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A
BRIEF HISTORY OF By
Al Walker, ARF Trustee, USA The
Animal Research Foundation, or better known as “ARF”, was founded in
1947, near Quinlan, Texas, by the late Mr. Tom D. Stodghill, Genealogist,
1903-1989. Tom
D. Stodghill was born August 30, 1903, to Uriah Thomas Stodghill and Ada
Dromgoole-Stodghill, near the central Texas town of Mart. From his birth,
to his passing, in 1989, the American way of life in these United States
and the world changed dramatically. What
we take for granted today, Tom’s generation was the first to witness -
the epic of flight, major changes in modes of transportation, and in
medicine, and to witness how technology improved the average American home
- everything from having electricity, refrigerators, washing machines, gas
and electric kitchen stoves, heating and air conditioning, televisions,
radios, telephones, and computers. But,
even with all the technological changes he saw, he also witnessed the
social upheavals, by newspaper and radio, reporting the accounts of WW I,
and WW II, the Korean War,
and, later, the Viet Nam War. The
Viet Nam War was the first of several wars to come into the American home,
via national television, every night on the evening news.
However, there was not only constant war going on somewhere in the
world, but he also saw the social strife going on between the races;
segregation - black men and women having to use public water
fountains marked
“colored”, attend “colored” schools, and, having to ride in the
back of the city bus. As a
result of the “Civil Rights’ Movement”, he saw major social changes,
made by the administrations of President John F. Kennedy and President
Lyndon B. Johnson, and lived during the time that President John F.
Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, for
their views on “social change”. [This writer was in Dallas, Texas, November 23, 1963, the day
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
I saw him, his wife, Jackie, and Gov. and Mrs. John Connelly, on
Lemmon Avenue, just minutes before he was killed by an assassin’s
bullet.] However,
if we could turn the hands of time back to c. 1900, where life was not as
complex as it is today, we would either love it or hate it.
Therefore, 100-plus years ago, the chances are, you would have
lived on the farm, and you would have died on the farm.
As a rule, most people did not travel out of the county where they
lived; the only time they left the farm was when they went to town, or
went to church. Faced with
survival, every day of the week was filled with hard backbreaking work;
the farmer plowed his fields in the hot sun, from dawn to dusk, plowing
only three acres a day with a team of mules, or horses.
The farmer and his wife would have lived in a small frame house,
having a porch, if they were fortunate, sitting in a rocking chair, or
porch swing, ‘til it was cool enough to go to bed.
They had no indoor plumbing; the best a farmer could hope for was
to have a cistern and a bucket to draw water.
If not, he had to haul water in barrels loaded in a wagon, from a
nearby river or creek. A 100-plus years ago, there was no such thing as an
indoor bathroom; the “john”, or outhouse, was back somewhere behind
the house, and, there was no
rolls of toilet paper for the user’s comfort, either; just an old
“Sears & Roebuck” / “Montgomery ‘Monkey’ Wards Catalog”.
Baths were usually taken once a week, on Saturday night, so Sunday
morning the farmer could wear his Sunday-go-to-meeting overalls, his wife,
her gingham dress, and their children dressed in like attire, also.
[During the summer-time, the children went barefoot all week long,
but they wore shoes to church. Ol’
Sounder, the dog, went to church, too, but he had to stay outside and
listen to the Preacher’s sermon, while he guarded the horses.
However, ol’ Sounder somehow knew that the Sabbath day was a day
of rest; therefore, he could rest, too, from all his farm chores of
bringing in the cows, etc.]
The
life of the farmer’s wife was as equally hard for her, too; laundry was
washed in a large black cast iron pot, over a wood fire, and, then, hung
out on a wire clothes-line to dry. Washing clothes was an all-day affair
for the wife, scrubbing on a wash board, agitating the clothes in the wash
pot, over a hot fire, with a wooden plunger.
Ironing clothes was another major task for the wife.
