Bósi frá Höskuldsstöðum

Þórhildur Bjartmarz found two stories about Bósi, which she published on her website Hundalífspóstur. I received permission from her to republish these articles, and I am grateful to her for that.

Inquiring about the abilities of Bósi from Höskuldsstaðir

This account of Bósi was written in 1955 for Mark Watson, who had seen the dog during a trip to Skagafjörður. The author of this text is not mentioned.

"An account of Bósi at Höskuldsstaðir in Skagafjörður

Bósi at Höskuldsstaðir is a yellow dog, rather light in color. He has well-erect ears and a curled tail. He is 8–9 years old and has started to show some signs of aging. Nevertheless, he hears and sees quite well and is cheerful. However, his legs have begun to fail him, though he is not lame. He seems to be slightly nervous. One could say that Bósi is more of a hardworking dog than an intelligent one. He has a good temperament and behaves well in all situations.

With regard to the possibility of breeding puppies from him, it is important to mention the following—roughly quoted from the dog’s owner, Stefán Jónsson, a bachelor and the landowner of Höskuldsstaðir:

"Bósi used to be a very lively dog, poor thing. Yes, he was, and he was good at fetching sheep, but worse when it came to herding with him. He had a tendency to bite if he got tired. Now he is old, just an old dog."

When asked about his breeding abilities, the farmer said:

"Well, I think he has become rather weak in that regard, rather weak. He always used to go up to Djúpidalur. There are bitches there, and he would be up to mischief. But I suspect that he hasn’t gone up there this year."

The dog is not for sale at the moment. Regarding that, the farmer said:

"I don’t need any dog money to live on."

He plans to let know if he changes his mind."

Later, Bósi was sold to Watson for 1,000 ISK, and the owner brought him to Reykjavík. He received just under 300 ISK for travel expenses and two days of accommodation, according to the invoice.

It was not easy for the farmer to part with Bósi. He let him go on the condition that he would receive news about him and a photo once the dog had arrived at his destination (in California) and again when the dog had passed away.

Farewell at Keldur

Þórhildur found this account online. Unfortunately, it was not attributed to an author, but it likely took place around 1955 and tells the story of the dog Bósi from Skagafjörður, whom Watson exported in 1955.

"When Watson was exporting dogs from Iceland, he sometimes kept them for a while at Keldur, while they awaited transportation abroad. I remember once when a farmer from Skagafjörður brought a dog for safekeeping at Keldur, as Watson had purchased this dog in the north.

When the farmer turned away from the kennel where the dog was to be kept, his dog began to howl sadly and whimper pitifully. The farmer then went inside to comfort him and tried to calm him down, but the same thing happened again when he turned to leave. The farmer then took off one of his shoes, removed his sock, and placed it inside the kennel. This worked.

It must have been a difficult farewell for both of them. I still vividly remember watching the farmer walk down the driveway, barefoot on one foot. The dog is said to have kept the sock until he was placed in quarantine in Britain."