MY FIRST FIFTY YEARS IN AMSTAFF's pt1

A very interesting read sent to me by a very good friends that for years breed wonderful American Staffordshire Terriers. Sadly she got out of AST's about 15 years ago. I thought some of the Bully people on the site might enjoy it due to the fact there is some much AST blood used in Bullies. I highlighted something in red that I thought was very interesting.

HENDRIX HARPER - MY FIRST FIFTY YEARS IN DOGS
Questions provided by Richard Gray and Sara Nugent
Interview notes prepared by Frances Gray On Wednesday, June 2, 2004,

Richard Gray, Frances Gray, and Sara Nugent met with Hendrix Harper to go over his 50 year "dog" career. We met at Hendrix's house in Bryan, Texas. It was a typical, hot late spring day, with some clouds that suggested rain, but did not deliver. We met so that we could talk about what the driving factors were that kept Hendrix involved in the dog business for 50 years. What was the fascination that kept him interested and active and loving it still after all these years? We asked the typical questions, and some that were not so typical. The answers to our questions are pretty much in Hendrix's words. I will have some other comments on Hendrix, the man, at the end of this piece.

What attracted you to the breed?
I did not know anything about the breed when I got my first dog. The first dog I got was a pit bull. My brother-in-law took me with him to Houston to look at dogs. I paid $35 for Harper's Gold Nugget. I began reading and learned that Stafs were AKC registered. Anita used Nuggett as a baby sitter. Nuggett would go berry hunting with our oldest son and could pick the berries and eat them faster than Johnny could get his hands on them. She only took the ripe berries, but if Johnny wanted to go berry hunting, he had to take her, to protect him from snakes. I saw the ads for Stafs in Dog World and wrote Ormsby, Ed Ringold, and went to see Peggy, since she was close by. I was off work one day in March of 1957 and knew that there was a dog show in Austin, so I packed my family in the car and off we went. We got there only to learn that Stafs had shown at 8:00 a.m. However, we were told that there would be a show in San Antonio the next day, and that Stafs would be shown there, so the next day we went to San Antonio. Peggy was showing and we introduced ourselves to her. She was showing Dauntless Pepper Pie for Don Humes (He was in Kansas). Peggy invited us to her house. She fed us lunch and showed us her kennels. She had Stafs, Scotties, Min Pins, and boarding dogs. Peggy showed us this 18 month old black brindle male out of Sika and Jollyscamp Blueguard. I thought that Blueguard was a good dog, a four square dog. Very impressive. She wanted $75 for Tiger. I gave her $25, and promised to pay the rest. Peggy had only met me that day, but with the $25 down payment, she let me load the dog and take him home. I wanted to show, so, Peggy and I talked, and when she was going to a show, I would enter Tiger and go. I did not win any of the shows that Peggy was showing in, but I went to Houston on my own. I had the only Staf entered, and he took Best of Breed. I was real proud as I took my dog into the group. Didn't win anything, but I finally had a Best of Breed ribbon. I learned a lot about Stafs and showing during this time period. I also realized that if I had been beating Peggy in the ring, she might not have been as friendly to me. John Henry Clark had gotten a great bitch from Peggy. He showed this bitch as a puppy at one of the shows that I was at. The judge told Peggy that John Henry's bitch would have won if the bitch had had her ears trimmed. After that, John Henry got the ears trimmed and his bitch won the National Specialty. Peggy also seemed happy for me to win some at this point. My dog Tiger never got any points, but I had fun showing him. He lived to be about 7 or 8 years old. He was bred several times. I sold one of these pups to a woman in Hawaii, Rosalie Yano. He was a surfer dog named Cannonball. Rosalie came back and bought another dog from me after Cannonball died.

