April 2024 A to Z Challenge

 

 

                                    Pub sign depicting Swansea Jack

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

This year my blog posts for the April 2024 A to Z Challenge will be about the recipients of the Dickin Medal, which you can read about here. They are in alphabetical, not chronological order, within the different letters.

X

eXtra

Again, there are no recipients in the X category, so I’m just adding a little extra about some faithful, heroic dogs, starting with Swansea Jack.

 

Swansea Jack  1930-1937

Swansea Jack was a black dog, somewhat resembling a flat-coated retriever. This remarkable dog was rehomed after showing far too much interest in the local duck population, reducing it quite considerably.

He went to live near the Swansea docks and at first was wary of the water, so his owner, William Thomas, encouraged him to start swimming with the local children. After a while, he started catching hold of the children and dragging them to shore.

One day, in 1931, a boy fell off the dock during an altercation. Jack jumped in and pulled him to safety. A month or so later, a swimmer found himself in difficulty, and, on hearing his cries for help, Jack jumped in to tow him to dry land. Many people witnessed this and were amazed by the dog’s actions. It is estimated that Jack saved 27 people in his relatively short lifetime. He is also credited with rescuing two dogs.

He died after eating rat poison when he was seven, and the culprit was never found, despite the offer of a large reward. His obituary said, ‘he had an innate genius for knowing just how and where to seize even the most hysterical human, struggling in deep water; and how best to tow the victim safely to shore.’

A public burial took place on 21^st October, 1937, on the seafront, and a year later a memorial to him was unveiled. 

 

 Detail from the memorial

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The inscription reads,

‘Erected to the memory of Swansea Jack, the brave retriever who saved 27 human and two canine lives from drowning.

Loved and mourned by all dog lovers.

Died October 2^nd at the age of seven years.

Ne’er had mankind more faithful friend than thou who oft thy life didst lend to save some human soul from death.

Owner and trainer Wm. Thomas’

Jack’s awards and newspaper articles about him can be seen at Swansea Museum.

Jack is the only dog ever to have received two National Canine Defence League bronze medals, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross, before the introduction of the Dickin Medal. In 2000, he was honoured as Dog of the Century by the charity ‘NewFoundFriends’ of Bristol, founded by David Pugh, which trains Newfoundland dogs in sea rescue techniques.

For more than thirty years, NewFound Friends has trained these huge powerful dogs to rescue people in difficulties in the sea. Participants in ‘dog rescue’ events can have the experience of being rescued by a Newfoundland dog, simultaneously raising money for their chosen charities.