Way back in January 1908, The New York Times reported on the story of a dog becoming a hero. Then living long enough to see himself become the villain.
To translate the old-timey talk below, a child playing by the Seine river in Paris fell in and almost drowned. He was saved thanks to the quick thinking of a Newfoundland Dog nearby that heard his cries. The kid’s grateful dad thanked the brave dog with a steak. Then, two days later, another child fell into the river. Which equaled another steak…
For reference, here’s a stock photo of a Newfoundland Dog working up an appetite for his next steak. This breed, while huge and shaggy, are natural swimmers and have webbed paws for paddling. They’re even strong enough to tow cargo while they swim, so dragging out a few French kids isn’t much work for them.
The article continues to say that child drowning rescues from this particular dog continued at an increasing rate. The locals pondered if there was some deranged criminal doing the pushing.
Then they uncovered that the dog was the deranged pusher, whose steak addiction led him down the path to almost killing children.
For another historic hound: The Story of Mike the Bartending Dog.