Search and Rescue, and Herding, are Refinements of the Hunting Instinct

On scent - Bloodhounds
John Sargent Noble (1848-1896)
Britain

Saved!
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873)

This is a painting of Milo, a lighthouse keeper’s dog. It is said that in dense fog the dog’s barking warned approaching boats of the rock on which the lighthouse sat. To his credit, it is said, Milo rescued several children from drowning. The lighthouse rock is off the coast of Massachuset near the town of Nahant. The black and white variant of the Newfoundland dog became known as the Landseer Newfoundland.

St. Bernards - To The Rescue
John Emms (1844–1912)

Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873)

In 1820, at the age of eighteen, Landseer painted these dogs rescuing a traveler on the Great Saint Bernard Pass (Switzerland). A monk from the Great Saint Bernard Hospice can be seen in the background of the painting. The dogs, which have become known as St. Bernards, were bred to travel through the deep snow to find and rescue lost travelers. The hospice was founded in 1049; it is said that artist Salvatore Rosa painted the dogs as early as 1690. The dogs were sold in 2004 as a cost cutting measure, but the breed is being kept alive today by dog fanciers.