Giant Newfoundland dogs have been famous for centuries for their rescues of fishermen and the shipwrecked, and now a young Newfie is being credited with saving a sea turtle.Veda, a 2-year-old, 120-pound female Newfoundland, was walking on Ellisville Beach in Plymouth with her owners, Leah and Brad Bares, on Monday when she spotted the stranded animal.A storm the day before had littered the sand with piles of sea weed and other debris. Veda, who was walking ahead of her owners, moved toward the water and lay down. The couple found a sea turtle with a light brown shell that had just emerged from the frigid surf of Cape Cod Bay.Aquarium officials are sure that because of the air temperature in the 20s, the loggerhead would not have survived a few more hours.Veda's quiet and focused response saved the turtle and is typical of Newfoundlands, the New England Aquarium said.A volunteer from the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay helped carry the 40-pound loggerhead off the beach and took it to the New England Aquarium's sea turtle hospital in Quincy.After four days of slow rewarming, the loggerhead's body temperature was brought up from the mid-40s to the low 70s. The aquarium said the animal is "bright and alert with a guarded but promising prognosis."

Giant Newfoundland dogs have been famous for centuries for their rescues of fishermen and the shipwrecked, and now a young Newfie is being credited with saving a sea turtle.

Veda, a 2-year-old, 120-pound female Newfoundland, was walking on Ellisville Beach in Plymouth with her owners, Leah and Brad Bares, on Monday when she spotted the stranded animal.


A storm the day before had littered the sand with piles of sea weed and other debris. Veda, who was walking ahead of her owners, moved toward the water and lay down. The couple found a sea turtle with a light brown shell that had just emerged from the frigid surf of Cape Cod Bay.

New England Aquarium

Aquarium officials are sure that because of the air temperature in the 20s, the loggerhead would not have survived a few more hours.

Veda's quiet and focused response saved the turtle and is typical of Newfoundlands, the New England Aquarium said.

A volunteer from the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay helped carry the 40-pound loggerhead off the beach and took it to the New England Aquarium's sea turtle hospital in Quincy.

After four days of slow rewarming, the loggerhead's body temperature was brought up from the mid-40s to the low 70s. The aquarium said the animal is "bright and alert with a guarded but promising prognosis."