Since she did not have an electric iron, she had to have several
steel flat-irons; one to iron with, one or two others on a hot stove,
waiting to be used, while raising a half dozen children, all at the same
time. Other
than a few staples (sugar, flour, salt, and coffee), the food on the table
came from what the farmer and his wife raised; vegetables from the garden,
meat from chickens, goats,
rabbits, pigs, and cattle. The cows produced their milk, cream, and butter; however, if
a cow died, its tallow was used to make lye soap for laundry and
lubricants. The animal’s hide, its leather, had many uses on the farm;
therefore, nothing was wasted. As
a rule, the American farmer did not have much money; therefore, he was
never in a position to pay for labor.
However, his neighbors came to help when he was ready to raise a
barn, or help with harvesting. Likewise,
when the time came to
help his neighbors, he was always ready and willing to give a hand, and,
at the end of the day,
the men folk, and their wives, had time to socialize.
The women may have shared their favorite recipe, or a pattern for a
dress; however, the men would talk about how their crop was coming along,
or about some new farm implement they had just seen.
But, many times, they would talk about their animals, especially
their dogs; often, about how their dogs would bring the cows back up to
the barn, when it was time for them to be milked, or how a dog saved one
of the children from drowning in the river.
As the farmers shared their dog stories, you would probably hear a
farmer say, “How about my getting a pup, the next time you have a
litter?” Another might say,
“I sure could use a dog like that around my place; how about saving a
pup for me, too?” On
the farm, the farmer depended a great deal on his dog, not only for
protection of his family, but for doing many mundane chores - moving
cattle, sheep and horses from one pasture to another, protecting the
chickens from being eaten by a fox, or keeping the raccoons and deer out
of the garden. However,
what the dog could not do, children could. So, 100 years ago, it was not
uncommon to see a farm family with eight, nine, twelve, fourteen children
running around the house; and they were all born at home, generally with
the help of a mid-wife. As
for their children’s education, many a boy and girl learned at his or
her mother’s knee, while she read from the family Bible, each evening,
and, of course, ol’ Sounder was there to listen, too.
During the day, the boys learned animal husbandry from their
father, the girls learned homemaking from their mother; however, both boys
and girls could handle common chores.
The girls could milk cows as good as boys, and the boys could raise
a garden as good as the girls. However,
during the winter months, when things were slow on the farm, the farmer
and his wife sent their children to school, to learn the three “Rs”
– “Readin’, ‘Ritin’ and ‘Rithmatic, and correction with a
hickory stick” – while ol’ Sounder waited outside, to walk them
home. In the early
years of American history, school only lasted three months out of the year
- December, January and February; the other nine months, the children were
needed back on the farm, to prepare planting for that year’s crop, etc.
As a rule, many farm boys did not go beyond the 9th grade, while
there were others who were not able to attend school; therefore, many of
these boys never learned to read or write.
But, don’t be fooled by their illiteracy; God gave these young
men many talents so that they, too, could provide for a family.
With
all that a farmer possessed 100 years ago, there were several things that
he depended upon for the survival of his family – his mule, and/or
horse, his dog, and his gun. His
mule, and/or horse, was needed for his personal transportation, or moving
his family in the family wagon, and for plowing his fields and
miscellaneous chores. His dog
was to protect him, his family, his livestock,
from predators and would-be thieves, and to track wild animals on the
range, or in the woods. His
gun, too, was for the protection of his family, and to shoot game, to put
meat on the family table. In
having a large family, the farmer and his wife took advantage of their
meager financial resources. For
instance, grain that would be purchased at the general feed store was
often sold in plain or printed cloth sacks, called denim and gingham.
From that denim and gingham cloth, the wife followed a pattern that
she had purchased from a general dry goods store, or from a Sears &
Roebuck Catalogue, and she would cut out and sew pants, dresses, shirts,
aprons, etc., for her family. From the remnants of cloth, she would make
quilts so her family would be warm on cold winter nights.
Further, many of the family dishes came inside those cloth sacks of
flour and oats; over a period of time, she could collect a whole set of
cups and saucers, dinner plates, along with soup bowls.
As for her furniture, cane bottom chairs were the standard of the
day; the kitchen table was constructed from wood planks.
