Page 16 - ShowSight Presents - The Mastiff

“Woolsey” from the Cassell’s Illustrated Book of the Dog
the Battle of Agincourt is well known. He brought his favorite Mastiff, a bitch, to France and when he fell, she stood over him and defended him many hours until he was picked up by English soldiers and carried to Paris, where he died of his wounds. The faithful Mastiff was returned to England and from her descended the famous Lyme Hall strain which the family has bred over a period of five centuries.
The present day English Mastiff is based on the strains of Lyme Hall and that of the Duke of Devonshires Ken- nels at Chatworth. The first indications of the Mastiff in the U.S. were in the late 1800s with the first AKC registra- tion in 1885. In 1889 there were 373 registered Mastiffs, in 2010 there were 5,599. Today’s Mastiff in America is a gentle giant, bred for its even tempera- ment and love of family.
Artifacts in the British Museum depicting Mastiff-type dogs from Mastiffs in Ancient Times. SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2017 • 243