Seaman, the Newfoundland Dog Explorer

In the early nineteenth century Seaman, a black Newfoundland Dog, was bought for $20 by Captain Meriweather Lewis and made his way across America on the first overland expedition.

It was an arduous journey, all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and during the journey the Newfie was bitten by a beaver, which bite severed an artery, and both Captains, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, performed surgery to save the dog's hind leg.

In 1806, as they were preparing for their return trek home, the dog was stolen by Indians and Lewis sent three armed men to retrieve him.

The newfie's collar is in a museum in Virginia. The inscription on it reads: "The greatest traveller of my species. My name is SEAMAN, the dog of captain Meriwether Lewis, whom I accompanied to the Pacific ocean through the interior of the continent of North America."

The dog suffered much during that expedition, from almost losing his leg, having surgery with no anaesthetic, to being stolen by Indians and bitten by mosquitoes. He deserves his memorials.

He is now the official mascot of Lewis and Clark College's pioneers, and there are statues of him scattered across the United States.

Several books have been written about this famous dog, many non-fiction, as well as fiction stories based on fact. He will always be remembered.

By today's standards, I think it would be considered unacceptable to take a dog on such an arduous journey, but his adventures have immortalised him forever.

He is probably the most famous newfoundland dog in history.