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It's My Tea Party
Like Boston
cream pie, which isn't really a pie, the Boston terrier isn't
precisely a terrier, though the breed's original ingredients
did include a number of terriers. In fact the father of all
Bostons was a bulldog-English terrier cross named Hooper's
Judge, who belonged to Robert C. Hooper of Boston. According
to The Complete Dog Book, published by the American
Kennel Club (AKC), Judge was "a well-built, high-stationed
dog" weighing "about 32 pounds." He was dark brindle in color
with a white blaze. (A brindle dog, as defined by AKC, has
"a fine even mixture of black hairs with hairs of a lighter
color, usually tan, brown, or gray." A blaze is a stripe down
the center of the face). Hooper purchased Judge from William
O'Brien, also of Boston, "about the year 1870."
Boston
terrier breeders Michael and Beverly Staley, writing in The
Boston Terrier: An American Original, report that Hooper
imported Judge from England in 1865. An English expatriate,
Hooper wanted a dog like the kind he had known in his youth
in England. That childhood companion was one of many bulldog-terrier
crosses that thrived in England but could not be found in
the United States.
Still
other breed historians, the Boston Globe among them,
report that the Boston terrier "was born and bred in the workingmen's
taverns and stables that lined Charles Street ... in the 1860s
and '70s." The working-class, Charles Street fanciers "borrowed"
their employers' imported English bulldogs, English terriers,
white bull terriers and French bulldogs, "all somewhat dissimilar
from the dogs of those names we know today," to create "a
lively, loyal, scrappy, medium-sized fighter." (The English
terrier used in those mix-and-matches was an old breed then
and is extinct now. Paintings and prints from its time suggest
it was either white or black-and-tan.)
Summary
Judgement
No matter
which version of the Boston genesis one credits, breed records
show that Judge was bred to a 20-pound, white bitch named
Gyp (or Kate), who belonged to Edward Burnett
of Southboro, Massachusetts. This union, Judge's first and
only, produced a single puppy, an ugly duckling of a male
named Well's Eph. Ugly or not, Eph was all wool and a yard
wide in other regards that Hooper and his friends admired.
Consequently Eph was bred, as might have been remarked in
the taverns and barbershops of his day, "to every female that
could see lightning or hear thunder." Those females, the Canine
Lexicon avers, included "the English colored Bull Terrier,
the Boxer, the Pit Bull Terrier" and other terriers.
Eph's
legions were called by various names: bullet heads, round-headed
bull-and-terriers, American terriers, and Boston bulldogs.
In time most people who owned the dogs referred to them as
Boston bulls, a name still used by some older citizens today.
No
Massacre Here
When the
product of a bulldog-terrier cross inherited the signal attributes
of its parent breeds, the result was a dog so impressive as
to make Nature wish she had gotten around to inventing it
herself. The bulldog, although bred originally for close encounters
in blood sports, was a cuddlesome, affable creature beneath
the ferocity and gore. The Boston bull inherited this temperament,
together with the fearless mettle its creators had sought.
"There was just one problem," the Globe noted, the Boston
bull was "too intelligent and friendly to be a brawler." Not
for nothing did the breed come to be known as "The American
Gentleman." Therefore, even though Bostons were exceedingly
popular at first with stablemen and barbers, the breed's charm
and increasingly smaller size brought it to the attentions
of a wider, more pacific audience.
Hector
Rules the Day
A group
of Boston bull fanciers eventually formed the American Bull
Terrier Club (ABTC), which applied to AKC, asking that the
Boston bull be anointed a legitimate breed and made eligible
for competition in AKC-sanctioned events. The AKC wasn't bullish
on the idea because bulldog fanciers, who had a liplock on
the workings of the organization, were not about to allow
these "usurpers" of the bulldog name into the club. According
to the late Vincent Perry, a breed historian, one AKC official
thundered, "Bulldog, indeed! Why this hybrid from Boston is
nothing but a mongrel!"
Bullheadedness
seldom springs eternal in the dog fancy, so the Boston bull's
advocates kept on advocating. Inspired by the philosophy "if
you can't join 'em, beat 'em down," they changed their name
to Boston Terrier Club of America in 1891. Two years
later their breed was accepted for registration by the AKC,
but only after the breed had been rechristened the Boston
terrier. A male named Hector, registration number
28814, was the first Boston registered by AKC. Not only he
but also his breed made history. The latter becoming the first
of the 10 made-in-America breeds currently recognized by the
AKC to be admitted into its stud books.
Bully
for the Boston
The public's
opinion about the Boston terrier was as positive as the AKC's
had been priggish. By the time the Boston's characteristics
had been stabilized, in 1915, it was the most popular breed
in the United States. It remained in the top ten for years,
heading the list again in 1920 and 1930.
Few places
were more slavishly devoted to the Boston than was Hollywood,
and few people in Hollywood were more attached to their Bostons
than was silent film star Pola Negri. Born Apolonia Chalupec
on December 31, 1895, in Lipno, Poland, Negri was Gloria Swanson's
rival, Rudolph Valentino's lover and the Boston's unswerving
champion. Because she would not abide being separated from
her Boston, "Patsy," Negri took the dog with her to the best
Hollywood restaurants and night spots. A film industry tabloid
reported that Negri stormed out of a popular restaurant after
Patsy had been flagged at the door. "No Patsy, no Pola. Goodbye
-- forever!" shouted Negri as she made her exit.
