I love dogs and I love museums. I’m pleasantly surprised when the two meet. This happened while visiting The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. No, pet dogs aren’t permitted in the museum, but some of their ancestors are.

Part contemporary art gallery, part natural history museum, and part Newfoundland historical archive, The Rooms is a must-visit site while visiting St. John’s. And if you turn the corner and find the “A Dog’s Age” exhibition still up in the mezzanine on Level 3, even better.

A Dog’s Age Exhibition in St. John’s, NL

Drawing from artifacts, and just plain facts, scattered throughout their permanent collection, The Rooms curated the “A Dog’s Age” exhibition to celebrate the canine connection to Newfoundland. No surprise, this province loves its namesake Newfoundland Dog and the Labrador Retriever – statues honouring both overlook the St. John’s Harbour. Both breeds, along with the sled-pulling Husky, feature predominantly in this information panel/artifact-style exhibit.

According to the museum, dogs have worked and played in Newfoundland for hundreds of years. “Dogs are loved as pets, lifesavers, and hunting companions. Spanning the full scope of our collections, this exhibition shows the valuable contributions of our furry friends in rural and urban life, from way back in the day to modern times.”

Also in the exhibit is a copy of a 1918 anti-dog petition complaining about dogs being destructive to livestock and asking to ban various breeds, except Pointers, spaniels, and terriers used for hunting. So, guess what? Breed-specific ban bunk has been going on for a while.

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn about Newfoundlands, Labrador Retrievers, and Huskies at The Rooms:

• Husky sled dogs functioned as ambulances: In the 1800s and 1900s, dog sleds pulled patients to hospitals and delivered medical supplies and mail between communities.

• Dog sled whips were used to snap over the dog’s ears, not hit the dogs, to guide them on their journey.

• Husky dogs have strong skeletons and are likely related to ancestors who came to the area from Siberia 2000 years ago.

• Dog licensing dates back to 1874 in Newfoundland

• The Newfoundland dog appeared on Newfoundland and Labrador’s official stamps in 1894, 1932, and 1988. All are collectors’ items.

• A Newfoundland named Sable Chief was a mascot for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in 1917.

More about Sable Chief: The Newfoundland dog was assigned a 17-year-old Private as a handler. Yet, that did not go well – Sable was still killed by a truck in 1919. However, you can still see Sable Chief because, thanks to taxidermy, he sits at the entrance to the level two military exhibition. (I had mixed feelings about this piece in the museum’s collection).

However, a photo of a live and happy Sable Chief is part of A Dog’s Age exhibition.

Where can you find a 3900-Year-Old Dog Skeleton?

A Dog’s Age exhibit directs viewers to an interesting part of the museum’s historical collection: a skeleton of a young male dog excavated from a 3,900-year-old grave site. The finding is interesting for many reasons, including its proximity to the remains of humans indicating a relationship between dogs and people that date back nearly four millennia.

Exactly what the relationship was is of course a mystery, but experts speculate that dogs have been helping early humans hunt for a long time. We cannot assume the dogs were domesticated then like they are now, but the burial proximity of human and canine indicates a close relationship between the two.

Here are interesting facts about the dog skeleton you can see at The Rooms Museum in St. John’s, Newfoundland:

• This nearly complete skeleton of a young male dog was excavated from a 3900-year-old grave in Port au Choix.

• The dog once weighed about 23 kilos or 50 pounds.

• The genetic relationship between it and contemporary species is unknown.

• The dog was likely a hunting dog or pack animal.

• The dog was wolf-like and had a long, narrow snout and large, pointy ears.

• Archaeologists found a second, older male dog skeleton close to the first.

• Both canine skeletons were found immediately above the remains of three people, two adults and a child.

Port au Choix archaeological site

The Rooms Museum is home to many artifacts uncovered at the Port au Choix archaeological site.

Port au Choix, a fishing village located on the northwest coast of Newfoundland, Canada, is a National Historic Site preserved under the umbrella of Parks Canada. The site is archaeologically significant because it’s home to the remains of various pre-contact peoples, including the Maritime Archaic, Groswater, and Dorset cultures.

Discovered artifacts and tools offer insight into the peoples who called this land home centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans. Considering the age of the canine skeleton, it likely lived with the earliest known people of this area: the Maritime Archaic. This 4000- to 6000-year-old culture is known for building large burial mounds, so finding dog bones here suggests a significant connection between the animals and their families.

In conclusion

Overall, The Rooms is a compelling museum to visit when in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and the inclusion of a dog exhibit (and dog artifacts in the permanent collection), indicates the historical and cultural significance our four-footed companions have had – and continue to have – on our lives and basically, humanity.

Watch for the dogtrotting.net Guide to Dog-friendly St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, coming soon….

Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria. Contact Sherri at dogtrotting.net here. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research. Please subscribe!