Bow Wow Records was opened by my father, Andrew Horwitz, in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1984. He started the store out of his own collection and named it Bow Wow as an homage to his previous career as a veterinarian.
Bow Wow's earliest supporters were from the punk scene since there was no other place to buy the music they liked. This led to the store becoming a venue for up and coming bands traveling though New Mexico with nowhere else to play. Some of the more famous acts to play at Bow Wow were Black Flag, Jonathan Richman, and Sonic Youth.
The store grew every year and developed a national and international reputation. It was affectionately known around Albuquerque as the "white building with black spots." At one point it was ranked as one of the top ten independent records stores in the country by Spin Magazine.
Bow Wow Records closed its doors in 2002. It was killed by the internet.
-Eli