This ad appeared in The (Freeport, Illinois) Daily Journal of 2 July 1898. I'm familiar with the metaphorical use of the phrase "dog and pony show," and here is the real thing.
As it turns out, the Gentry brothers' show was one of the largest and most well-known of its time. In the late 1800's, the show featured 40 ponies and 80 dogs in two units which travelled from its home base in Bloomington, Indiana, throughout the midwest. At its peak in the early 1900's, the show became a true circus, with elephants and camels and traveled as far as Mexico.
During the 1930's the Gentrys added trained pigs and a high-diving monkey, but was forced out of business by financial setbacks in about 1934.
Sources:
Indiana Public Media, The Trustees of Indiana University, 2011
http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/gentry-brothers-circus/
Circus News.com
http://circusnews.com/?p=1113
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