Dogs of Historic Mississauga

While hopefully no one would say that Mississauga is going to the dogs, here’s a selection of historic images of dogs in Lorne Park, Streetsville, Malton, and Lakeview.    

Arthur Luker grew up in Lorne Park, living on a house on Lorne Park Road. Here’s one of the photos from his family album, from around 1900. 

Before the First World War, Arthur was hired as a mechanic and chauffeur by George Morrow at his residences in both Toronto and Lorne Park. This photo was taken around 1910.

Need to power equipment on your farm, like a butter churn or washing machine? While Streetsville began generating electricity near the end of 1907, Toronto Township (historic Mississauga) was a big place to try and string powerlines about. One of your best options would be to put your dog to work on a treadle, like this one.

This photograph was taken for Perkins Bull, an author of a series of books on Peel’s history written in the  1930s. It’s believed to be the same equipment in the collection of the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, on display in the “Face of the Farmer” exhibit. If so, it can be traced to the McClintock family of Streetsville. 

Russell Cooper photographed the arrival of an Afghan hound at Malton Airport, June 17, 1950.

In October 1951, Cooksville courts heard that Albert Smith was keeping a “vicious” dog. Mrs. A. S. Hutchinson laid charges that her children were frightened of Smoky, who was partly a Newfoundland dog. Smith, of Lakeview, noted that the Hutchinson children used to throw rocks at Smoky when he was a puppy. Character witnesses for Smoky included a neighbour, Mrs. W. E. Faris. The Port Credit Weekly reports she testified that the dog “saved two-year-old Garry Smith from being hit by an auto by pushing him off the road as he was about to be struck.”

Magistrate T. H. Moorehead spared the dog. 

Do you have images of Mississauga that you’d like to share with insauga readers? The Peel Archives would love to see them! Send them to [email protected] or drop by the archives to let us copy them or possibly add them to our permanent collection. While these images are all decades old, we collect images of Peel up to present day. The 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s are history, too!

The images in this photo story are in the collection of the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, at 9 Wellington Street East in downtown Brampton. Copyrights belong to their respective owners. Tuesday through Saturday, the Archives is open for public research, for free.