Of all the chairs in the house, chances are that no two chairs were
alike in the whole house. The
beds were simple constructed wood frames, laced with rope to support a
cotton mattress; later, steel bed springs supported the cotton mattress. For those who could not afford a cotton mattress, feather
beds were used. The only
other items in the house might have been a wood cook stove, a flour
cabinet, a coffee grinder, a churn for butter making, a rockin’ chair, a
cradle for baby, a trunk, a chest-of-drawers, a kerosene lamp or two, and,
for those awful cold nights, a chamber pot by the bed. [Granddad said,
“When he was a wee-wee tot, his mother would take him from his warm-warm
cot, and put him on a cold-cold pot, and tell him to tee-tee, whether he
could or not.”] In
time, some of the more successful farmers were able to purchase a
“separator” (a hand-cranked item, where the farmer poured fresh milk
in the top of the unit, and turned the crank until he had separated the
heavy cream from the milk). The
rich cream could then be used in many delightful dishes of food, prepared
by the farmer’s wife; the excess milk and cream was carried to town and
sold, or it was given to the pigs to eat.
It was in this American farm tradition that young Tom Stodghill
grew up, with his parents, and his two brothers and three sisters. Growing
up on the farm, Tom had a keen interest in animal husbandry; he worked at
raising chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, horses and dogs, and he was so good
at producing large numbers of them that other farmers came from long
distances to purchase his livestock. However,
there were times when various issues on breeding and care puzzled Tom, but
he was fortunate to have an uncle, Edward B. Dromgoole, his mother’s
brother, who was a veterinarian, to help answer his many concerns. As time moved along, Tom began to write pamphlets,
along with his animal raising, giving tips on breeding and care of various
farm animals.
These little pamphlets
he wrote were sold to feed stores, or to be given away with animal feed. By his writing expert information on animal breeding, people
would often write to him, seeking more information in regards to how they
could further improve their breeding program.
He would always respond by a personal letter, taking special
interest in what the farmer was trying to accomplish, and go into great
detail taking the farmer step-by-step through the whole process.
However, when Tom’s correspondence finally exceeded what he could
handle, he kept his mother busy, as his secretary, writing letters, too.
As
a result of all his correspondence, he became acquainted with Miss Garnett
LaEunice Palmer, a farm girl from Ada, Oklahoma, and, in 1926, they
married. After being married
just a few short years, the great “Depression” [1929-1939] hit
America, as a result of the Stock Market collapsing, on October 29, 1929.
As bad as the “Depression” was, with millions of American out
of work, Tom and Garnett were blessed with four healthy babies.
Further, both he and Garnett were blessed by having a farm to live
on; thereby, he was able to continue breeding and raising livestock.
In the 1930’s, he and his wife raised large flocks of turkeys and
guineas; they sold these birds, as well as their eggs.
[Incidentally, when my wife, Jean, was born, in 1934, the doctor
was paid in turkey eggs. Often, she exclaims that was the reason for her
being “freckled”.] Also,
in 1934, Tom and Garnett developed what was to be called the bronze
“Crimson Dawn Turkey”. He
carried one of his turkeys to the Chicago World Fair (by bus) and won
first prize. Back home, both
he and Garnett were very resourceful in providing for their family.
One very hot West Texas day, Tom came upon a road crew, working
next to the railroad tracks, and he noticed that the men were without
drinking water. He
immediately went to the road crew foreman, and he secured a deal to
provide fresh well water for his men, on a daily basis.
However, not only did Tom bring fresh sweet water every day for the
crew, Garnett had a large number of guinea hens and chickens, from which
she made delicious sandwiches for the hungry men to buy.
Even Tom’s children sold cookies and sodas to the men who had a
little extra money. Also, as
a result of Tom’s dependability, providing water to a thirsty work crew,
the foreman hired him on as his rock inspector.
Later, Tom and Garnett opened a little produce stand, which he
named “Humpty-Dumpty”; from that stand they sold homemade
“Stodghill’s Gobble-Gobble Grape Juice”, and cream and butter.
And, when customers did not come to him, he went to them, going
door-to-door. While
living near Dunn, Texas, the government had begun to pay farmers and
ranchers to kill their cows, in order to reduce the supply of beef.
Therefore, as a result of reducing the herds, the government sought
to raise the price of beef. [I
can remember my own father telling me that you could buy ten pounds of
beef for a dollar, if you had the dollar.]
