For our union amigos, Port Union, Newfoundland has the distinct honor of being “the only union-built town” in North America.  And from the look of things in the salt cod industry, they needed it!  The salt cod industry is no more, but back in the day, cod fisherman were paid pennies (literally) for hundreds of pounds of processed fish.  They could never get ahead and often owed the merchant at the end of the year.

We asked a few locals, but they didn’t seem to know off the top of their heads – what were Newfoundlands bred for?   So, to Wikipedia we went.  Answer:  they were supreme work and rescue dogs for fisherman.  Newfoundlands are phenomenal swimmers with webbed toes and an oily coat to protect them from icy oceans.  Our puppy friend below is simply too cute for words.  More details about the Newfoundland dog and pictures of how large these doggies can get.