Big City, Small Dogs

March 8 

Vancouver, British Columbia

Our second day here in British Columbia started off in a petite bakery, Breka, around the corner from our hotel. It was at this point, once fueled up and after our first of many small dog sightings, we started our adventure: the first stop being the Museum of Anthropology! Instead of our usual long walks, we opted to take the bus and get a different perspective of the city and its beautiful architecture.

On our first day we began to notice a bizarre phenomenon, seemingly endless numbers of very small dogs yapping about the city. I decided to do a small dog counter today, which tallied up to an astonishing 31 small dogs. 


Strolling around the campus of UBC we entered the museum greeted by carvings of all sorts. The indigenous artifacts were both intricately beautiful and delicate, while the grand totem poles that lined the walls and filled up an entire room seemed indestructible yet so thoughtful. Complimented by the rich history of cultures throughout the world represented with memorabilia of all shapes and sizes. This included native spears and fishing hooks, ancient Chinese kimonos and woven blankets, a room dedicated to tin-glazed china, and commemorative videos. 


Many of these indigenous artifacts and stories prompted thinking of how interconnected these tribes were with nature, which then led to a connection to my project which has to do with the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline and its effect on natives and the environment. Not only is this pipeline, and others currently being built here in Canada and partially British Columbia harmful to the environment, but it is destroying lands owned by these first nation people. These efforts by the government are destroying the already strained relations with these first nation people. 



After carefully seeing the museum and gift shop, we rode over towards a highly requested stop at the famous Neptoon Records--the location Nardwaur has interviewed dozens of icons–but not before stopping into lunch. Little did we know The Arbor which featured BBQ burgers, poutine, and the End of Days burger was in fact a predominantly vegan restaurant that contained no meat. We then took two buses and walked over towards Stanley Park which offered beautiful views of the harbor, the city, and the mountains. 


While we did not cover the entire 9km loop, we got to get our step count up to about 21,000 or about 10 miles walked. After covering much of the park and meeting many more small dogs, we decided to head back to the hotel for a little pre-dinner rest. At this point during the day, in this big city, we had seen 31 small dogs, a new record for all of us! For dinner we just walked next door, our shortest commute so far luckily, to get some delectable soups, salads, and mac and cheese. We had riveting entertainment, the Ontario versus Newfoundland curling match which quickly prompted research into the history of curling both globally and here in Canada. It was another successful day here in Vancouver, British Columbia filled with big adventures, good food, and small dogs. 


    - Jack Dano


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