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Chris Mason
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The first Bull Terrier I ever saw was at the Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Combined Test - an equestrian event in March of 1988. At the time, I was a professional horse trainer. Several of my riding students and horses I had trained were competing.
I have studied and worked with animals my whole life, but at that time I did not have a dog. A year or so earlier, a friend had introduced me to terriers via Terrier Trials - the kind that happen informally out behind a barn with a wide variety of terriers going to ground and racing and generally charging around wreaking havoc. Wow! I had no idea! I had no idea dogs could be so fascinating and fun. I set about looking into possibly getting a terrier of my own and began researching breeds.
The Chadds Ford event was legendary for bad weather, but we had lucked out and it was sunny and dry. At the end of the day, walking from the horse vans to the scoreboard, I passed a small group of spectators milling about. Beside one gentleman sat . . . what? A gargoyle? It had an egg-shaped head, tiny, beady eyes, and was grinning. I stopped dead in my tracks, unable to take my eyes off some sort of weird cross between a rhinoceros, a pig, and a triceratops. Unable to even look up at the man holding the leash of this magnificent creature, I asked, "What IS that?" I'm sure he knew I meant, "What breed of dog is that?" but in that split second I was propelled back to my childhood obsession with dragons and other mythical beasts, and I really meant "WHAT is it?"
The man holding the leash puffed himself up the way I myself do now and proudly said, "He's a Bull Terrier.”
The Bull Terrier looked right at me and his eyes got even beadier. He grinned even more and spoke to me! “You’re done-for it now, aren't you? We’ve got you.” He was right.
A few months later, I stood in the doorway of a respected Bull Terrier breeder. She was politely encouraging me to go home after I had spent several hours interacting with Bull Terriers for the very first time. I’d been jumped on and sat on and head-butted and given raggedy toys. I had watched them spin and run in silly circles and flip over on their backs and upturn furniture and slam into walls, and I could not stop smiling. As I finally turned at the door to leave, two of the girl Bullies marched over and put a foot on top of each of my feet. They looked up at me and said, "Don't ever leave us!” I haven’t. Bull Terriers 4-Ever!
“Pearl” – solid white Iffinest Guided Missile CDX (CH Emred Top Gun Of Brobar x Iffinest Sweet Rocket) 1989-2001.
“Frazier” - black brindle and white Elfming Victory (CH Megavar Masterpiece x Elfming Athena) 1994-2006.
“GoGo” - dark brindle and white CH Brigadoon GoGo Boots ROM, CGC, L2I, L3C, L1E, L1V, Elite2 (CH Brenbulls Root For Me ROM x Ch. EtoileBlanc ROM) 2007-2021.
“Badger” – black brindle and white Brigadoon Sugar Badger At Sydmonton TT, L2I, L3C, L2V, L2E, Elite1 (CH Brigadoon Blackwatch Jock O’Bullseye x CH Brigadoon GoGo Boots ROM, CGC, L2I, L3C, L1E, L1V, Elite2) 2012-
“Pixie” GCH Madcap Trickster Moon, white with red ear and red spot at base of tail L1C, L2I, NW2, DCAT, DJ (CH Patterned Head Bull Boot x GCHB Madcap Jump Over The Moon SROM VAX RN CGC TKI AXP) 2021 -
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