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JohnRedekerTheCanine Mu seuminVicto riadisp lays dog mem orab il ia tha thavebeend iscarded, damaged,fo rgotten or putup forsale.

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CahiHCCoCCacM CesTOGOODHOMESONLYKe ithPriorrescuesdogs,but he'sadogrescuerwithad ifference .HeandhisteamattheCanineMuseum inVictoriarescuedogmem orabiliathathasbeendiscarded ,damaged ,forgotten orputupforsale .JudyRedekervisitsthemuseu mandd iscoversaworldofcan ineco llectibles .

m ;embersof theCan ineMuseumI inSkye,southofMelbourne,findtheirtreasures onthetip,insecond-handand opshops,in privatecollectionsandinantiqueshops .'Ou ro lde sttrophywasrescued fromthetip ,'KeithPrior tellsDog sLife,pointing outtheprize awardedatthePrahranShow in1904for theBestColonial-bredBu lldog.'Oneofou rcomm itteemembe rsjusthappenedtobethere.Whatannoysme ,"headds, 'is whenvisitorssay.'Oh,mygrandmahad one of those.Wethrewitou t .'That 's themainreasonwestarted- twoelderlydog b reedersdiedandthe irfamiliesw e ren 'tinterested in theircollect ions .Theywouldhaveendeduponthetipor in the op

shop ,sowe thoughtwe 'dbe tter tryanddosomethingtosave itall.'

OneofPrior'sfavourite piecesisaStaffordshirechinamascot.LuckyPugsley, wh ichheboughtatauct ion .'Noonewantedhim .H isfron tlegsandbackfootwerebroken , butthebitswerethe re .Hisearsand ta il werem issing.Wespen t10 timesasmuch onrestoringhimasonbuyinghim ," hesays .The re arenoneglected ordisadvantageddogsinthisco llection!

Prio rwasborn tobe adog owner.Hisfirstdog wasaSmoo th-hairedFoxTerriercalledSnoopy,apresen tforhisfourthbirthday.Later,hespenth isafter-schoolhoursworkinginGreyhoundkennels.ButPriorbeganhis lifetimecomm itment toowning ,breeding ,show ingand

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JohnRedekerA favou rite of an tiqu edealerKeithPriot's- a Ma lteseputtingon itshat in front o famirror.

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i r ihnRedekereck thisartifact- a pair o(hunting dogs with theirp rey . JohnRede kerKeithPriorfrom theCanine MuseuminVictoriais an antiquedealerspecialisingin dog figu rines .

ging dogsat17.whenhe went tolivewithanauntwho bredSalukisndBo rzo is.

"All Ieve rwanted todo wasworkwithdogs,'hesays,"andI'vebeenky."In hisnativeEngland ,Priorbecame anantique dealerspecialisinginfigurines.Heshowedhis firstdog ,aRussianBorzo i,57yearsagoand

isledhimto judging.'That'swhatbrought me toAustralia.Iwasinvitedhere tojudge twows,stayedafortn ight andlikeditsomuch Iwen thome,soldmyhousemovedbacksixmonthslater-with11dogs!'hesays .Borzoisremainhis firstlove, buthehasownedBoston Terriers,Afghans,

aluk isandPointers.The se days,hehas10Lab radors aswellash isBorzois .

heCan ineMuseumhemuseumisset up atKCCPark,butfo rmanyyearsdogmemo rabiliawasstkep ttuckedawayinboxesandcupboards , broughtoutforexh ib itionndpackedawayunt ilthenext dogshow orcompet itionwasheld.Twen tyyears ago .Priorandacomm itteebegan fundraising,mainlytoakeahomefor those twoco llectionssaved

omthe tip .By2003, theyhadsucceededraisingSSO.OOO tobuildthemuseum and

40 ,000 to fu rn ishitwithcabinets.Apartfrom2specia lpieces themuseumhasbought,veryth inghasbeendonated .'Itwasapersona ldream ,'saysPrior , whose

wnmemorabiliacollectedover50 yearsarelsohou sedhere.Prioris inhiselement showing visitors

round , buthe'

smuchmore inte rested inlkingabout theco llection thanabou thimself.s our tourbegins,hetellsusthat it 'sOKtouch.'Whenpeoplewalkinthey usuallystroke

hisfellow on theheadandthenstrokethisllow on thebum!'hesays .These"fellows'are twolargepieces- oneronze,one terraco tta- twoofthe "spec ia l12"

hatPriordiscoveredfor themuseum .Hebuysell." !track them downand decidethatattherice they'rebe ing offeredweshouldbuy them ,"says.Anothe rtreasureisanoilpa intinghe found

intheCamberwe l lmarket. Thereare th reebreedcollect ions, oneofBu lldogslefttothemuseumbyaco llecto r'spartner;ano therofPyreneansleftbyaformercomm itteemembe r.TheBoston Terriercollection oncebe longedtoanothe rcomm itteemembe r.Prior'spartne r,who died fiveyearsago inaca racc ident .

"Ilove thatthing ,"he chuck les .It 'sadog 'sheadwithared tongue,datedaround1900- pressthe tongueandashop-counterbe llrings.Hestillgetsakickou t of ashtrays ,hatpins,cake-serve rs ,umbrellas ,moneyboxes,neckties,handkerch iefs,saltandpeppershakersand tambourines.

"Younameit,we'vego t if,helaughs.'Thiswassupposedtobethe firstfleacollar .'It 'sacontraptionmadeofbadge rhair,supposed torepe lfleas.There's an ostricheggpaintedwithdogs.The re 'sDapperDandy,asma lldogwearingan operacloakandhat.And,dating fromaround1880 ,thepiecethat 'sprobablyPrior'sultimatefavourite- aMaltese putting onitshatin front ofamirror.Inanotherhistor ica lrole istheJapanese fightingdog ,aTosaInu ,inthe ceremonialrobeswornintothering .Thankfully,thisbloodsport isbannedthese days .

Amongthefascinatingcheap iesareinterspersedworksby famousPhotography |GitCertificates |Calendars |KeyRings |FridgeMagnets |GreetingCards

Lure |Show|Agility |F lyball |Portraits|Sledding |Obedience |EarthDogs |DancingDogs

www .PINNIC1_6:com .auA

PINNICLGzp|- io toQrc3p|- iy

POBox S7MortdaleNSW 2223Ph04l l101223Fax0295840209emailpinnicle@gmail.com

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