Haldimand filmmaker chronicles Norfolk man’s Bark Bus

A Norfolk County man is creating quite a buzz when he takes his family for an outing.

Linval Stewart’s family is his 12 German shepherds that pile into an old, short school bus dubbed the Bark Bus.

“When we go into the community kids are chasing down the bus like it’s an ice cream truck,” said the 49-year-old Canada Post worker and farmer. “When we go to Food Basics in Caledonia, people tell me it melts their hearts to see so many dogs that are so happy.”

Stewart grew up in Jamaica but came to Canada at the age of 12.

In his youth, despite being around dogs and not fearing them, he began to have nightmares about dogs.

“It was debilitating,” he shared. “They were chasing me. They were big, with big heads. I didn’t understand it.”

After moving to Hamilton in 2013, he decided to get dogs. After researching the type of dogs with the highest intellect, and that would suit his personality, Stewart got two male German shepherds from a litter.

“Everything came into place and my life became more peaceful,” he said, noting that he still couldn’t sleep peacefully and became an insomniac.

“Once I got these two guys, they would let me know it’s time for bed,” explained Stewart. “They trained me to go to sleep at 10 pm and if I had a nightmare, they would tap me instantly (on the chest) and I would wake up, then go back to sleep.”

After acquiring a female, puppies came along in several litters.

Stewart said he decided to keep all 12 dogs because they showed such high intelligence at a young age. And it would have been difficult for him to break up the family.

The former school bus has no seats, and he likens it to a RV now.

“They love it so much. I try to take them out every day. They want to go somewhere, and they want to see people. So, every evening we do that.”

Linval Stewart of rural Norfolk County cools down some of his 12 German shepherds with Graeme Bachiu of Windecker Road Films.Looking after his canine companions is no small feat.

“Everything is expensive. The tick medication is $2,500 and it’s good for two months,” Stewart explained. “Their vet bill is high, but the food bill is much higher.”

The dogs started off eating kibbles, but he told them he would feed them chicken if they stopped pooping in the house.

“And it worked!”

Stewart buys 15 cases of chicken at a time – at $100 each – and goes through one case each day.

“They eat three meals a day with vegetables. Everything that I eat, I give them, and they love it,” he shared. “They feel the love and compassion and reward me by behaving. It’s a shared, mutual respect.”

Norfolk County’s bylaw allows people to own three dogs, but as a farmer – raising chickens and growing crops at his rural home north of Waterford, Ontario – he’s allowed to have as many dogs as he wishes.

Filmmaker Graeme Bachiu of Windecker Road Films encountered Stewart and his bus full of dogs in the town of Jarvis recently.

“I’m always looking for documentaries to do, and I thought this is a story for sure,” said the 44-year-old filmmaker who lives near Canfield in Haldimand County. “It’s obvious how much he cares about the dogs and how much they care about him.”

Bachiu pitched to Stewart the idea of ​​making a short documentary film, and before long was filming a trek with all 12 dogs in the bus, to a veterinarian in Oakville.

“It’s a nice, little, slice of life kind of story. I’m not trying to change the world with some of these (documentaries),” he noted. “It’s just telling a nice story (about) somebody that I connected with who had a beautiful story.”

Having worked in the broadcast television and film production industry for more than 25 years, Bachiu was able to edit the footage down to the required five-minute length quickly to meet a contest entry deadline just six days after filming.

Bark Bus is entered in TVO Today’s Short Doc Film contest that will be judged by three executive producers.

“I know it’s an unconventional doc, as others are issue-based,” he noted. “There’s no issue here, it’s just an interesting, engaging person.”

Several of Bachiu’s documentaries have been featured on PBS, and in 2021 he was named a Breakthrough Fellow by the Documentary Organization of Canada.

Last year he was honored with the President’s Award from the Ontario Historical Society for his work on the Canfield Roots documentary.

The public can view Bark Bus and other entries in the contest, and vote for the People’s Choice Award by visiting shortdoc.tvo.org/peoples-choice-award/

Voting closes on June 16.

[email protected]