Big Ben

This is how the American Kennel Club describes a Newfoundland:

Sweetness of temperament is the hallmark of the Newfoundland; this is the most important single characteristic of the breed

His origins, according to the AKC are Canadian, being given the honorable name of the Atlantic province, Newfoundland:

[N]early all agree that he originated in Newfoundland and his ancestors were brought there by fisherman from the European continent. In Newfoundland he was used as a working dog to pull nets for the fishermen and to haul wood from the forest. He also did heavy labor, such as powering the blacksmith's bellows.

Here is the AKC describing this working dog:

A large dog and a true workhorse, the Newfoundland is a master at long-distance swimming and has true lifesaving instincts in the water. He is large and strong, possessing a heavy coat to protect him from icy waters. Equally at home in the water and on land, today’s Newfoundland competes in conformation, obedience, agility, tracking, draft and water tests, and carting.

The Newfoundland in my neighborhood is friendly and certainly sweet. The way he lunges around may look threatening but its part of his greeting. His owner calls him Ben, but I greet him with Big Ben, after the landmark in London (although I'm not sure how much a Canadian Newfie would like a nickname after a British landmark). Here's Wikipedia's explanation for Big Ben's nickname origin:

The origin of the nickname Big Ben is the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after boxing's English Heavyweight Champion Benjamin Caunt. Now Big Ben is often used, by extension, to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower. Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell.

The last time I saw (Big) Ben, he was happily walking along in the rain while his human owner was comfortably under an umbrella. "He must like it in the rain," I commented to the owner, who was not at all bothered about her big dog getting all wet. "Bye, big Newfie dog" I said in response to his wagging tail.