Opinion's on Saint's....

He's beautiful, is he the type of dog you were looking for for the front of your shop?

Exactly. 
 
I personally wanted a Newf, but Sampson is available right in my own back yard, and he desperately needs a home.  I have been talking to the rescue and it sounds like he meets my needs.  I just haven't done any research on SB's so I wanted to get some input from folks on here.  I have trained a few, but when you only spend an hour at a time with them it can be hard to really determine the breed personality traits.

I wish I had some info for you on them, but I don't.  The only experience I had with one was my Girl Scout leader when I was a kid had one and they had to put her down because apparently she became unmanageably agressive.  What that means, I have no idea, but that was over 20yrs ago, so take that with a grain of salt.  That's all I remember but I always thought she and the breed was really cool.
 
Were you looking for just a regular "door-greeter" type dog for the shop? 

He's one gorgeous dog, for sure.  I'm pretty sure there's an i-dogger with two saints.  Maybe she'll see this and offer you some info and/or tips.

I am looking for the most massive door greeter I can find.  I have read a bunch on the internet about them, and I have a ton of text books that have info, but I prefer the personal expereinces that people have had with them. 

Well, massive you have with him!!    Plus, he's really a good looking dog!  I heard they are generally really gentle....is that a pretty typical stereo-type for the breed?

The ones I have worked with were either very gentle or passive bullies. I have seen a lot of passive resistance out of them. But I love a challenge.

Mic, I think you should adopt this handsom boy.
 
My experiences with Saints are fond ones. I have a client whom has two of these gentle giants. Aside from the slobber, nothing a hand towel cannot cure, they are very intelligent, compassionate, affectionate and have a wonderful sence of humor ta boot.
The two are bed hogs and couch hogs. I find them easily trainable, and grooming is not too bad either.
The only down side to these dogs is they eliminate HUGE, and if one tosses their cookies, that is HUGE too. lol Other than that... No sweat my pet!

That's what I was hoping to hear. 

nothing a hand towel cannot cure

I can second this one. My boss has a (quite lovely and yes, very big) Saint, and he is such a sweetie. Kind of a big sweet lug kind of dog. However, anytime my Boss brings him up here, he also brings a slobber towel with him. []

Growing up my neighbor had a  Lab and a smooth coat Saint (I think that's what the short coated ones are called).  oor thing lived outside in Florida!  That was one of the sweetest dogs I ever knew.  He would hang on the fence and let me pet & scratch all day!  Always calm and mostly quiet (the Lab was the vocal one).  Not much of a guard dog though - no matter what was in the back yard we could always hop the fence and go get it as long as we gave him some loving!  He had a habit of leaning into you when you petted him so just be forewarned  (course that may have been him and not a breed trait!).   I second the slobber towel (that's the other thing I remember - the drool hanging from his mouth and attaching to everything!)
 
I say go for it! 

Mic, he looks like a big sweetheart.
 
I had a brief experience with a Saint a few years ago. His name was Barney, and he wandered up to me and hit me with his huge paw to get my attention. I couldn't imagine where he came from because there aren't many Saints in south Louisiana, but there he was. I called every vet in town, and they said they didn't have any Saints in their records, so I didn't know what to do with him. Later, a vet located the owner, so my time with Barney came to an end. When the owner pulled into our driveway, Barney was in my lap. According to the owner, who lived across a bayou several miles down the road, Barney had learned how to escape from their chain link fence, so they put up a wooden privacy fence behind it. Apparently, he figured out how to get past that too. One day, he walked several miles across town, went downtown to the post office, and climbed in a 70 year old woman's backseat like he was supposed to be there. I wonder what the woman thought about that. lol Anyway, my experience was brief, but if they're all sweet like Barney, I'd get one in a heartbeat. Of course, I'd have to put a 12 foot fence...

He's a gorgeous dog.  I'll be very envious if you get him, but I hope I can count on you to give us lots of pictures, at least.

I've had a few experiences with St's and they're just like gentle giants to me. At least that's what I've gathered. I've been around, maybe, 4 of them and every single one is the sweetest thing ever. Just looking at a dog that huge would make someone marvel at how calm and sweet they can be. Even a puppy St is a gentle giant. They're great dogs IMO.