Tiny Dog Store, 70 West Cordova, 1890s If I saw a store with this name today in Vancouver, I would assume it sold little condo dogs or related accoutrements. But the Tiny Dog Store that opened on Cordova in 1895 was a clothing and footwear shop with a flair for publicity. The top photo shows goats pulling a sign advertising a boot and shoe sale, and the bottom is an advertisement explaining how the owner, Muskett Grossman, managed to keep the prices so low. Like many Vancouver retailers in this period, Tiny Dog also catered to the hordes stocking up on their way to the Klondike gold fields. “The Best and Cheapest House in Town for Klondike Outfits! Loggers’, Miners’ and Sailors’ Supplies. Everything you want!” screamed an ad in the St James Newsletter. The name of the store was inspired by “the smallest dog that ever saw the light of day, measuring but three inches.” The stuffed carcass of the little dog could be viewed by visiting the store. Sources: Top: City of Vancouver Archives #371-1316 (1904); middle: Vancouver: Queen City of the Wonderful West (Daily Province, 1898), via the Internet Archive; bottom: Lodge history of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and A.O.U.W., Vancouver, B.C. (1895), via the Internet Archive 
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Tiny Dog Store, 70 West Cordova, 1890s

If I saw a store with this name today in Vancouver, I would assume it sold little condo dogs or related accoutrements. But the Tiny Dog Store that opened on Cordova in 1895 was a clothing and footwear shop with a flair for publicity. The top photo shows goats pulling a sign advertising a boot and shoe sale, and the bottom is an advertisement explaining how the owner, Muskett Grossman, managed to keep the prices so low.

Like many Vancouver retailers in this period, Tiny Dog also catered to the hordes stocking up on their way to the Klondike gold fields. “The Best and Cheapest House in Town for Klondike Outfits! Loggers’, Miners’ and Sailors’ Supplies. Everything you want!” screamed an ad in the St James Newsletter.

The name of the store was inspired by “the smallest dog that ever saw the light of day, measuring but three inches.” The stuffed carcass of the little dog could be viewed by visiting the store.

Sources: Top: City of Vancouver Archives #371-1316 (1904); middle: Vancouver: Queen City of the Wonderful West (Daily Province, 1898), via the Internet Archive; bottom: Lodge history of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and A.O.U.W., Vancouver, B.C. (1895), via the Internet Archive 

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