Because we are in the middle of the dog days of summer, the Flashback Photo is going to the dogs this week. This undated image shows a Chesapeake Bay Retriever on a dock, looking as though she’s ready to leap into the water to bring back some waterfowl. These distinctive regional dogs trace their roots back to 1807 when two Newfoundland dogs named Sailor and Canton were rescued from a ship in trouble off the Maryland coast. They were each bred with local retrievers, resulting in a new breed with webbed feet, a thick, oily coat, and strong swimming capacity suited to sometimes harsh maritime conditions, as well as the instinct to retrieve, all of which made them ideal partners for local waterfowl hunters. The breed was officially recognized by the AKC in 1877. Today “Chessies” also perform search and rescue and many are beloved family companions.
Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.
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And then there’s Chesapeake Duke by Gilbert Byron that so many of us of a “certain age” or Kent School vintage read… 🙂