About Us At Bastion Bullmastiffs

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Bastion Bullmastiffs is a small breeding program in southern Indiana that is based in our home. Starting over 30 years ago in both the worlds of performance and confirmation we have strived to maintain and emphasise bullmastiffs that are sound of mind and body. Bullmastiffs that can work and working dogs that can love has been our mantra.

We tend to have one to two litters a year and these are based on need. Before we make the decision to bring bullmastiff puppies into this world we must have several firm committed homes waiting. It is our belief that there are far too many dogs abandoned and unwanted in this country to casually bring more lives into the canine community. That being said, we do require that anyone interested in a puppy from our program, fill out an application form so that we can better meet your needs.

While being breeders for close to 40 years, every once in awhile we have been blessed with dogs who just take it a notch higher. We have made history in both confirmation and in the performance rings. Savanna - Ch Bastion's Dream Girl is the first UDX in the breed. We co-bred with Lee and Cindie Waters and Renee Aldrich the only MOCH in the breed. We have also had service dogs, search and rescue dogs as well as dogs trained in crisis intervention such as Poppy, Silas and Roo. To show a dog to the level of being able to win the award (all-breed Best-in-Show) is a rare event in the bullmastiff world. We have been blessed with many. We have 7 different dogs that have achieved all breed Best in Shows. We have Louie, Magnum, Liam, Winnie, Uno, Bunny and Leejan. Many of these dogs have achieved multi country, multi time BIS and BISS, such as Louie, Liam and Magnum. Bunny is one of the few ladies to join this rare club and achieved it by first winning the Canadian National Speciality at 18 months of age over her father, Uno, and then proceeded to follow in his footsteps the next year by replacing him as the number one bullmastiff in Canada. Bastion Bullmastiffs is a team effort and Bob and I have worked together on all aspects of our breeding program, including the whelping, training and showing. We have been very blessed with the people who have come to us for puppies and this unique combination has taken these dogs a long way. While we do show our dogs ourselves at times, the support and dedication of professional handlers and their belief in us and these dogs has been a major factor in the achievements we have obtained.

Our thanks to Pam and Jenny McClintock The Martins, Bill, Cathy and Katie Erin Roberts As the old saying goes : It takes a village
" In the early morning hours  of  Sunday June 15, 2014, the bullmastiff world lost a friend,  supporter, mentor,  advocate,  breeder, and  supreme admirer of our breed. Bob Spohr had reached the end of his earthly life and his battle against a terrible disease had ended. He waged a courageous and lengthy fight but it was a war that he could not win. Bob leaves a legacy of beautiful bullmastiffs carrying the Bastion prefix and even now a new generation scurries about his Boonville,  Indiana home with even greater hopes for a bright future. This was the last litter that Bob and Lynn would breed as a team, and thankfully Bob  was able to share in the birth and early days of their life. It is hard to count the ways that another's  life impacts your own, but I believe our Bob has done just that on so many levels. As a doctor, as a husband,  as a friend and father,  he wore many hats. Some of my fondest memories are in his kitchen, listening to him share BBQ recipes, we still have a bottle labeled  Bob's rib rub,  and we eagerly looked forward to the yearly Christmas package that was sure to contain his famous peanut brittle. And never to be forgotten , the many bullmastiffs, fully grown adult dogs, that climbed eagerly into his lap while he watched the evening news,  over flowed it, and  with massive behinds and stocky legs hanging haphazardly, his gentle beasts drifted in and out of sleep, happily sharing a contented space with a man they adored.

The memories are many and lovingly remembered.  He was taken from us too soon and the world is a bit emptier now without this man in our lives. But his spirit soars around us and  as we mourn his passing we will remember his living and the loves in his life. We share the aching hurt and sorrow and grieve with Bob's  wife Lynn,  and daughter , Heather. A husband and father  has gone to a greater,  peaceful place now, and his pain has ended. Without doubt,  he has met Magnum, Uno,  Bunny,  and all the other wonderful bullmastiffs with whom he shared his life and that brought him so much joy. Rest well Bob, until we meet again.
The ABA Breeders Education Committee extends condolences to his entire family and to his many friends. "

Written by Pam McClintock