Stjörnu-Bjartur

We have had Icelandic sheepdogs for 40 years; the first one we got was in November 1983. I can tell countless stories about all our dogs, as the national dog is truly a treasure. I would like to tell here about one of our dogs who was exceptionally gifted. Indeed, all of them have been very gifted.

This was in May/June, and I was sitting at my desk going over exams as it was exam time at the school I was teaching. I had to be alert because Bjartur, that's what he was called, would always go out into the yard (he could open the doors himself), stay there for a while, and then come and let me know he was back in. This went on for a while. I decided to follow him, stood by the window to look out, and saw him settle under a tree where a nest was. When he sat there quietly, a bird flew out of the nest in search of food. Bjartur stayed still until the bird returned, and then he came inside. That's how it went. It seemed like the other bird in the pair was dead, and Bjartur was there to help.

Our kids were not yet away from home when we got Bjartur, and It was often called "mamma" (mom) back and forth. It ended with him starting to say "mamma" or actually "mama." When the kids moved away, he stopped until the fall before he passed away, then he would often come in from the yard, put his cheek against my leg, and say "mama".

Yes, Bjartur was beautiful (his breeding name was Stjörnu-Bjartur, he was descended from Garður in Kelduhverfi).

One last story about Bjartur.

When the grandchildren were born, it was clear that he had taken on the role of protecting and caring for them. One summer, my daughter decided to camp in our yard to let her 5-year-old daughter sleep in a tent. Bjartur was upset about this activity and expressed his disapproval, not with barking but with sounds. After walking around the tent a few times, he lay down in front of it and refused to come in. There was no way to convince him to come in from this post. The night was bright and mild, and he only came in when they woke up in the morning and went inside.

Bjartur 02.12.1993 - 22.12 2009

Breeder Jón Sigurðsson

Pictures below: The first picture, which is of Bjartur and Perla, was taken in our backyard in the early part of 1995. At that time, it snowed so much that one snowdrift reached up to the roof. Bjartur enjoyed walking up the drift and onto the roof to look at the world. 😃

In the other picture, he is gnawing on a small and thin bone, but those were the only bones he wanted.