Tom’s brother-in-law reluctantly slaughtered a number of his milk
cows so that he could get the government funding.
However, Tom said, “I’ll never kill our cows, while there
are millions of hungry people in this country.
We’ll ‘can’ our cows first.”
Some of his family were not sure that Tom would survive without
‘government money’; he kept his cows, and he and his family “made
do”.
After
spending many years in West Texas, c. 1939, Tom took his wife, his
children, his animals, and all the family possessions to Northeast Texas,
about 40 miles from Dallas, so that he could be near his mother and his
two brothers, Woodrow and George.
He located a little house near the community of Poetry, on a long
dirt road, in which to move his family; however, every time it rained, you
could neither get in or get out, except by foot. During the time they
lived there, his children were having to walk several miles of muddy roads
to Poetry School. Garnett was
not happy about this at all. Then, one day, he happened to pick up a man that was
hitch-hiking to town, and he told him about the place where the ARF is
located now, and Tom bought it, because it was located right on the
highway. By making this
purchase, he thought he was going to make his wife very happy; however,
the home place proved to be in a dire condition.
Therefore, while Tom was busy with other matters, Garnett became
very exhausted cleaning the rundown house and yard, along with being a
wife and mother, and her health began to suffer.
However, at the time, Tom did not understand the female mind of
what his wife was trying to tell him, and Garnett ended their 19 years of
marriage by divorcing him. Now,
Tom was left alone with one daughter and one son to raise, and cows, hogs
and dogs to care for. Garnett
moved to town, taking two of her daughters with her.
After the divorce, Tom finally came to grips as to what his wife
was trying to tell him, but she would not return back to him; losing
Garnett was the greatest tragedy of his life.
Once
he knew that Garnett would not come back to him, he remarried.
His new wife, Eunice Wilson-Stodghill, and he became very active in
working with a number of breeds of livestock.
Among the most progressive of the animals they raised were OIC hogs
[Ohio Improved Chester Whites] and Black and Tan English Shepherds.
The English Shepherd was a breed of canine that Tom’s family
brought to America, when they migrated from England, in 1798.
As a result of Tom’s successful English Shepherd breeding
program, his national advertising in “Dog World”, the “Progressive
Farmer”, as well as other well-known farm and ranch publications, and
his letter-writing ability, he was able to sell more English Shepherds
than he could produce. As a
result of this situation, he began to write people all over the United
States who produced Black and Tan English Shepherds, so that he could fill
his orders. Later, with these
breeders, he formed the first “English Shepherd Club of America”,
becoming its first Club Secretary-Treasurer, and Mr. Frederick Preston
Search its first Club President. To
further help network the English Shepherd breeders together, he created
“State Chapters” within the ESCOA, and he published the first English
Shepherd book – “Who’s Who – English Shepherd Club of America”.
Also, with the help
of ESCOA membership, in 1953, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he organized the
first cowdog trials to take place in the U.S.A.
Later, these trials were referred to as “Cowdog Rodeos”, a name
which he had coined. All
through the 1950’s, English Shepherd breeders and owners knew the name
Tom D. Stodghill, and, since he had organized the ESCOA, he also created
the English Shepherd Club Pledge. I
will share it with you; it went like this:
“I pledge allegiance to the ENGLISH SHEPHERD CLUB OF AMERICA, and
to the Stodghill Family, who are Old Pioneers of Black and Tan English
Shepherds. 1798 – 1950.
“Four thousand years ago, Moses said to his people, ‘Pick up
your shovels, load your Camels, mount your asses, and ride with me to the
Promise Land.’
“Four thousand years later, Stodghill said to the people, ‘Send
old Shep after the cows, sit in your rocking chair, light a Camel, THIS IS
THE PROMISED LAND.” Shortly
after organizing the ESCOA, other men came to him in regards to
registering and getting recognition of other breeds of stockdogs.
One of these men was V. T. “Cowboy” Williams, the first to ask
Tom to register the Catahoula Leopard [1951].
As a result of registering a second breed of canine, Tom referred
to his animal business as being the “Animal Research Foundation”.
