We are Rod and Kim Mason

Rod & I live in Bellevue, Nebraska, just minutes outside of Omaha. I bought my first Bulldog in 1983. She was such a wonderful pet that I had to get a friend for her. Two years later, I acquired my second Bulldog. It was then that I knew Bulldogs would always be part of my life. I was hooked on the breed for a lifetime.

In 1990 I met Rod. He wasn't familiar with the breed. It wasn't long, though, before he, too, was a Bulldog fan. We married and started a family and the following year we purchased a beautiful brindle bully that we named Gypsy Rose. We decided later that we wanted to breed her and, hopefully, we would get a puppy that we could show in conformation class at nearby dog shows. Gypsy gave us two beautiful litters of pups. That is how we met Margie and Jerry Thurber, through a shared veterinarian, Dr. George Dennis. It is their dog, Angus, that sired Gypsy's two litters of puppies. They have come to be good friends of ours and in fact, have helped us tremendously as our love for the breed expanded into learning what is involved in preparing a dog for the show ring.

Next, we acquired a nine month old female pup from Phenix Kennels in Florida. We soon found that, though a gorgeous bitch, she wanted literally nothing to do with the show ring. Discouraged, we decided that we would breed her to a beautiful champion male, and hopefully would get a pup to show instead. While Rod was showing Lexi (or I should say trying to show Lexi!) he met Nancy Rose. She offered some advice and suggested that he look up Darlene Studemann, as she had a fabulous champion male, Amos, that she thought would be a great complement to Lexi. We contacted Darlene and in fact, went to see her and meet her famous Amos. He was the bomb!

We knew we wanted Amos to sire Lexi's litter. So, we made arrangements with Darlene for the breeding. Darlene has helped us since that time with many suggestions and answers to our questions. Everyone should have a mentor like her.

Lexi gave us a beautiful litter of four girls and we held back two pups to show. They are named Holly and Brandy. And that's how our own line of Bulldogs, known as River City Bulldogs, got started.

Tips:

Bulldogs are not tolerant of heat or extreme cold.

It is important not to overfeed a bulldog; they really enjoy eating. They should have a thin layer of fat over the ribs, but the ribs should be easily felt.

Some adult Bulldogs would just as soon not exercise, while others are full of energy. In any case all Bulldogs will stay more fit if given some regular exercise. Fit Bulldogs are capable of moving very quickly for short periods of time.

Bulldogs seldom bark. They are not especially good watch dogs. However, their faces can intimidate people who drop by.

The Bulldog coat is short, smooth and low maintenance. Wipe the face with a damp cloth every day to clean inside the wrinkles. Be sure to pat dry with a clean cloth. This breed is an average shedder.

The Bulldog's great talent in life is loving companionship. They are easy going and loyal. He needs and desires human attention.

Bully babies are unlike any other pup. Their captivating personalities and roly-poly bodies grab you by the heart strings. However, one should consider seriously the needs of this special breed before making the decision to adopt a bully. They are active and inquisitive as puppies, and they are utterly dependant on their masters.