Thank you for visiting the dogs and I at Affinity Bullmastiffs! I'm overjoyed to have a place on the web to share my personal passion for the breed. I hope you enjoy my pages and continue to revisit them as my Bullmastiff family develops and matures into my dreams.

Me kennel name, "Affinity", was chosen for what it symbolizes to me and the way I feel about my Bullmastiffs. The definition that best describes this relationship is "an attraction to or liking for something. A sense of kinship or relation to."

For me, the Bullmastiff is one of the most often misunderstood breeds. Their gentle nature often collides with their physical presence which can appear as quite threatening to some people. Due to their immense size and their fierce look the Bullmastiff tends to be categorized as intimidating. I began in the breed while volunteering at the Humane Society. A Bullmastiff was released to the shelter because the owner simply grew tired of caring for him. He was a large boy who offered sloppy, wet kisses to anyone willing to trust him. He was slated to be euthanized since the shelter needed space and there were 'more adoptable' dogs waiting in the wings. 

Needless to say the dog was not euthanized. With the help of my sister, we were put in touch with a rescue volunteer for the American Bullmastiff Association (ABA). The volunteer invited us to her home where we were introduced to her own personal Bullmastiffs. One-by-one they visited with us in their own living room where my sister and I were seated. By the end of the night, I was simply hooked! there would be no other breed for me. It was something about their level of conscious awareness and those warm brown eyes that melted my heart, and I fell in love. Soon, I began fostering for the ABA Rescue Program and our home turned into a transitional haven for bullmastiffs in need.

In 1998, I was called upon to visit a shelter in Oregon to bring home an elderly bullmastiff girl seized from a puppy mill. "Dee Dee" was 9-years-old and covered in tumors. Previously used as a brood bitch living in a filthy garage she suffered from flea infestation, untreated allergies and life in a deplorable environment. Her fur was thin in places and non-existent in other areas. She seemed so cold, lumpy and bald. She looked a wretched mess if you were to focus on her worn out and infected body, but once again those big brown eyes captured my heart and soon she was living out the rest of her life in our loving home.

Dee was my first bullmastiff and she would stay with us for 6 wonderful months. In those months Dee taught me so many things, but the most valuable lesson I gleaned from knowing this gentle spirit was her capacity to love unconditionally. She never held a grudge. She reached out to humankind in complete and utter trust despite her years spent in a horribly abusive and cruel place. Dee will forever hold a place near and dear to my heart and soul. 

In recent years I have become sincerely attracted to showing Bullmastiffs in AKC and CKC events as a hobby and more. I've attended 100's of dog shows in Canada and in the US and participated actively in our Regional Bullmastiff Clubs. In 2007 and 2008 I've held positions on the American Bullmastiff Association's Board of Directors and currently am it's President.

I consider myself a true fancier of this wonderful breed. It wasn't until I brought home Maestro, AM/CAN/Intl. CH Bulhaven's Maestro D'Amore, OFA, CGC that I gave thought to a "kennel name" and the possibility of one day breeding a litter of my own.  

More to follow...

  

 

 

 

 

 
 

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