In 1981 I realized one of my life's ambitions when I attended the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. I went to the show with the idea of seeing the Old English Sheep Dogs and the Great Pyrenees when suddenly I found myself strolling down the benching area that contained (or at least tried to contain) these huge and magnificent animals that I had previously only seen in photographs. As I caught my first glimpse of a real life Mastiff, I turned to my husband and said: "This is what I've been looking for… I'm in love!" The Mastiffs I saw that day convinced me that this breed had everything that anyone could ever want in a companion. Later I sat next to one of these GIANTS and he threw his paw on my shoulder, knocked me down, and drooled on me… I was sold.

Hannah at 4 mo. old with Gabriel my first Mastiff.

Thus began my quest and what has since become my passion. After that show I began to research the breed by writing to various kennels, many of whom were kind enough to send me photos and information. I took three years to carefully study everything I could find concerning Mastiffs and their breeders. One thing that became clear was that many of the top dogs being shown at that time were descended from one particular champion; CH. DEER RUN WYCLIFF. I felt it best to go to the source so I purchased my first Mastiff from Tobin Jackson at Deer Run Kennels in Frenchtown, NJ. At that time I had no idea how this passion would consume my next thirty years. You see my fantasy was to have a big dog to hug and love. I was not disappointed with my Wycliff son.

This was my first mastiff DEER RUN MY ANGEL GABRIEL. He opened an entirely unexplored world to me as we worked in obedience classes and learned to work together as a team. Gabe achieved his C.D. obedience title in three consecutive shows. I was not only proud of his C.D. title, but because of his excellent temperament, he was one of the first Mastiffs to pass his Temperament Test #TT10MF. We enjoyed working together then I decided to put all of his training to good use, so Gabe became a registered therapy dog. His favorite places to visit were schools and church functions. Having accomplished these milestones with my Gabriel, and seeing how he taught me everything he could on Mastiffs in general, I was now ready for my next challenge (and she was a challenge indeed).

Hannah with her first litter (Four went on to become Champions).

I purchased my first show bitch from Kathy and Doug Benefit. She was from the breeding of CH. DEER RUN DURANGO and DEER RUN SARAH OF BRISTOL. She was known as CH. DEER RUN GLORY TO GOD C.D., C.G.C., T.D.I., W.D., but we simply called her Hannah. This beautiful bitch formed the foundation of our breeding program. Since a building is only as string as its foundation, we couldn't have asked for a better cornerstone. Hannah finished her championship at 12 months. She ranked #9 in Best of Opposite. She had a wonderful show career. She proved over Labor Day weekend of 1989 by completing three consecutive qualifying scores to earn her C.D. Obedience title. The highlight came in 1990 when, with an entry of 39 bitches, Hannah was selected as Best of Opposite at the Bucks County Kennel Club Dog Show.

My first four Mastiffs (from left to right: Gabriel, Ruby 7 mo, Hannah, Judah 7 mo.

When the time came for breeding there was much to consider in choosing the right mate that would complement her. I spent months researching pedigrees and looking at a lot of nice stud dogs. I knew that my final decision would be based upon several criteria, including temperament, soundness, head and overall type (a tall order to fill!). When the choice was made, one dog stood out in the crowd. CH. DEER RUN RIVER BULL, owned by Mary and Karl Greve of Pax River Mastiffs. Hannah's first litter consisted of six puppies. Three boys. Three girls. And, of course, I kept two for myself.

One was CH. HIS MAJESTY'S CROWN OF GLORY (Ruby) who earned her Championship at ten months of age from the Puppy Class with a five point major at Bucks County Kennel Club. Our Male was CH. HIS MAJESTY'S LION OF JUDAH (Judah) who finished at thirteen months from the Bred-by-exhibitor Class. In 1995, at the Mastiff National Specialty, he was announced as the #1 Sire of 1994 and received the M.C.O.A. Collar Award as Top Stud Dog. His life was cut short but he sired thirty champions and together with CH. PINEWOODS ONE DAY AT A THYME (Reebok) presently holds the record for most champions in one litter; a total of 9; and all were owner handled. Though Judah passed away very young, his offspring carry on his special trademarks. Large size. Beautiful black masks. Tremendous bone. And outstanding type.

Me with Cupcake on the left (9 years) and Joe on the right (5 years).

Many years have passed since these humble beginnings, and my love for this magnificent breed of dogs have only grown stronger since then. George and I have been married for the last 12 years. Our lives have been full and so has our home. We currently own 16 Mastiffs, one Bulldog named Bertha, one Bull Terrier named Suz-e Q, 17 chickens, one Guinea Hen, three ducks, one tortoise, our newest arrival, Ugly Betty, and our kittens, Kid and Kelly.

Gerorge and I are working on our 86th Mastiff Champion all owner handled. We have bred well over 100 Champions. We have been blessed with some wonderful producing sires and brood bitches. But I have to make special mention of CH. HIS MAJESTY'S MIGHTY JOE YOUNG BEAR HILL. He is a promising stud dog and one of the gentlest dogs I have ever owned. We love him so much.

George and I take breeding Mastiffs very seriously. It is an awesome responsibility. It's been thirty years of breeding and owning yet my greatest desire is to be able to look back one day and know that through careful choices and intelligent breeding we might have helped in some small way to preserve this beautiful and majestic breed.

A good man cares for the welfare of his animals. - Prov. 12:10