let him live in that environment another day.  On the way home, we felt ill from the terrible smell as he had probably never been groomed and obviously had several problems. 

We renamed him Maximus (Latin for "greatest") and quickly started him on his road to recovery.  We had to give him at least three baths the first night, and discovered he had a really bad skin infection that had started on his neck and spread aggressively.  Just to top things off, the vet told us he had a tough case of worms.  I decided I wanted to adopt Maximus and worked hard to help him recover.  Max was real shy, and to this day has some fear issues including at feeding time as he had to fight off another dog in order to eat.  However, you could still see he was a wonderful dog who just had never been given much in the way of socialization or love.     

Today, Maximus has a very happy and healthy life.  He loves to rough house in the yard with our other Newfie Katie, and especially loves to take walks or visit the dog park.  It was great to take him to the lake as he had never been in the water before for a swim .  Max and Katie always run together at the park, so people ask if they are liter mates.  Since he is rather small for a Newf (under 100 pounds) he can run like the wind.  He follows me around all the time and loves to be part of whatever is going on.  Max has a very warm personality and has fit into our family perfectly. 

Max will certainly never win a dog show.  He's not a strong swimmer (although he has learned to enjoy it) and I doubt he would be willing to pull a cart.  It will be a real challenge for him to feel secure enough to become a therapy dog as I would like.  But Max is a great companion and as wonderful of a dog as I could ever hope for. 

I hope you will consider becoming a Newf foster home or adopting from HANR.