As such, he could then register all breeds of livestock, standard
breeds, rare breeds, and newly-developed breeds - for himself, and for
others. Further, this would
allow him to work with animal crosses, by using swine, cattle and dogs. As a result of what he accomplished, he won many ribbons at
the Dallas State Fair, Tyler Fair and Hunt County Fair. As a result of his work, it was not long afterwards that
newspaper and magazine people were interested in interviewing him. As
their articles were published and read by farm and ranch people, they
began to call and write Tom from all over the United States, and various
parts of the world. To keep
people connected to what he was doing, in the 1950’s he published the
first “Animal Research Working Dog Magazine”.
Later, it became known as “Stodghill’s ARF Cowdog Magazine”.
This magazine was mailed to all fifty states, and several foreign
countries. In his magazine, he also featured other breeds of canines than the English Shepherd and Catahoula. He wrote about Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Australian Cattledog Queensland Heelers, etc.; he reprinted letters he had received from various breeders, from his customers, and from those just seeking information. At the end of each letter, he closed with the following statement, “I am, very sincerely yours, Tom D. Stodghill.” There
is one thing I know for certain; we do live on a small planet after all.
When you talk dogs, word can travel fast. Starting with “Cowboy” Williams, the Catahoula people
gravitated to Tom very quickly. In
that group of Catahoula owners was Mr. J. D. Whittington.
Not only did Mr. Whittington own Catahoulas, he also knew people
who owned Lacy Cowdogs. As
good things are always waiting to be shared with others, someone, like Mr.
Whittington or Mr. Williams, happened to tell Mr. Lee Preston about the
ARF, or they handed him a back issue of our “ARF Magazine”, and
explained that he could register his “Lacy Cowhogdogs” with our
organization. No sooner
had Mr. Preston learned about the ARF, than others, who owned the same
breed, began to contact the Foundation - men such as Mr. H. C. Wilkes
(from Marble Falls, Texas), Joe Bell (Buffalo, Texas), Wilson Chitwood
(Terrell, Texas), Chester Wager (Lafayette, Louisiana), John McBryde (Hubbronville,
Texas), Carl Wilson (Johnson City, Texas), Wylie Lee (Charlotte, Texas),
Frank Perry (Throckmorton, Texas), and many, many others.
All of the above-mentioned names competed in the Whittington’s
Johnson City Cowdog Rodeo, and all were winners. At
the ARF Cowdog Rodeo, October 28, 1979, Mr. Wilkes made history. Tom
received a phone call from a Mr. John Haskins, Refugio, Texas, wanting
“six best ARF-Registered Cowdogs that money could buy”.
Tom told him, “Give me a little time, and I will fill your
order.” [In 1979, a good
working dog was priced at $600.00.] Mr. Haskins wanted the dogs brought to his 100,000-acre ranch
to pen cattle. Tom knew Mr.
J. D. Whittington, and that he had the dogs that could pen the roughest of
cows. However, when Tom
phoned Mr. Whittington, he said he did not want to sell his dogs, but to
phone Mr. Wilkes, as he, too, had dogs that could pen the cows.
As soon as Tom got off the phone with Mr. Whittington, he phoned
Mr. Wilkes and told him who wanted the dogs, and explained he wanted him
to bring his dogs to the 100,000-acre ranch and show Mr. Haskins the dogs
could pen cows. Mr.
Wilkes told Mr. Haskins that he had lived on the Lacy Family Old Pioneer
Home Place where the Lacy Cowdogs had been renown for more than 100 years.
He was thrilled to show Mr. Haskins what his Texas Lacy Cowdogs
could do. Mr. Wilkes’ dogs
penned 80 to 90 Brahma-type cattle. Mr.
Haskins paid him $3,600.00 for six Texas Lacy Cowdogs, and also $500.00
for a good-size Texas Lacy Cowdog pup.
All were ARF-Registered. From the 1880’s to the 1940’s, there were only two recognized canine registries in America, the AKC and the UKC; if you did not have a breed of animal that was recognized by either club, you were left out in the cold. Also, there were no “clubs” available to help the rancher-stockman by providing a training school to improve stockdog breeding and training, until Mr. Stodghill organized the first field training school in 1953 … for the next 35 years, he held “Cowdog Trials” at Stodghill Ranch, Quinlan, Texas. In
his career, he was the first to organize the English Shepherd Club of
America. In 1951, he was the
first to recognize and register the Catahoula Leopard, and to write its
history in 1983. In the
1950’s, he registered the first “Australian Shepherds”, and helped
organize the Australian Shepherd Club.
