Hector Macdonald (right) was reputed to be “ Canada’s largest St. Bernard.” So, at least, declared this eye-catching business card, published after the dog’s death in 1907.
Hector measured an impressive 1.11 metres (3 feet, 8 inches) in height and 2.39 metres (7 feet, 10 in.) in length. His collar measured 0.86 metres (2 feet, 10 inches) in circumference. The dog weighed in at 112 kg (246 pounds). Truly he was a giant of this gentle breed.
Hector died on March 11, 1907, at the age of seven. He was mourned by all who knew him, and none more so than his owner, Miss Beatrice McClarty, of Sutton, Quebec.
McClarty’s father, L. L. McClarty (left), was a dealer in marble and granite who specialized in monuments, headstones, vaults, table tops, and mantles, and who always kept “from six to ten carloads of stock on hand” at his premises in Sutton.
The photograph of Hector Macdonald seen here was featured on the front of McClarty’s business card.