Monster Hunt Inspired Dog Names

Way back in December of 1919, there was a brave and beautiful Newfoundland dog named Tang, who belonged to Captain Edward English, who was the owner and captain of a cargo ship named SS Ethie. Tang, who loved the water, enjoyed going with Captain Edward on his trips aboard the ship and one day during a raging storm, he was a hero dog who saved almost 100 people on the ship from drowning.

That day in December, the SS Ethie and its crew were traveling along the West Coast of Newfoundland, Canada to Bonne Bay when the weather suddenly turned bad. It was one of the worst blizzards that were ever recorded in that area, and when it hit, the captain and his crew were unprepared. They stayed up all night fighting the storm and did their best to keep the engines going and the ship away from the rocks. 

However, by morning their fuel supplies were low, and their cargo and lifeboats had been washed away off the deck. Because of the rocky coastline, the captain was afraid to get too close to shore, but one of the crew told him about a beach they may be able to get to. The captain headed for the beach behind Martin’s Point, but the sharp reef tore the bottom of the boat to shreds and kept them jammed in the rocks. 

Luckily, a villager named Reuben Decker noticed what was going on and rushed to the shoreline to help. With over 100 yards of raging water between them and the beach, the captain did not know what to do so he tossed his dog, Tang a rope and asked him to take it to shore. He did so valiantly and although the waves tried to sweep him away, he made it to the shore with the lifesaving rope. Afterward, the crew spent hours using a chair tied to that rope to transfer the passengers from the ship to safety. 

In fact, all 92 passengers were safely transported to the beach including an 18-month-old baby who was transferred inside a mailbag. The survivors were taken in by the few homeowners who lived on the island and then returned home by train. Then the SS Ethie crew, including Captain Edward, were all transported safely to shore and then took the train home. Tang was later awarded a sterling silver collar with the word Hero on it from an insurance company called Lloyd’s of London, which he wore for the rest of his life.