In 1965, he was the first man to register the “Australian
Cattledog Queensland Heeler”. In
1972, he was the first to name the “American Bulldog”, after
consulting with Mr. John D. Johnson, the patriarch of the breed.
In 1980, he was the first to consult with Mr. David Leavitt, on the
re-creation of the “Olde English Bulldogge”, and, in 1986, the first
to consult with Ms. Lana Lou Lane on the registration and preservation of
the “Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog”.
Today, the ARF recognizes and registers over 250 standard, rare,
and very popular newly-developed breeds.
From the time Mr. Stodghill founded the ARF, he wrote many articles
which were published in books, magazines, newspapers, and his own
publication which he published for more than thirty years. July,
2001, Ms. Lana Lou Lane, 1947-2001, the originator of the breed known as
the, ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG, passed away.
However, approximately 15 years prior to her death, she contacted
the ARF, and she spoke to its founder, the late Mr. Tom D. Stodghill, in
regards to registering and preserving her “rare breed”, in perpetuity.
In November of 1986, the ARF registered the first of many ALAPAHA BLUE
BLOOD BULLDOGS that came from her kennel. As
a businesswoman, Ms. Lane knew that if the world was going to learn of her
breed of bulldog, she would have to have a “recognized registry” to
register her bulldogs, an advertising plan, and a dog-showing plan.
Therefore, she chose the Animal Research Foundation, ARF, to
register her dogs, “Dog World Magazine”, for national exposure, and,
she chose Ms. Jane Otterbein, to show her dogs in rare breed venues.
Further, she produced her own video tape [which is still available,
from the ARF], and other printed matter, as a means of marketing her
bulldogs to prospective buyers.
Further, Ms. Lane created a kennel name for herself, which she referred to as, “Circle L Kennels” / “Circle L Farms”. On her Kennel/Farm, she owned, bred and raised a number of breeds of canines, some of which were Rat Terriers, Toy Fox Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers [a/k/a American Staffordshire Terriers], Catahoulas, American Bulldogs, and an “American Bulldog/Catahoula” cross, known as a “Catahoula Bulldog”. However, her number-one-selling dog was her ARF-registered, “old timey plantation dog”, which she named the “ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG”, so named for the Alapaha River Region of South Georgia, which passed near her home in Rebecca, Georgia. Therefore,
the afore-mentioned bulldog that Ms. Lane saved, to the best of our
research, is also known as a “White English Bulldog” and an
“American Bulldog”, which was brought to America by the 17th
century colonists. In
Ms. Lane’s early childhood days, she heard her parents, grandparents,
relatives, and neighbors, refer to these “old timey” bulldogs by
various names, such as “OTTO DOGS”, “OLD TIMEY PLANTATION
BULLDOGS”, “OLD SOUTHERN BULLDOGS”, “WHITE ENGLISH BULLDOGS”,
“AMERICAN BULLDOGS”, or just plain “BULLDOGS”.
Since these “old timey bulldogs” were not readily available to
the general public, she employed the help of a number of individuals, to
help her in her dog selection, training, and “Dog Showing”. Some of
these individuals included Ms. Jane Otterbein, for “Dog Showing”, and
Mr. Mike Connors, Mr. Marker Ray Nicholas, and Mr. John Conners, and his
father, Curtis Conner, as her dog breeders, handlers, and trainers. A
special note to the reader: On
Tuesday morning, April 28, 1992, Ms. Lane was in her home, when it caught
fire. As a result of that
fire, Ms. Lane’s Foundation sire, “Lana’s Marcelle Lane”, ARF Reg.
No.: ABBB12M, died, and, Ms. Lane was badly burned [3rd degree
burns over 30% of her body]. From
that day forward, Ms. Lane was under a doctor’s care, for she suffered a
great deal from her burns and disfigurement.