When and how did you get started in Am Staffs?
I joined the STCA in 1958 at the National Specialty which was held in Delaware, Ohio. Charlie Doyle was the Secretary/Treasurer at this time, and I was able to spend a lot of time with him at this event and thoroughly enjoyed that time. He passed away within months of this show. Pete Sparks was another old timer that was there. At this show, Doyle had Tacoma All A Blaze. One of Rayburn's brothers-in-law took the dog back to either Georgia or North Carolina. There were 22 to 23 dogs entered in this show. I only had one AKC dog at this time, Tiger. Anita and I traveled to this show with Peggy Harper. Traveling with Peggy was kind of touchy. I was 30 at the time. Peggy was driving a Chrysler station wagon, and there were 6 dogs and 3 people on the trip. The show was an all breed show at a site north of Cleveland. Anita and I went to a pizza place and had pizza for the first time. We were amazed that the kids in the café would not talk to us. We thought that college kids would have been friendlier, like they were in Texas. I wore a Stetson cowboy hat to the show and the other exhibitors got a kick out of seeing me in my hat. The hat certainly identified me as being from Texas. The bitch points at this show were won by a bitch out of Ringold's stock. It was owned by a lady in Georgia. A Jones' bitch really impressed me. It was at this show that I formed my opinion that judges didn't always look at dogs the way that I did. Tacoma All A Blaze was one of the best dogs I ever saw. One of Peggy's bitches was in season at the show, and we tried to get her bred to Tacoma All A Blaze while we were there. We got them bred, but the breeding did not take. In my opinion Pete Sparks was the most knowledgeable person at the meeting, but because of his background, no one would listen to him. Kind of like now, those in the breed now don't always listen to those that have had experience in the breed. On the way up, we stayed at Little Rock and then someplace in Tennessee or Kentucky. There were plenty of places in the South that had great food, served family style.

Who are the dog classics, some of the best you saw the first years you were in the breed?

The Gallant dogs (Knight Bomber and Knight Crusader), Tacoma All A Blaze, Sky King. They all would have been able to win today; just at they did in their days.

Who were some of the most interesting people that you have met in Stafs?

The old crowd would include: Charlie Doyle - knowledge of the breed and of people in the breed. Peggy Harper - knowledge of the breed, and she was real good to me. Don Humes - knowledge of the breed. I was very disappointed when he left AKC and went to ADBA registered dogs. Pete Sparks - understanding of the dogs and knowledge of the origins. Will Brandon - did a lot for the breed and was very interesting to talk to. Currently, I find many people interesting, as long as they have the interest of the breed at heart.

Why did you decide to show?

As a teenager I showed Duroc hogs and Jersey cattle. In 1946 at the Harris County Fair I had the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Duroc boars and, the Grand Champion sow. Two Jersey heifers that I showed placed in their classes. That is where I developed my love for showing animals. If UKC had had shows at this time, I probably would have shown UKC and had UKC dogs, but they did not. So, I got into AKC animals so I could show my dogs. I encourage everyone to show. If they say they can't do it, I say "no one was born knowing how to show. You just have to do it. Everyone has a first time in the ring." One of Hendrix's truisms is "Show what you've got and if it is not good enough, get better the next time."


Ch. Tonkawa Ruby By George OFA


Ch. Tonkawa Hearts and Flowers OFA


Ch. Tonkawa Lefty the Bull OFA

What were some of the early influences on you about the breed?

High Ace of HarWyn was one of Peggy's dogs that I really liked. This was the best dog I had seen at the time. He was great with kids and just wanted to be with people. Now, he might not seem so great. He was a small, chunky, broad across the chest, and had personality plus. He probably weighed about 55-60 pounds. I still feel that the spark of personality makes a dog. Physical characteristics may change due to "fashion", but a dog has to have that "spark" to make them special. I also feel that even if a dog is a good show dog, if the dog can't work, it looses value. Sarah commented that she also saw Ace at Peggy's house in 1970 or 1971 when he was 12 or 13 years old. He was just an elderly fat house dog by then, but obviously favored, since he was the only inhouse dog there .

Did you have a mentor when you came into the breed?

Peggy Harper taught me everything I know. She was good to me. I would help her give shots to her dogs and otherwise help her with things she needed with the dogs.

What are some of the things you remember about the early shows?
I remember how the two Crusader dogs were shown in Texas, Knight Crusader and Knight Bomber. At that point in time, Texas had shows in March and October. I recall well when these two were on the circuit. It wasn't until after the show circuit was finished that I figured out that these two dogs were not Am Stafs, but pit bulls. (At that time UKC dogs could be shown in AKC conformation shows just like UKC dogs can be shown in AKC obedience shows currently.) They were balanced and could really move. They were not chunky dogs. They were each about 60-65 pounds.

What was one of your most memorable experiences?

I was at the group ringside with Peggy Harper and she was supposed to take Sky King in. Peggy got nervous and told me to take him in the ring. This was at a Houston show. So we went in the ring. The judge came to the time when he had made his decisions. He pointed to his first place dog, and then he pointed to me with Sky King. I looked around to see who the judge was pointing at. At that time Stafs did not usually place in groups. The judge finally said - You! second place.


Ch Hosanna's Bad Boy Bronson OFA


Tonkawa Sweet Sara


Tonkawa Buffalo Soldier OFA