What can I say about a dog who has won my heart many times over? About a dog who has done EVERYTHING I have ever asked him to? About a dog who has not only been a wonderful introduction to a wonderful breed, but has also been a top-notch ambassador for that breed? I think the best way to describe Bogey is just that he is Bogey.... Anyone who knows him will understand that description....

In 1997 we decided we wanted a pure-bred, AKC registered dog so I could try my hand at obedience competitions. Our search for breeds began. We looked at many breeds, and my husband decided on the Bullmastiff. I wasn't so sure. They were big, they were drooly. I had read articles on the internet saying that they were dog aggressive and not easily trained. I humored him and we went to a dog show. We got a name of the Ohio Bullmastiff rescue coordinator. Steve called and told her about Foster. Anne suggested that we might want a puppy instead of an adult dog so that the puppy would be raised with Foster. She gave us the name of a breeder that wasn't too far from us. We called Becky Martin of Bo-Beck Bullmastiffs. Becky told us she wasn't going to be breeding for at least a year, but if we'd like to come to her house to meet her and her dogs we were more than welcome. I was hoping that once Steve saw how big and drooly they were, that he would change his mind. Instead the opposite happened and I fell in love with one of Becky's girls - Jamie. All three of the girls she had at that time (Macy, Darla and Jamie) were wonderful but Jamie did it. Jamie greeted us with a toy in her mouth and her butt wagging happily. She laid on my lap and let me pet her for just about our whole visit. Becky later told me that Jamie usually went off by herself when company came, after the whole greeting ritual was over. I think Jamie picked us on that night to own one of her puppies some day.

On July 31, 1999 Jamie gave birth to one big red male puppy via C-Section. Becky had told us a couple of weeks before that Jamie was only having one puppy. She told us that if it was a male, he would be ours, if it was a female, she was keeping her. Although I was in love with Jamie, I was still a little uncertain if I could deal with a big dog in our house. I was worried what would happen if Foster and the new puppy didn't get along. Becky assured me that if there were any problems, she would take Bogey back, no questions asked. Bogey came home with us 8 weeks later.

I won't go into all the gory details of Bogey's puppy stages. He was far from perfect, as most puppies are. I started him in Puppy Kindergarten classes as soon as he'd had all his required vaccines and from there went on to beginners obedience classes. Becky had asked if she could show him in conformation since she was very pleased with him. Since I had no desire to "play dog show" I told her yes. When Bogey turned 6 months and was old enough to go to his first show, Becky had to work, so we took him and had Becky's friend Diana show him. After that show, I was hooked. I decided I wanted to show him myself and started also taking him to conformation training classes. The first show I handled him myself, he peed down the back of my dress.... since then there has been no looking back, and although it wasn't always easy, I finished his Championship on him myself. He also earned his Companion Dog title (CD), and later when Rally Obedience started as a new sport we decided to give that a try too. I let him retire after he got his Rally Novice (RN) title, since he was 6 by this time and considered a veteran. He was enjoying being a Delta Society Pet Partner and doing his therapy dog stuff. We are still active with that at almost 10 years old, although he is slowing down and I have had to limit what activities we participate in.