This hooked rug was designed and made to support the work of the Grenfell Mission. The Mission was founded in 1892 and aimed to support the welfare of the poor fishing communities around Labrador and Newfoundland. Rhoda Dawson moved to Newfoundland from England in 1930 and became part of an arts and crafts group selling rag rugs made of dyed silk stockings, which became one of the areas most profitable exports. The stockings were cut from the top to the toe, in a spiral, creating a strip about one inch wide. Most often they were crocheted or knitted into rugs, occasionally braided. Because stockings act like yarn and have great resilience, any yarn rug pattern can be used. This rug shows two dogs, one black, one brown, pulling a komitik (wooden sled). It is likely that the dogs featured are Eskimo dogs, which are haulage dogs traditionally used by Inuit tribes. They are strong, working dogs with a distinctive tail that curls onto their back.