To help relieve her pain, her doctor prescribed pain pills, as well
as other prescription drugs, that affected her memory and attitude towards
others. As a result of her
memory loss, she wrote in her last brochure, the following statement:
“The Alapaha is not the same dog as American Bulldog and not
to be confused with them, or to be cross bred with them.”
Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldogs, page 5.
However, this statement contradicts the fact that the “American
Bulldog” is related to her “Alapaha”, and that she herself used a
female, NKC-registered, American Bulldog, named “Arnold’s Codi”, as
well as others, as part of her rare-breed survival breeding program.
Further,
on January 11, 1997, Ms. Lane notified me of a 100% “American Bulldog”
that she had acquired, and was then using in her breeding program.
This dog’s name was “Arnold’s Codi”, NKC Reg. No.:
C026-602, and was bred by Marvin Arnold.
With a copy of “Codi’s” NKC Certificate of Registration, Ms.
Lane sent me a note, stating: “Al,
Send reg. papers on “Lana’s Codi Arnold”, as
one of the “litter application”.
Please call me when you get this so I may explain. Thanks Lana” Again, Ms. Lane did use an “American Bulldog” [a
“White English Bulldog”], in her Alapaha breeding. When
Ms. Lane began sending in her ARF-paperwork, to have her bulldogs
registered as “Alapahas”, she had very-little-to-no ancestry on the
dogs that she registered; therefore, her original Alapaha breeding stock
was “Merit” registered. The
reason being, most of the old farmers of South Georgia did not care if
their bulldogs were registered or not.
Therefore, if Farmer Brown
had a litter of
bulldog pups, and, his neighbor, Farmer Jones, wanted one, he gave him one
on the condition that when his bulldog had pups, he would get a pup back.
So, by this method of trading, bulldog pups were spread over many
southern Georgia counties, including other southern states.
In
searching for her rare-breed of bulldog, she knew what she was looking
for, so she produced a breed standard that would primarily describe her
bulldogs; males weighing 70 to 90 pounds, and females weighing 50 to 70
pounds. Many of today’s
American Bulldogs weigh upwards to 130, even to 150 pounds; therefore, the
variety of “American Bulldog” that Ms. Lane selected, for her
“Alapaha” breeding program, was the “White English Bulldog”. But, since she declared a solid white bulldog as being an
undesirable color, these were crossed with colored “American Bulldogs,
creating the “preferred” colors. The
mystery that seems to worry so many people is, “Where did Ms. Lane find
her bulldogs?” Most of her dogs were found within 75 to 100 miles of her
home; however, Mr. John Conners, and his father, Curtis, of Georgia,
helped Ms. Lane to obtain other American Bulldogs, which she used in her
breeding program. In the
years that Ms. Lane bred and sold her dogs, she only allowed a very select
few to purchase and breed “Alapahas”.
These early breeders included Ms. Jane Otterbein [retired], Mr. Joe
Shay, Mr. John Conners, Mr. Marker Nicholas [retired], and Mr. Carlos
Amaral, of Canada. Later, through the above breeders, other breeders have
been added to the ARF-Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog Breeders’ List. These now include, Mr. John Mims, Mr. James Orr, Mr. &
Mrs. Jesse Kelly, Mr. Allen Westerdale, and Mr. Jamal Johnson. However, in the future, we shall see more and more breeders
join our ARF-list of approved breeders, and their names will be added for
future Alapaha puppy acquisition. As
for those people who have acquired an “Alapaha”, there are many
testimonials that Lana reproduced in her brochure, testifying to the
greatness of these dogs. Therefore,
if you would like to obtain a copy of her brochure, containing these
testimonials, and a copy of VHS video tape, “ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD
BULLDOGS”, describing her dogs, these can be obtained from the ARF, for
a total of a $35.00 donation. [Please add $10.00 for shipping and
handling.] Also, in 2007,
Wiley Publishing, Inc., produced a book for Howell Book House [HBH], that
was authored by Liz Palika, under the title of “The Howell Book of
Dogs”, which features the “Alapaha”, one of the three-hundred breeds
listed; it is a one-page article only, and, the author gives an
“almost” accurate description of the breed.
The book is available at the ARF, for a $40.00 donation, or you can
purchase it from your local book store.
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