Texas Highways, Volume 60, Number 12, December 2013 Page: 20
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DETOUR
Canine Culture
A SPACE FOR DISCERNING DOG LOVERS
text by Anthony Head
E BROUGHT HOME A
new puppy this summer.
Pepper is a rambunctious
Lab and Border collie mix
who enlivens the energy
of our house to immeasur-
able levels. And after a cou-
ple of months, I needed a
break. With Pepper on my mind, it felt like a good time to re-
visit the Dog Museum at Antiquibles Antique Mall in Elm Mott,
located about five miles north of Waco, just off Interstate 35.
When I arrive, Barbara Hays, who owns both the store and
museum with her husband, David, tells me that despite ongo-
ing interstate construction between Dallas and Austin, this
summer was Antiquibles' best in years-which, in turn, in-
troduced more people to the Dog Museum.THE DOG MUSEUM
opens 10 a.m-5:30
pm. every day except
Easter, Thanksgiving,
and Christmas. Free
admission. The mu-
seum is on the east ac-
cess road of 1-35 at Exit
345, Elm Mott. Call
254/829-1921; www .
antiquibles.com."But, it's still quite a big draw on its
own," Barbara says of the museum, as
she walks me toward the back of the
massive but orderly antiques ware-
house. Consisting of about 1,000 square
feet, the Dog Museum is framed by dark-
wood and glass cabinets holding thou-
sands of canine statues, curios, collect-
ibles, and other objets d'art. It is a colorful,
whimsical world, mostly in miniature,
where dogs dress as sailors, firemen,
and King Henry VIII. Some boxers are
boxing. Some poodles canoodling. Some
dogs pose aunaturel-standing, running,
dozing-while others look back through
the glass with the same take-me-home
eyes as you'd see at a county kennel.
The collection covers more than two
centuries of dog art, depicted as jewelry,
salt-and-pepper shakers, buttons, and
doorstops. Clearly, our canine compan-
ions have always been enduring sub-
jects for folk art, like the life-size terra-
cotta bull terrier, a handsome fellow
from the 1930s that Barbara purchased
in London and says is one of her favorite
pieces; or the bronze statue of a monkey
riding atop a greyhound, which is both
amusing and a bit affecting. "I got that
piece from London, too," she explains.
"It's from the 1870s, and I learned that
back in the day, the sport of dog racing
used monkeys for riders."
Despite the enormity of the collec-
tion (self-described as "the world's larg-
est public exhibition of dog items"), the
museum is curated with care and vi-
sion. It's been a long time in the making,
too: Barbara and her husband began
collecting dog memorabilia in 1967 and
have traveled to 23 countries looking for
more. Many items represent global ca-
nine fondness: dog-head pipes carved
of Turkish meerschaum; tiny figurines
made of colorful Murano Italian glass
and Zsolnay porcelain from Hungary;
and a hand-hammered copper relief
sculpture of hunting dogs chasing a
wild boar, which, Barbara says, was for-
merly on display at Orly International
Airport in Paris.
One case holds several sculptures
from a series that German artist Helmut20 texashighways.com DECEMBER 2013
PHOTO BY: Will van Overbeek
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Texas Highways, Volume 60, Number 12, December 2013, periodical, December 2013; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth639914/m1/24/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.