Brandur

According to my mom, Brandur was a purebred Icelandic dog, descended from Kola, the female dog owned by my mom and dad.

As my mom told me, he seemed to be good at herding, but it didn't look that way at first because for the first 2 years, he just wanted to chase cats. However, after 2 years, he started imitating his mother Kola. My parents used him a lot for herding; Brandur was a good sheepdog, and my cousin Oddur told me that he was really good at looking after children.

He saved the lives of my two younger brothers from a fire they had started in the fireplace while my sister was supposed to be watching them, but a fire broke out in the kitchen. My parents were outside feeding the cows and sheep when Brandur came out barking like crazy, reaching my dad. Dad paid no attention to the dog, but he saw the smoke rising from the house. Brandur had dragged my brothers out, and my dad, along with another farmer, managed to extinguish the fire. Fortunately, everything turned out well. I know my parents had to clean and paint, but the rest of the house was still okay.

I never met Brandur personally, but I would have liked to. However, my parents moved to Ísafjörður when my mom was pregnant with me.

I myself have a wonderful dog that lets me know when I am about to have an epileptical attack, and that is our dog Kersins Sillý. When I used to get attacks very often, I didn't realize what the dog was doing because Sillý bit my pants and tried to pull me away. After consulting with a dog trainer, I was asked if I got an attack at that time, and that was the truth. Sillý was letting me know that I should lie down. Dogs are wonderful.

The first picture of Brandur was taken in 1960 in Þernuvík in Ísafjarðardjúpur, and it is my cousin Gunnar, who is in the picture.