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By the 1930’s the Algarve (Portuguese) Water Dog was in danger of becoming extinct. Modern technology had replaced much of the PWD’s traditional duties, and without the ability to pay for its own way, the families of poor fisherman could not afford to keep their beloved dogs. Strangely enough, the Algarve people’s love
of their dogs was also a contributing factor in the
dogs’ near extinction. Throughout the long history of
the Algarve Water Dog, there was a tradition that
these dogs were never sold to anyone, and only in rare
cases were the dogs gifted to others. This isolation of the breed meant that when the dogs traditional working life was threatened within the Algarve region, their entire existence was threatened. Enter Vasco Bensaude, a shipping magnate, and a man of many interests, including raising dogs. In the late 1920’s Bensaude’s friends Renato Pinto Soares and Manuel F. Marques introduced him to this intriguing breed. When Marques had informed him that the breed was facing extinction and that there was a magnificent crew & work dog named Leao that was owned by a retired fisherman, that he had to see, did Bensaude begin to take special interest. |
There are two versions of how Bensaude was able to obtain Leao from the fisherman – who, in true PWD owner tradition, had refused Bensaude’s initial attempts to purchase the dog. One version of the story had Bensaude being gifted the dog after the fisherman’s death, the other was an interesting story of the fisherman finally saying (after getting tired of Bensaude’s pestering) that he would sell the dog if he won the lottery – which of course Bensaude conveniently arranged. No matter which version is true, Leao became the founding sire of the modern breed. There are many famous stories of this extraordinary dog, of his almost human qualities, of his habit of running away and returning to the home of his former master, of how he would walk into the bathroom, turn on the faucet in the tub and lie in the water! In all, Leao fathered seven litters, and Bensaude placed many of the puppies with trusted friends. Bensaude also retrieved other dogs from the Algarve and bred them with Leao’s descendants, in order that Leao’s blood line be carried throughout the modern breed. |
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• PWD History Main Page |
• PWD as a Traditional Fishing Dog |
