John Redeker

The Canine Museum in Victoria displays dog memorabilia that have

been discarded, damaged, forgotten or put up for sale.

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TO GOOD HOMES ONLY
Keith Prior rescues dogs, but he's a dog rescuer with a
difference. He and his team at the Canine Museum in Victoria

rescue dog memorabilia that has been discarded, damaged, forgotten or put up for sale. Judy Redeker visits the museum
and discovers a world of canine collectibles.

m;in Skye, south of Melbourne, I

find their treasures on the tip, in collections and in antique shops.
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I embers of the Canine Museum

second-hand and op shops, in private

Our oldest trophy was rescued from the tip,'Keith Prior tells Dogs Life, pointing out the prize awarded at the Prahran Show in 1904 for the Best Colonial-bred Bulldog. 'One of our committee members just happened to be there.
What annoys me," he adds, 'is when visitors say.
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shop, so we thought we d better try and do something to save it all. One of Prior's favourite pieces is a Staffordshire china mascot. Lucky Pugsley, which he bought at auction. No one wanted him. His front legs
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and back foot were broken, but the bits were

there. His ears and tail were missing. We spent 10 times as much on restoring him as on buying him," he says. There are no neglected or disadvantaged dogs in this collection!

Prior was born to be a dog owner. His first

dog was a Smooth-haired Fox Terrier called Snoopy, a present for his fourth birthday. Later, he spent his after-school hours working in Greyhound kennels. But Prior began his lifetime commitment to owning, breeding, showing and

Oh, my grandma had one of those. We threw

it out.' That's the main reason we started - two

elderly dog breeders died and their families

weren
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t interested in their collections. They

John Redeker

would have ended up on the tip or in the op

A favourite of antique dealer Keith Priot's - a Maltese putting on its

hat in front of a mirror.

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John Redeker John Redeker

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Check this artifact - a pair o( hunting dogs with their prey.

Keith Prior from the Canine Museum in Victoria is an antique dealer specialising in dog figurines.

judging dogs at 17. when he went to live with an aunt who bred Salukis
and Borzois.

in the Camberwell market. There are three breed collections one of

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All I ever wanted to do was work with dogs,' he says, "and I've been lucky." In his native England, Prior became an antique dealer specialising in

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Bulldogs left to the museum by a collector's partner; another of Pyreneans left by a former committee member. The Boston Terrier collection once
belonged to another committee member. Prior's partner, who died five years ago in a car accident. I love that thing," he chuckles. It's a dog's head with a red tongue, dated around 1900 - press the tongue and a shop-counter bell rings. He still gets a kick out of ashtrays, hatpins, cake-servers, umbrellas, moneyboxes, neckties, handkerchiefs, salt and pepper shakers and tambourines. You name it, we've got if, he laughs.'This was supposed to be the first flea collar.' It's a contraption made of badger hair supposed to repel fleas. There's an ostrich egg painted with dogs. There's Dapper Dandy, a small dog wearing an opera cloak and hat. And, dating from around 1880, the piece that s probably Prior s ultimate favourite - a Maltese putting on its
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dog figurines. He showed his first dog, a Russian Borzoi, 57 years ago and
this led him to judging. That's what brought me to Australia. I was invited here to judge two
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shows, stayed a fortnight and liked it so much I went home, sold my house and moved back six months later - with 11 dogs! he says. Borzois remain his first love, but he has owned Boston Terriers, Afghans,
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Salukis and Pointers. These days, he has 10 Labradors as well as his Borzois.

The Canine Museum

The museum is set up at KCC Park, but for many years dog memorabilia was
just kept tucked away in boxes and cupboards, brought out for exhibition
and packed away until the next dog show or competition was held.

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hat in front of a mirror. In another historical role is the Japanese fighting

dog, a Tosa Inu, in the ceremonial robes worn into the ring. Thankfully, this
blood sport is banned these days.

Twenty years ago. Prior and a committee began fundraising, mainly to

make a home for those two collections saved

Among the fascinating cheapies are interspersed works by famous

from the tip. By 2003 they had succeeded

,

Photography | Gift Certificates | Calendars | Key Rings | Fridge Magnets | Greeting Cards Lure | Show | Agility | Flyball | Portraits | Sledding | Obedience | Earth Dogs | Dancing Dogs

in raising SSO.OOO to build the museum and

S40,000 to furnish it with cabinets. Apart from

12 special pieces the museum has bought,

everything has been donated.

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It was a personal dream says Prior, whose

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own memorabilia collected over 50 years are

also housed here.

