Belgian Mastiff Dog Names

With the Belgian Mastiff being a rare breed and in the precarious stages of being re-created and remolded into a more people-friendly dog, there are not many to be found in the news. Even the team working with the remaining purebred Belgian Mastiffs has not published works detailing their work. Therefore, finding any material on a specific Belgian Mastiff is next to impossible. Most people do not know what the Belgian Mastiff even looks like so what they probably envision is the size of the Bull Mastiff with the regal bearing of the Belgian Malinois or Belgian Tervuren. Being a draft dog, the Belgian Mastiff is a large, well-muscled breed with a naturally bobbed tail. Belgian-influenced names can be found throughout media outlets across the world including on March 16, 2011 when a starving puppy in Newark, New Jersey made headlines across the country. Photos of Patrick, the horrifically emaciated and shivering puppy wrapped in a plastic bag were splashed across the internet and social media sites. People were horrified to learn this poor dog was just seconds from being crushed to death in a trash compacter when a Good Samaritan, who happened to be the building’s superintendent spotted Patrick.  This unfortunate puppy was given the name Patrick because he was rescued the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Patrick is a miracle puppy because nobody believed he would survive his ordeal. It was later found out that is owner, Kisha Curtis had tied Patrick to a railing in her apartment and left him there with no food or water for a week. Curtis denied throwing Patrick in the garbage. Patrick weighed just 19 pounds when he was found. After a long and intensive recovery, Patrick now weighs 50 pounds. While Patrick is not a Belgian Mastiff, he definitely has the heart of a warrior, just like the Belgian Mastiff.

With much debate over whether the Belgian Mastiff is extinct or not, the FCI has put the breed on its suspended list until verification can be made that the breed is indeed still in existence. The Belgian Kennel Club has stated the original Belgian Mastiff is indeed extinct but a group in Belgium has been re-creating the breed and there is a breeder who supposedly succeeded and has created a dog named Bacon. Bacon has been dubbed this breeder’s master dog and has been successfully shown at dog shows in Belgium as a Belgian Mastiff, receiving excellent ratings. The next step is to reproduce the same results and create a bloodline that fits the original breed standard to be submitted to the Belgian Kennel Club and FCI for a ten year reconstruction period before the breed is taken off the suspended list.