Troy came upon us quite unexpectedly. His breeder, Julie Harper of Bullhar Bullmastiffs
in Cambridge, says it was fate, and I am happy to agree.
Gareth and I had decided to have a new puppy, and had chosen Nell.
However just before Nell had been picked, some weeks before, I had emailed a number
of people whose advice I value on the availability of puppies. For some reason, one
of my mails had not gone, and Gareth noticed this and resent it. Within the hour
Janet Gunn had emailed me to tell me of a very special little boy.
I was driving to Leeds that day, to visit my Mum, but I printed the email and photo
and left it for Gareth when he returned from work that evening. Arriving at Mum’s
I told her, I think we will be having two puppies, as I knew Troy could not be resisted.
I didn’t then know his mother, but we had met his father, Janet and Alex Gunn’s Rumble,
at a show in Kirby, and he was so similar to Boz and he was also Boz’s nephew.
All our plans had now to be radically altered. Instead of building an extra run we
needed two, because neither Nell nor Troy would be neutered, there would be times
when they had to be separated. Sleeping arrangements had to be renegotiated and a
larger cage was bought to house the puppies at my work.
Troy settled in beautifully and was totally bomb proof!! Nothing phased him. He came
from a litter of nine, and I am told was very much the leader. His mum Berry (Wyburn
Surprise) was the sweetest of mothers, who cared for and nurtured her babies beautifully,
so Troy showed no signs of nervousness as Martha had.
Troy adores his new companions. He and Martha play together and snuggle together.
Whilst he very much in awe of Boz and tries to emulate him, it is Martha who has
adopted the role of teacher.
Troy is very proud of being a Bullmastiff and loves to strut his stuff. He has a
beautiful deep red coat now and fantastic bone.
The arrival of Nell made Troy a very happy boy. Nell is more mischievous than Troy
and she leads him astray, so the pair get up to some high jinks together. I am not
sure who is the top dog out of those two yet, but I do know they are already devoted
pals.
