Digging up our past

Hello everyone,

I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Fergus, and I am a two-year-old brindle Boston terrier. You might think I’m like most Bostons – and it’s true. When I’m home I like to go on walks, say hello to my dog friends on the streets, sit on my human’s lap and, most importantly, chase the ball. My life is pawfect!

However, by day, I take on a different role. Monday to Friday, nine to five, I am known as BMO’s Barkivist.

You might not know what a Barkivist is, and that’s OK. My human is BMO’s archivist. Her role is to preserve and share BMO’s 200-plus years of history. She’s taught me a lot about the importance of heritage and how it connects to communities. Along the way, she and her team have discovered historic records detailing BMO’s connections to “everyone’s best friend” too, so it only made sense that I take on the task of curating and sharing BMO’s barkives, content related to our four-legged friends. You could say that digging up things from the past is in my DNA.

Here’s a rundown of what the job entails:

• I am the official greeter of employees in the morning. This always involves a wiggle dance.

• I notify the humans when visitors approach the office.

• I ensure employees get out of their chairs to stretch their legs and play five minutes of fetch every day.

• I work alongside the humans to publish regular articles where I share my thoughts on the dogs of yesteryear. (I confess, I’m not very nuanced in my approach. I see everything in black and white.)

One of my favourite parts of the job is going for long walks in the stacks. Admittedly, I do sneak away from my duties time to time for naps on my dog bed under the desk. Being the barkivist can be a ruff job, but somebody’s gotta do it! And as a terrier, I know a few things about doggedly getting things done.

I look furward to sinking my teeth into BMO’s 1,400-year history (in dog years, that is) and telling you what I learn.

À bientot.
Fergus, the Barkivist