Legendary
gossip columnist Louella Parsons, queen of dish in Hollywood
during the 1930s and '40s, also had a Boston named "Patsy."
The latter was fiercely jealous, and if Parsons showed obvious
affection toward someone, Patsy howled as though she were
calling upon all her lupine ancestors to come forth and carry
off the intruder.
As Hollywood
goes, so goes America, and the Boston terrier wielded a similar
appeal in the rest of the United States. It lived on the AKC's
top-ten list until the early 1960s, and even after it had
been jostled from the starting team by other dogs, it remained
a capable player. In 1976 the Boston was selected as the bicentennial
dog of the United States. Three years later it was appointed
the official state dog of Massachusetts. The Boston's case
was not hindered by the fact that Edward King, then governor
of Massachusetts, had grown up with a Boston terrier named
Skippy. In 1997, its popularity having weathered numerous
fads from other breeds, the Boston terrier ranked 20th among
the 145 breeds recognized by the AKC. New Boston registrations
for the year totaled 18,185.
Weights
and Measures
The Boston
terrier should stand no more than 12 nor less than nine inches
at the shoulders. For show-ring purposes, the breed is divided
into three weight classes: fewer than 15 pounds; between 15
and 20 pounds; more than 20 pounds but fewer than 25 pounds.
Whatever a Boston weighs, the length of its leg should balance
with the length of its body to create what the AKC calls a
"striking square appearance."
Brindle-and-white
is the preferred Boston color, according to the breed standard,
but a black-and-white coat is permissible. Ear cropping is
not encouraged, and a docked tail is cause for disqualification
in the show ring.
Lettuce
Praise the Boston
The Boston
terrier sustains it popularity because it continues to embody
the endearing qualities of its bulldog ancestors and the spunk
of its terrier kin. Sophisticated in style and markings, including
spiffy, white accents that give it a tuxedolike appearance,
the Boston is fastidious and free of doggy odor. It does not
shed much, nor does its short, glistening coat require extensive
grooming.
Like the
fern with which it shares a name, the Boston terrier thrives
best under certain prescribed conditions. It is, prospective
owners should understand, a house dog by inclination and construction.
Because of its short muzzle and slightly elongated palate,
it does not cope well with extremes of temperature and is
given to overheating quickly. Nevertheless, the Boston wants
daily exercise, temperature permitting, in a fenced-in yard
and/or on a brisk walk. If Boston owners observe these conventions,
they can expect to enjoy the companionship of their dogs throughout
their average life span of 10 to 13 years.
So let's
pour a glass of Old Mr. Boston -- or some Boston coffee if
that's your cup of tea. Then we'll fill a plate with a generous
cut of Boston cream pie and, by way of exercise afterward,
do the Boston waltz in honor of the bug-eyed, bat-eared charmer
from Beantown.
Beans,
Beans...
Several
years ago the St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried an article on
canine gastroenterology that began with the following anecdote:
"Forty years later, Harry still remembers his breathless courtship
of Helen. Whenever the ardent young couple could steal a few
moments alone on her parents' sofa, Helen's gnarled old Boston
terrier would waddle in and settle behind the couch. Before
they could get into a clinch, the dog would, um, substantially
alter the atmosphere.
"'Disgusting
dog drove us out every time,'" Harry fumed. "'That fur-bearing
gas bag should have been recalled by the EPA. I finally married
Helen so I could breathe.'"
Into each
life a little turbulence must fall, and would that turbulence
were the bean-all and the end-all of the Boston terrier's
health problems. Unfortunately it is not. From one end to
the other the Boston is subject not only to social indiscretions
but also to genetic diseases, including brain tumors, juvenile
cataracts and other eye problems, deafness, heart defects
and hind-leg difficulties.
Juvenile
cataracts can occur in Boston terriers between the eighth
week and 12th month of age. Some juvenile cataracts are
visible to the eye; others can be identified only by a veterinary
ophthalomologist using a CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation)
test. If you are interested in buying a Boston terrier that
has not been tested for juvenile cataracts, ask the breeder
why the dog has not been tested and if he or she will be
tested before you buy the dog.
Cherry
eye, also known as ectropian, is a prolapse of the gland
of the third eyelid. This condition, which is believed to
be genetic in origin, frequently occurs in dogs that are
less than a year old. Some veterinarians reposition the
gland surgically to its original site at the base of the
third eyelid (or haw). Others elect to remove the prolapsed
gland surgically.
The
hind-leg problems that trouble Boston terriers are
known as luxating patella, a dislocation of the small, flat,
moveable bone at the front of the knee. An inherited tendency,
luxating patella can be aggravated by excess weight. The
condition can be corrected by roughly $500 to $600 worth
of surgery and a lot of inconvenience on the dog's part.
As technology
and veterinary science progress, more and more tests that
screen for genetic defects in dogs will become available.
Tests already exist that can identify luxating patella, deafness
and certain heart defects in dogs. Be sure that the parents
of any dog in which your are interested have received and
passed every kind of test imaginable before you get serious
with a breeder about buying that dog.
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