The Chesapeake Bay Retriever, originated without a doubt on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. While there are several variations of their beginnings, most accounts agree with the 1807 rescue of two Newfoundland puppies, a dog and a bitch. The dog known as “Sailor” was a dinghy red color, not large in stature, hair short but very thick coated and with a tail carried high. His eyes were quite light in color and this trait marked many of his descendants. “Canton” was black and little else is reported of her appearance. Her prowness on waterfowl was legendary-“She surpassed her species generally in unrivaled devotion to the water and to the sport of ducking…. Her patience and endurance of fatigue seemed almost incredible…. Facts of her fights with wounded swans after pursuing them in the water for miles and her extraordinary pursuit of wounded ducks among rotten and floating ice often in ice and fog are nearly unbelievable…. American Field 1865. It should be mentioned that these dogs were not like the Newfoundland of today in appearance. Rather they would have been more similar to the dog-pictured at right. If they (Sailor & Canton) were ever bred together, no record of the mating has survived. As they lived on different shores of the bay, it is unlikely they were.