Solo
Ode to Solo, from his human family
Solo was a name given as he was the only Bullmastiff dog produced in the litter from his parents, Georgia and Bentley. According to Bentley’s owner, Susan Hunt Levin, he was a big, affable, and easygoing goofball type. Solo definitely inherited the goofball part of his behavior as he could be contradictory and perplexing like the times you would call him and he would look at you like, “no, I don’t think so”. Georgia (still with us at age 9+ years) is a very smart dog who handed down her smarts, gregariousness, beautiful gait and confirmation stature to Solo.
Georgia gave birth to Solo via C Section and didn’t recognize him as her own so outside of the wonderful care given by breeders Lynn and Tony, Solo had no mother, no litter mates as friends, and for 8 weeks no other “bullies” for interaction. His only companions were a stuffed toy and a mirror which only occasionally peaked his interest to play. ( from Lynn. Solo would play and play with the dog in the mirror. spent a lot of time racing around the mirror to see where his buddy went, cracked us up, yet we could rock him to sleep every night, he loved to cuddle with his humans )
When Solo arrived at his new home in Southern Illinois with Jill and Bill, Georgia surprised us by mothering him, growling, barking, and pinning him down to control his rambunctiousness. She did a darn good job of teaching him doggie manners. Solo continued his training by taking classes with world renowned dog trainer, Behasha Doan at Extreme K-9 (https://extremek-9.com/web/) where he became, literally, a favorite of the training faculty. At the same time he was doing almost daily trips to the nursing home for a visit to owner Bill’s mom. He would enter the place like he owned it stopping to say “hi” to anyone and everyone, resident or staff. Everyone wanted a “piece” of Solo, calling out to him from rooms as we walked by. Some residents even followed him in wheelchairs down the hallway and out of the facility when making our exit just to get a “pet”! One resident, 93 year old Dorothy who spent most of her time sleeping, insisted I wake her up when Solo came to visit. What a guy!
Solo got a late start at age 3 + years of age at “showing” competitions but took with aplomb to the process and the handlers, Debbie and Chris Coggin. When we met in transit to hand Solo over to Chris and Debbie for a show, one sound of Debbie’s voice caused him to bolt out of my car into their camper van without hesitation! Under their tutelage Solo earned his championship in short order. We were interested in finding the right mates for Solo to continue a breeding “line” related to his grandad Uno, among others.
This quest was cut short when on February 1st of 2020, at the young age 4 + years, Solo was felled by Hemangiosarcoma, a cancer not uncommon to all breeds. It was a cruel end to a life we expected to last another 4-5 years. His end resulted in an outpouring of love and sympathy from all who knew him as an exceptional, loving, and loyal personality.
(from Lynn... we so wanted to carry on this line. this is a great reminder to me as a breeder to not assume you will have time. we all meant to collect him, use him in our program. mother nature and cancer took those dreams away from all of us,, lesson learned. do not put things off.
Many breeds are known for these traits but Solo was truly exceptional. My wife Jill once shared the extent of Solo’s loyalty to me. When I left the house one afternoon to do chores in town, a couple of hours after I left, a texted picture from Jill came to me by phone of Solo sitting by the door to the house I left, waiting for my return. He was in that spot all afternoon looking at the door!
In the end, you would never have known that Solo could have evolved from the solitary childhood into the gregarious, affable, and selfless dog he became. We are fortunate and grateful for the time we spent with him and the joy and caring he brought to us. What a good boy he was! That is why we keep going back to Bastion Bullmastiffs and the unique personality the Bullmastiff breed has to offer!
Sincerely,
Bill Vogler and Jill Rendleman
below is just a few of the memories of Solo's life
Ode to Solo, from his human family
Solo was a name given as he was the only Bullmastiff dog produced in the litter from his parents, Georgia and Bentley. According to Bentley’s owner, Susan Hunt Levin, he was a big, affable, and easygoing goofball type. Solo definitely inherited the goofball part of his behavior as he could be contradictory and perplexing like the times you would call him and he would look at you like, “no, I don’t think so”. Georgia (still with us at age 9+ years) is a very smart dog who handed down her smarts, gregariousness, beautiful gait and confirmation stature to Solo.
Georgia gave birth to Solo via C Section and didn’t recognize him as her own so outside of the wonderful care given by breeders Lynn and Tony, Solo had no mother, no litter mates as friends, and for 8 weeks no other “bullies” for interaction. His only companions were a stuffed toy and a mirror which only occasionally peaked his interest to play. ( from Lynn. Solo would play and play with the dog in the mirror. spent a lot of time racing around the mirror to see where his buddy went, cracked us up, yet we could rock him to sleep every night, he loved to cuddle with his humans )
When Solo arrived at his new home in Southern Illinois with Jill and Bill, Georgia surprised us by mothering him, growling, barking, and pinning him down to control his rambunctiousness. She did a darn good job of teaching him doggie manners. Solo continued his training by taking classes with world renowned dog trainer, Behasha Doan at Extreme K-9 (https://extremek-9.com/web/) where he became, literally, a favorite of the training faculty. At the same time he was doing almost daily trips to the nursing home for a visit to owner Bill’s mom. He would enter the place like he owned it stopping to say “hi” to anyone and everyone, resident or staff. Everyone wanted a “piece” of Solo, calling out to him from rooms as we walked by. Some residents even followed him in wheelchairs down the hallway and out of the facility when making our exit just to get a “pet”! One resident, 93 year old Dorothy who spent most of her time sleeping, insisted I wake her up when Solo came to visit. What a guy!
Solo got a late start at age 3 + years of age at “showing” competitions but took with aplomb to the process and the handlers, Debbie and Chris Coggin. When we met in transit to hand Solo over to Chris and Debbie for a show, one sound of Debbie’s voice caused him to bolt out of my car into their camper van without hesitation! Under their tutelage Solo earned his championship in short order. We were interested in finding the right mates for Solo to continue a breeding “line” related to his grandad Uno, among others.
This quest was cut short when on February 1st of 2020, at the young age 4 + years, Solo was felled by Hemangiosarcoma, a cancer not uncommon to all breeds. It was a cruel end to a life we expected to last another 4-5 years. His end resulted in an outpouring of love and sympathy from all who knew him as an exceptional, loving, and loyal personality.
(from Lynn... we so wanted to carry on this line. this is a great reminder to me as a breeder to not assume you will have time. we all meant to collect him, use him in our program. mother nature and cancer took those dreams away from all of us,, lesson learned. do not put things off.
Many breeds are known for these traits but Solo was truly exceptional. My wife Jill once shared the extent of Solo’s loyalty to me. When I left the house one afternoon to do chores in town, a couple of hours after I left, a texted picture from Jill came to me by phone of Solo sitting by the door to the house I left, waiting for my return. He was in that spot all afternoon looking at the door!
In the end, you would never have known that Solo could have evolved from the solitary childhood into the gregarious, affable, and selfless dog he became. We are fortunate and grateful for the time we spent with him and the joy and caring he brought to us. What a good boy he was! That is why we keep going back to Bastion Bullmastiffs and the unique personality the Bullmastiff breed has to offer!
Sincerely,
Bill Vogler and Jill Rendleman
below is just a few of the memories of Solo's life