What breed of dog was Boatswain, Lord Byron's beloved dog?

Boatswain, Lord Byron’s beloved dog, was a Newfoundland.

Boatswain was a large Newfoundland dog owned by the English Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron. Byron was famously devoted to him, and the dog became one of the best-known animals associated with the poet’s life. Boatswain was reportedly a Landseer Newfoundland, a black-and-white variety named after the painter Edwin Landseer.

In 1808, Boatswain contracted rabies. Byron cared for him despite the danger of infection, but the dog eventually died. Byron commissioned an elaborate marble monument for Boatswain at Newstead Abbey, his ancestral home. The tomb was reportedly grander than Byron’s own planned memorial, a detail often repeated in accounts of their relationship.

The monument carries “Epitaph to a Dog,” a poem traditionally attributed to Byron. However, the prose inscription above it was written by Byron’s friend John Hobhouse, and later evidence has complicated assumptions about which parts Byron personally composed. The story helped cement Boatswain’s place in literary history.