Prior is in his element showing visitors

around, but he s much more interested in
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www. PINNIC1_6: com.au

talking about the collection than about himself. As our tour begins he tells us that it's OK to touch.'When people walk in they usually stroke
,

this fellow on the head and then stroke this

fellow on the bum!' he says.

These"fellows'are two large pieces - one

bronze, one terracotta - two of the "special 12" that Prior discovered for the museum. He buys
well. ! track them down and decide that at the
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price they re being offered we should buy them, he says. Another treasure is an oil painting he found

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John eaeKer Apart ftonu dozen special pieces the Canine Museum

This piece is oneol

has bougm. everything has been donated.

Melbourne private collector

Chris Parker's favourites.

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sculptors of the French Animalier school of 1850 to 1910. There's a bronze by Charles Valton, insured for S15,000 and another piece by Valton, modelled by Anton Barye, his teacher. It's nice to have the two related pieces," said Prior, who says he was lucky enough to buy them at much less
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It took a good few years for the Canine Museum to acquire enough funds to build a
centre and amass a collection. Then began the

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work of organising everything, producing order

out of chaos. From its founding in 1988 for just this purpose and its eventual opening in 2003,
canine artifacts, memorabilia, articles, records

than their true value.

He shows us some Parianware made in

and objects d art were gathered for future

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England by William Copeland. Prior also has

a claim to fame in the modern world. Kylie

generations of dog lovers. The purpose of the

foundation is to continue this work, actively

Minogue came to film at his kennels and buy the

Labrador puppy that became the first'Bouncer' in Neighbours.

seeking and promoting interest in, and respect for, artistically and historically significant objects
and information for safe storage, conservation and the enjoyment of dog-loving visitors.

They certainly live up to their reputation as good alarm dogs. And like true Papillons, they show their owner lots of affection. Although there are three of them, they could almost be described as two-and-a-half-dogs, for while Papillons are tiny anyway, Monet, at twice the age of her siblings Camellia and Berry, is only half their size. But despite her advanced years and diminutive size, she is most definitely the boss! Parker loves his tiny companions. He also collects dog memorabilia and I felt privileged to
be invited to see his collection.
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I really don't know how it started,' he says. "It

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was jusi because I was interested in these things.

Parker can't exactly recollect the first objects
he acquired. "I think it was these Mexican dogs

In need of a major
sponsor
The Canine Museum attracts Australian dog lovers and visitors from overseas. It is thought

A private collection
Museums are not the only places where great
collections can be seen. Much of the Canine

from around 2500 years ago. I bought them in

to be one of only two in the world - the other

is in St Louis, USA. The 14 committee members

Museum's most fascinating memorabilia has been acquired from avid collectors, such as Chris Parker. Like Prior, Parker has always loved dogs. And

Los Angeles, from a man who dealt in artifaas mainly from South America. Then I bought a little Egyptian piece, which is around 3000 years old. They sort of appealed to me the early pieces. I got a little Chinese piece from the Tang Dynasty,
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are all dog breeders with everything from

Mastiffs and Border Collies, to Great Danes in

like Prior, he can't imagine life without them.

He shares his small home with both real and

and after that I didn t collect much for a while.

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their kennels. They raise money with dinners,

dog shows, raffles and an annual sale of dog

paraphernalia, and have never gone into debt.

inanimate dogs. Perhaps it would be truer to say they share their home with him - for if anyone shows an unqualified love of canine
companions, it s Parker. This home is no museum
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Then they just really seemed to come to me." Perhaps collectors of all kinds of memorabilia
can relate to this, but in Parker s
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case it helped

However, Prior says they would love to find

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a millionaire sponsor so they can extend the building. He opens a drawer - the handles are dog-heads, of course - to show more pieces. With the help of a computer donated by the

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and Parker would be the first to say his collection could be better organised. But, as a private collection, for quantity and quality, intrigue and interest, it would be very hard to beat.
You can tell a lot about Parker's small cottage

Dell Company, he's gradually completing the task of labelling all the museum s pieces and
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that his business was importing and that he travelled a lot to interesting and exotic locations. Over the years, so many pieces have "come to him" that, while he says he was once a "sucker for everything", these days he has to resist temptation simply because he has no more room for any more pieces.

