Whistler prides itself on being a pretty dog-friendly community. Our community-run animal shelter is more than three decades old, and dogs even have their own dedicated section of beach at Rainbow Park. Canines have always been prominent citizens in this valley; one could even argue that they were more important during the early days of Alta Lake, when they helped with the essential tasks of hunting and shooing away bears, as well as warming hearts like only dogs can.
Dogs appear in tons of the photos in our archives, so much so that you start to feel like you know some of them personally. You find dogs out on the hunt, hiking high up in the mountains, chasing horses, playing around the lake…
One prominent pooch, a spaniel named Binkie, led an especially unique life.
Growing up on the idyllic shores of Alta Lake, from a young age Binkie led a particularly leisurely lifestyle. In her abundant spare time she developed the habit of standing on her hind legs like a person.
Binkie was clearly quite proud of her bipedalism, and she was always keen to show off for the camera.
Binkie became a minor celebrity thanks to her unique skills, even landing a holiday-card contract with Hallmark…
Binkie’s focus became the stuff of legends. As remarkable as it was, however, sometimes her dedicated practice interfered with the busy work of running a popular tourist resort. Look how unfazed Binkie was by this fuming-mad horse that clearly had places to be and things to do.
WHISTORICAL 
Binkie is one really nice dog,just the way I like it 🙂
I own 3 Newfoundland puppies and love them a lot,I hope I will have one day same dog like Binkie is 🙂
Do do you know if binky was a springer spaniel?
Ruth, we don’t know for sure, but she sure looks like one!