It’s not unheard of for dog to be “fishing partners,” as it were. Various instances are on record of dogs being used to drive fish into nets, including one dog described by Rev. William Hamilton: The dog took his post in a shallow end of a ford and at some distance below the net. If a salmon escaped the net, the dog watched for a tell-tale ripple in the water and either tried to turn the fish back, or catch it. Another account was written of a black and tan water spaniel belonging to John Matthews. “His quickness and dexterity were wonderful; for he seldom broke out gut or the skin of the fish, and never lost after he had once mouthed him.”
Not everyone was enchanted with the fishing prowess of dogs. In the 18th century, the Earl of Home owned a Newfoundland that was better at catching salmon than the Earl was, himself. According British fishing expert, Fred Buller, whose story is recounted in the Domesday Book of Giant Salmon, the Newf was credited with catching up to twenty salmon in a morning all on his own. A neighbor living on the opposite bank of the river Tweed, Lord Tankerville, was not amused. He began a legal process against the dog citing an unfair way of reducing the local supply of salmon. The case was brought before the Court of Session and was named, “The Earl of Tankerville versus a Dog, the property of the Earl of Home.” Judgment was found in favor of the Dog.
(Peter Maniate wrote more about “fishing Newfoundlands” in a Facebook post, “Fisher Dog.”)
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