Rescue Stories

2021 - Shadow is a petite brown female Newfoundland, who was 2 ½ years old at the time she came into rescue. Her previous family had a change in their living situation so decided to relinquish her. She is a very sweet girl, who enjoys looking out the window, playing tug of war and plush toys (though she does like to destroy them, too!) She is quite active and loves to just run and play. This is what her furever mom says about her:

From her adoptive family:
Shadow joined our family at the exact time that we needed her. After losing my husband in August, our black rescue Rocco and I were grieving and lost. Along came Shadow, a bouncy, happy, sweet girl! Shadow loves her backyard and her big brother! She keeps us on our toes and makes everyday brighter. After experiencing the worst loss of my life, my new girl, Shadow, keeps giving me a reason to smile every day!

Janet Acerra

2021 - Zelda (FKA North) is a gray female Newf. She was surrendered because her family moved to a home with no yard, the father traveled a lot on business, and basically, they couldn’t give her the time that she needed. And they loved her enough to reach out to NEWFFLA to assist in finding her a permanent home. She knows basic commands and enjoys sleeping on the cool floor or in her crate. She, like a lot of Newfs, has had a few ear infections, so she really doesn’t like anything squirted in her ears. She does allow you to gently wipe them out though. She does like to swim, but is afraid of fireworks. She loves to hang her head out the window while riding in the car.

From her adoptive family:
Zelda (formerly North) came to us as a beautiful, loveable goofball, full of more energy than any one dog should have! We've only had her about a month, but in that time .... well, she's still a goofball, but she's also transforming into an incredible, intelligent service dog, a real working Newf. In this short time, she has learned so much from me, as well as from my current service dog, Percy. She's got a lot of training yet to go ... but we're confident she will breeze through training with flying colors ... allowing Percy some much-needed respite from his daily responsibilities.

We know how hard it must have been for Zelda's previous owners to have to give her up, but we are so very glad we were there to offer her a new home, and to provide her with what all working breeds want, a real job to do. She's got that now, and you can see her turn instantly serious as soon as her service dog harness goes on –she's On Duty, and clearly understands the difference between work and play! It's a remarkable transformation, and amazing that she, like most Newfs, seem to automatically know the difference between work and play. Truly a remarkable breed, and Zelda is a remarkable Newf!

The Franck Family

2021 - Teddy is a handsome 3 ½ year old Landseer. Teddy was relinquished along with his brother Ramses because his family just couldn’t care for him any longer. He is good with cats, children and other dogs. He will bark to let you know a stranger is near. Teddy came to us with an injured leg that had gone untreated so he did require TPLO surgery. His foster family was able to get him through the long recovery process, though it was hard to keep him from wanting to run and play with his furry siblings.

Teddy had TPLO surgery August 19, 2021 and is doing very well. He is 8 weeks out of surgery and because his injury was so severe we will be doing leash walks only for at least 8 or 9 more weeks. Teddy has been quite a trooper though. He wants to run and play so bad with Oz and Fiona but he knows he has to heal properly first.

His adoptive family says:
Teddy has quite the personality! He watches everything we do and takes it all in very quietly and then all of a sudden he will make these funny growling sounds looking at us. He loves attention and he gets plenty of it. He is a very sweet boy. His favorite thing to do is eat popcorn with Ron. He knows when Ron is making the popcorn and so he will go to Ron’s “man cave” and be sitting right by his chair waiting for him to come in and share his popcorn. He loves to hunt for lizards too. He is very observant and watches everything! We are really happy with Teddy and can’t wait for him to be completely healed up so he can run and play with Oz, Fiona and dear cousin Wren (she is a newfie we got from Kim Chonko). We love our newfies! Jackie Carroll

2021 - Archie is a large black male whose owner passed away suddenly, and fortunately a neighbor was able to check on him a few times a day, until the next of kin could legally sign him over to NEWFFLA. We didn’t really know much about him upon intake, except that he was a very sweet boy who needed a bath and grooming ASAP! He was taken to his new foster family, who have been longstanding members. They only had him for a few weeks before making him a permanent member of their family!

From his adoptive family:
We have had many rescue Newfs during the last few decades, both males and females coming from all sorts of situations. When we were down to one Newf, we put our name into Newffla Rescue to give a home to another Newfoundland and are now blessed to have a treasure named Archie. His owner passed away and he needed a home. We were happy to say yes and fell in love with him the moment we saw him. We have had him only about 2 ½ months, but once again, the story is the same. There is a great need for people to take on the challenge of rescuing a Newfoundland. They are the most wonderful breed of dog, but they need a lot of human love and affection and a lot of care.
Brent and Gail Gaver

2019 - This is Ellie who was purchased at Petland in Sarasota. She was well cared for by her previous owner but unfortunately suffered a couple bouts of giardia when she initially came home from Petland, so housebreaking became a challenge. This, coupled with all that puppy energy, was overwhelming to her owner who openly admitted she was in over her head. Ellie found her forever home and a Newfie brother and sister.

2017 - Gus was the victim of divorce. The wife did not want him, and the husband could not keep him in the small home in which he was living. Additionally, the husband's infant child was reportedly allergic to the dog. Other than needing treatment for fleas and being neutered, Gus was a healthy, happy dog. Gus found a terrific new home with an experienced, long-time Newfie owner.

2015 - Poda was surrendered by her owner because her job kept her away from home for long hours. Poda was a special needs girl; blind due to congenital cataracts. Poda previously had surgery for a torn ACL and came into foster with the other ACL partially torn. While in foster care, Poda was diagnosed with diabetes and required insulin injections twice a day. Poda found her forever home with her foster family.

2013 - Sarge, formerly known as Beast, came into rescue about 1 month shy of his 8th birthday. Sarge was a gift to his former owner from his son. The son passed away in a tragic accident, and Sarge was a painful reminder, so he was left to live outside on the man's property in the Florida panhandle for the 5 years prior to coming into rescue. Sarge had ear infections and eye infections that almost completely impeded his sight. Severe skin infection to the point his skin came off in your hands and he was nearly bald. He had been chewing rocks so the nerves in his teeth were exposed. He smelled more horrible than you could imagine and least of all his problems, he was underweight. While in foster care, Sarge was treated for his eye and ear infections. He received medicated baths and conditioning treatments 3 times a week for more than a month to heal his skin. When he was well enough, Sarge had 14 teeth removed and 32 growths removed from various parts of his body. Through it all, he was absolutely the sweetest, most loving and appreciative dog you could ever hope to meet. Because Sarge lived outside, his skin was so badly sun damaged, his hair did not grow back. Sarge found his permanent home with his foster family. Sarge succumbed to bone cancer in his shoulder about a year and a half after being rescued.