Present-day stories of those wonderful Newfs - reprinted from Newf Tide 3rd Quarter 2005
Last July, Tina Moher was house and pet sitting for her good friend Bobby Pearl. Bobby was having knee replacement surgery and needed someone to care for her Newf, Mary Jane, as well as her home, during her recovery.
Bobby had made arrangements to have some work done on her hom eduring her stay in Alabama. As such, contractors were in the hom eduring the day ripping out an old bathtub and installing a new tile shower stall. While the contractors worked, the doors and windows were open and fans were going, apparently to keep ventialtion at a maximum. When they left for the evening, Tina closed up the house and headed for bed. She no longer noticed any odor, as she had earlier in the day, and assumed its source was gone.
In the wee hours of the morning, say 2:00 am, Tina was awakened by the full force of the 100-pound Newf, Mary Jane, jumping on her chest. Tina woke up in a panice, was immediately dizzy and began vomiting. The odor in the room was overpowering.
Mary Jane had never jumped on anything before jumping on Tina that night. Owner Bobby Peral describes Mary Jane as normally an "animated rug." However, that powerful leap on July 19th led to both Tina and Mary Jane immediately evacuating the home. The odor was caused by a chemical from the hardening resin that Tina had become acclimated to from hours of exposure. The rest of the night and the next day, both Mary Jane and Tina spent much time vomiting, and Tina suffered terrible headaches; however, both made a full recovery.
For her action in saving Tina Moher, Mary Jane (Cur's Reefer Madness) received the Newfoundland Club of America's Heroic Newfoundland Award.
Mary Jane was bred by Judi and Pat Randall and is owned by Bobby Pearl of Austin, Texas.