His name was Joe. He was a sandy-haired mongrel who’d been cruelly abused by his master, and lost his ears and tail to a butcher knife. Weak and wary, he wandered the leafy streets of Meaford into the hearts of millions around the world.

Back in 1893, the plight of the mutt sparked the anger and imagination of a young author visiting Meaford’s Moore family, who had rescued Joe from his owner in a neighbouring village. Marshall Saunders helped nurse the dog’s wounds and fear, and worked out her own outrage by writing of his plight, a manuscript she called “Beautiful Joe”.

Marshall Saunders

The next year, Saunders entered the book in an American Humane Educational Society contest to find a sequel to “Black Beauty”. Her story of the Meaford dog’s life and rescue won the prize and publication in 1894, and went on to become an international best-seller of more than 6 million copies in 14 languages.

In 1963, former Mayor Frank Garvey and his wife, Judy, came across an old marker for Joe’s grave near the Bighead River, and the couple spearheaded an effort to create Beautiful Joe Park in the plot of land across the river from their home at the end of Cook Street.

Thirty years later, Beautiful Joe again took a place of prominence in Meaford, when a local group realized he might be yet another attraction to this beautiful, historical town. When the Canadian publisher told the newly established Beautiful Joe Heritage Society it had no plans to reissue the book, but the Society was welcome to publish it, the group pulled off an astonishing feat. Using a 1930s edition as the master copy, they republished “Beautiful Joe” within a week, just in time for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication. (The new edition explained Meaford’s place in Beautiful Joe’s life, as Saunders had changed the story’s location to a town in Maine in order to increase her chances at winning the contest and at American publication.) That same summer, Meafordites enjoyed a locally-produced play called “Beautiful Joe – A Dog’s Life” at the Meaford Opera House (now Meaford Hall).

Beautiful Joe - The Meaford Edition

In the years since, the group has continued to promote Joe (as well as the humane treatment of animals and the recognition of heroic and outstanding canines), and the park now includes a cast sculpture of Beautiful Joe, landscaping around the dog’s gravesite, a Memorial Pavilion bearing plaques to beloved pets, and a monument to K-9 officers and their handlers who lost their lives on September 11.

Canine memorials at Beautiful Joe Park

Next month will see Beautiful Joe’s Autumn Adventure return to the park with dog-related events and activities, and a new Beautiful Joe play is in the works.

Beside the main entrance to Beautiful Joe Park, you’ll see a pink frame house. This is the former Moore home, and the place where Joe lived out his years.

Visit the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society to find out a whole lot more.