And then there are those breeds that have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to breed history. It should be enough that the Boston Terrier was the very first American-made breed to recognized by the AKC, or that it’s the mascot for Boston University, or that Massachusetts named it as its official state dog in 1979, or that two American presidents had the breed as childhood pets (Gerald Ford and Warren G. Harding). No, this gentle, affectionate “American Gentleman” also had a colorful past with roots in “tough guys,” dogs that had been ferocious pit fighters in Britain.

We know with certainty that a dog named “Judge” was the patriarch of the breed, but sources vary as to what came before Judge. One story relates that coachmen of rich families developed Boston Terriers by breeding Bulldogs with the now extinct English White Terrier to invent a new fighting dog. As another story goes, however, a Bostonian named Robert C. Hooper imported an Bulldog/English Terrier cross named “Judge” from England in 1865 because the dog reminded him of a dog he’d had as a child. Yet another account is that Hooper purchased “Judge” from another Bostonian named William O’Brian, around 1870. We may never know with certainty which story is accurate, we’re just glad that the world has Boston Terriers in it!

“Copacabana” by Brian Rubenacker
https://www.etsy.com/shop/rubenacker