Bath mastiff among qualifying dogs for global Westminster show
by Wendy Turrell
Bath resident Catherine Haller’s blue-blooded male mastiff, Gryphon, earned the honor of competing in the American Kennel Club’s most prestigious show for purebred dogs, the Westminster in New York City. The February show featured 2,600 dogs from 13 countries.
Westminster only accepts dogs that have earned their breed Championship designation. Haller said Gryphon – whose registered AKC name is Looking Glass Chantilly’s Infinite Gryphon – is an AKC Champion and International Champion, having won the prestigious Grand Sieger Award at the International All Breed Canine Association Show. This, among other honors, qualified him for Westminster.
“To become a Champion,” Haller said, “a dog needs a certain number of points. Dogs receive points based on how well they do during the competition with other dogs of their same sex. … Once a dog receives its Championship, the owner can campaign with the dog to accumulate more Bests of Breed, group wins and Bests in Show.”
Haller has shown Gryphon and his half-sister Brooklyn in over fifty shows. The dogs have the same mother, Chantilly, from Looking Glass Mastiffs in North Carolina, but different fathers. Gryphon’s father, Sergio, was bred by the Infinite Line of Mastiffs from Poland. Now deceased, Sergio is in the National Mastiff Hall of Fame for having sired 25 Champions, Grand Champions and International Champions.
Gryphon is seven years old and Brooklyn is six. Haller says they are an inseparable pair. Gryphon is about 215 pounds and his more petite sister is 180 pounds. Mastiffs belong to the Working Group, one of seven groups the AKC uses to classify 150 recognized breeds. According to the AKC website, mastiffs are descended from a 2,000-year-old lineage of massive war dogs, originally from England, and were adapted for use by the Roman legions.
Over several days of competition at Westminster, dogs first vie for the Best in Breed title. The winner of each breed then competes for the Best in Group designation. The winners of each group go on to compete for the coveted Best in Show award.
Haller said Gryphon placed in the top seven mastiffs in the Working Group at Westminster, but did not win the number one spot, so he didn’t advance to the final round. But Haller was proud of his effort.
“Just to be accepted and to be able to compete at that level was an amazing experience,” she said. Gryphon will have another opportunity in a national show this summer, in the Veteran Class at the National Specialty level, where he has placed before.
Haller said most owners have a professional handler show their dog. She explained, “It may seem simple, but … the skill of handling a dog to show off its best qualities, while at the same time not getting in the way of the judge’s ability to observe the dog, is one that requires years to master.”
This includes knowing how to “stack” the dog to show off its confirmation to the best of its breed standards, and having the correct pacing and stride to best showcase the dog’s attributes.
Haller has used handler Sherry Deans for the past three years. Deans has been a professional handler for over thirty years, and trains her own dog Mozart, who was ranked the No.2 mastiff in the country last year. Mozart is also Gryphon’s brother, and has had several film and television roles.
Haller came to owning and showing mastiffs in a roundabout way that she said was “proof to me that some of the best things in life are brought to you by fate, not planned at all.”
“After losing my cat eight years ago, I decided I wanted to get my very first dog,” Haller said. She remembered a beautiful large dog that came into her hair salon some years before. “This dog affected me so much, and left such an impression on me, that several years later I asked the stylist if she knew what kind of a dog it was.”
The stylist said it was a mastiff whose elderly owners had just passed away, and their children were looking for a new home for the couple’s two mastiffs. Taking it as a sign, Haller contacted the couple’s daughter, and met the “magnificent gentle giants,” Chelsea and Rufus. Haller remembered, “They just took my breath away; they were just gorgeous. I ended up adopting both of these beautiful dogs.”
Another twist of fate was yet to come. Haller was then living in Fairlawn, but a few years later began looking for a home in Bath. Haller is a real estate agent, and found the same house where the mastiffs had originally lived was on the market. It needed work, but Haller could see the potential and bought and renovated it.
By this time, her male mastiff Rufus had passed away. However, “When I took my mastiff Chelsea back to the house for the first time, she looked around in utter confusion, but with familiarity. It was evident to me that she knew where she was and recognized the house,” said Haller.
Chelsea’s old water bowl was still on the back porch, and the neighbor’s dog came over to greet her. Said Haller, “I was honored to take her back to the house and create some good memories for her to replace the tragic ones she had after both of her loving humans had passed away.”
Haller made the leap to showing her mastiffs when she acquired Gryphon.
“I never initially had any serious intention of showing dogs, but Gryphon had the pedigree for it, and I had enjoyed training him, taking him to classes at the Medina Kennel Club and working with other trainers,” she said. “Gryphon’s breeder invited me to attend the National Mastiff Show one year, in North Carolina, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie and the competition.”
Gryphon’s breeder suggested Haller show him, and his handler Sherry also mentioned it after she had shown Gryphon’s father, Sergio, who was an International Champion. “I committed to getting him to the competitions and [Sherry] agreed to handle him in the ring,” said Haller. “Gryphon remained part of [Sergio’s] legacy.”
Photo caption: Catherine Haller sits with her two Mastiffs, Gryphon and Brooklyn, in the backyard of her Bath home. Photo by Andrew Eicher