MUGGINS

Muggins (1913-1920) was a purebred Spitz (large Pomeranian) born in a Calgary mansion belonging to philanthropist William Roper Hull, who gave him to his ailing uncle living in retirement in Oak Bay in Victoria, BC. Muggins spent his days in dog shows and being photographed for the local newspapers. When his guardian died, Muggins came under guardianship of Beatrice Woodward, a Victoria woman heavily involved fundraising for the war effort. How she did it we do not know, but Mrs Woodward trained Muggins to wear a leather harness mounted with two cocoa tins into which donors slipped donations. The little dog soon became famous for boarding ocean liners docked in Victoria Harbour, where he charmed travellers and began to collect impressive sums for the Red Cross. Mrs Woodward took him around the province as well as to Seattle, Washington; Muggins drew crowds and more donations, was featured in local, national and international press, including the New York Times, and was lauded in Victoria by the visiting Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII. Muggins earned eight national and international medals. His career ended in early 1920 when he died of pneumonia, but his taxidermied figure, displayed by the Red Cross during World War II, drew donations for the cause again. Today, he is displayed at Victoria’s largest legion building. His story is documented in Grant Hayter-Menzies’ biography ‘Muggins: The Life and Afterlife of a Canadian Canine War Hero’.