Leaving New York City recently was bittersweet – I was saying goodbye to one of my favourite cities in America, and one of my favourite museums: The AKC Museum of the Dog (MOD). Yes, that is one place I always visit when I hit the city that never sleeps, no matter how short the trip.

I’ve reviewed the MOD several times (my last review here when there was a particularly interesting travel exhibition on view), and I’ve covered the Westminster Dog Show many times – which is usually the reason I’m in NYC in the first place.

Why bittersweet? Because I don’t know when I’ll be back. I might have taken my last bite out of the Big Apple for a while. Years likely – I hope not decades.

Last Stop: New York City’s Dog Museum

As a Canadian, I’m curbing my US travel in the foreseeable future. Last time in 2020, it wasn’t my choice. This time it is. However, if you’re planning to visit NYC soon, I recommend a stop at the AKC Museum of the Dog to see either the temporary themed exhibitions that change every few months or, in my case, to see some of the new acquisitions the museum is proudly showcasing.

You see, the MOD is primarily an art gallery. It’s a museum with some interactive exhibits about dogs (see our review of the grand opening in its current location in 2019) but paintings, photographs and sculptures of dogs is its focus. In fact, the MOD is the world’s largest repository of canine fine art.

And it should get more attention as a fine art gallery considering it continues to expand its collection every year.

If you visit in 2025, you’ll be fortunate enough to see a few newly acquired pieces – identified with a blue MOD log sticker – interspersed among the collection’s staples. Here are my favourites:

Three ‘Recent Acquisitions’ at the AKC Museum of the Dog

Spaniel and Terrier (1931)

I love spaniels and that should be no surprise considering my Springer/Cocker cross is the mascot for this site and my regular travel buddy. So, this oil on canvas portrait of a black and white Spaniel with white terrier – called Spaniel and Terrier – caught me eye immediately.

Painted by Samuel Fulton (1855-1941), this isn’t the artist’s only painting of these same dogs, or dogs at all – he painted several of this spaniel and highland terrier along with other dogs. But this is one perfectly poised and not in a barn setting like many others by this artist, though those have their charm too.

The Patient Companion (1900)

The Patient Companion, oil on canvas painted in 1900 by Edwin James Douglas (1848-1914) is classically Victorian with the open hearth containing a black cooking pot and stone floor. This Scottish painter captured a moment in domestic routine. A curled up but awake Collie-like dog is resigned to wait for the return of the person who occupies the empty chair beside him.

White Light (1910)

Ultimately, the MOD is all about the American Kennel Club (AKC), so pure breed dogs predominate in the place. Paintings that depicted obvious breeds get centre stage, including this five-foot tall oil painting called White Light by the British artist Maud Earl (1863-1943) and created in 1910.

Acquired a few years ago, but still sharing space on the main floor with other collection favourites, mainly because of its size and perfect confirmation of the pointer depicted, According to the museum, Earl was one of the world’s greatest canine painters of her time, paying close attention to depicting accurate realism.

Victorian Scents and Sensibilities

Dogs are the most diverse species on the planet, and any comparison of a Great Dane with a Yorkie makes that abundantly obvious. Even ‘Spaniel and Terrier,’ exemplifies this variety with the terrier poised on a chair to meet the height of the sitting spaniel.

It also makes sense that most of the AKC’s art collection dates to the Victorian period. This is the time when dogs gradually graduated from working creatures only to pets and status symbols – dog breeding a pastime of the wealthy. That’s also the era when portrait painting piqued, and pure-breed canine companions documented as family members.

Is the Museum of the Dog pet-friendly?

Unfortunately, no – unless you come on select days. On two Fridays per month, the museum hosts various bring your dog after hours evening events. Pre-purchased tickets are usually required to control the number of four-footed visitors.

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!