recording their history. The drawers are full

and overflowing. But for the 75-year-old who happily says Dogs have been my life", you get the feeling he wouldn t have it any other way. Broken, dirty, ugly even - there will be no abandoned dogs if Keith Prior has his say.
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in inner-city Melbourne just by looking at the front doormat. Spread across the top on doggy-

head silhouettes are the welcoming grins of

several cheery canines. And when you ring

Every piece has a story

As we wander around looking at the collection, Parker tells the story behind each piece, telling
us he s
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the doorbell, your first impressions are loudly

confirmed when Parker appears at the door

forgotten more than he ever knew about

along with his three Papillon dogs.

each one. But he knows where each one came

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them.'However,'I knew what this was as soon

from and the pleasure he had in choosing them

is obvious, as is the happiness they still give him today. I love all my objects which is quite mad,
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inherited his affinity for dogs. He has little

patience with people intolerant of animals. Once he could take his small Jack Russell pup
to a restaurant, where the dog would sit quietly under the table. Nobody knew she was there
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he says, showing us a miniature Viennese bronze he bought over the Internet.

as I saw it,

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but if you do, you do. I'm an object person.'This

doesn't stop Parker loving live dogs, as is soon proven when the Papillon trio gathers round. Camellia is "the bright one". Berry is'beautiful' and very serene. But this one (Monet] never rests, never sleeps Parker tells us. "It's just her temperament. She's very nervous, always scared
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Everything is perfect. The casting is just wonderful. Genuine Viennese bronzes are quite
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he says. "These days, they won't even let you put your dog on the step of the outside deck. Shops
don't even have a hook outside to tie a dog to.
People don't understand animals'

rare, made by a couple of factories for only 10 years between 1900 and 1910. But just as often, he says,'This was el cheapo, but I just like it'or "These are common, but if the
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ll do something wrong and very jealous. Sometimes she sits in the doorway and the
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others won

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t go past or jump on the bed when

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The former importer's collection ranges through a delightful mix of kitsch, cool and costly items. Perfume bottles with doggy heads for caps; Chinese dogs he bought in Rome; English Staffordshireware portraying Afghans
(once an old, popular breed, but Parker says you don't see them around Melbourne any more);

face appeals, I'll buy it." And again, "These are jugs
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but I didn't know they were jugs when I bought them. I just loved them. He has some small, furry dogs, German-made and bought from an antique fair in Geelong, the equivalent of the famous Steiff

she glares at them.

bears and with the exclusive tag in their ears. At

an American Book Fair he bought a rare book full
of sentimental

Parker bought his first puppy at the Victoria Market when he was a small boy but it had a disease and died a week later. His next dog - the classic doggy in the window' of the
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a couple of modern pieces advertising various

liquors; a dog made of bottle tops; a copy of a Viennese bronze bought in Czechoslovakia ... there is no limit to the variety displayed for us.

dog-saving-master" pictures. At a dog-lover's museum in Tuscany, Parker bought

a classy book and was delighted to discover it featured one of his own pieces. As we leave Parker, he's busy telling us how
people think he s mad to devote so much of
his house to his extensive collection but that
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pet shop near his father s workplace - fared

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better, and lived with Parker for 12 years. Dotted among his collection of objects d'art are
postcards, pictures and photographs of Chris and his dogs over the years. Ever since I was a little boy, people have given me dog cards, he says, as he tells little
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What's eye-catching?
Parker is usually aware of the value - if any - of his acquisitions. But he buys what appeals to him. He shows us a Chinese piece probably carved from bone, possibly a couple of thousand years old But even if it were just a copy, it wouldn t matter. Parker loves it. Then there's a porcelain grouping of Chinese figures
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he's happy pursuing what he calls a harmless

activity. Our lasting impression of this selfconfessed lover of

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objects however, is of a man

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stories about the photos of dogs he s owned.

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This one went everywhere I went for 17 years," he says. "You can see she's almost talking to me." And of another one, 'He used to sleep with his whole spine touching my leg. 1 couldn t move
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whose real-life dogs still come way ahead of his wonderful doggy collection.
Does your dog make little noises only you he asks.'Does yours snuggle under your chin like this? Truly a dog
can detect?
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with dogs that was sold to Parker as antique. He

because I would disturb him."

As we look at a photo of a picnic celebrating Cookie the dog's birthday, Parker tells us how
pleased he is that his granddaughter has

thinks it's actually new, but doesn't care, They're gorgeous, really cute," he says. He turns to another figure. 'These are quite common, made by the millions, but I just like
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lover extraordinaire! 'Ji*

John Redeker

Chinese figures hold 3 picture of private collector Chris Parker and his Moved dogs.

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THE CANINE MUSEUM

If you wish to visit the Canine Museum in Victoria, check opening dates at
www.caninemuseum.org.au or

phone (03) 5998 2400.

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