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No
one really knows when these dogs first came to this country, but
the great breeder William J. Lightner once told me that his grandfather
raised them before the Civil War. It is quite possible that they
were even here during the Revolutionary War. In any case, it is
clear that dogs of this breed came from various parts of Europe,
specifically Spain
and Sicily. But little is known about these earliest importations,
because nothing was written about them. (Books and periodicals
containing information about dogs were rare in
those days.)
Their existence can be inferred from artwork, however.
The most famous importations were from Ireland, and were generally
made by the Irish themselves after they
emigrated to this country.(The bulk of the Irish pit dog importations
coincides or closely follows the great Irish migration that resulted
from the famous potato famine.)
Most of the Irish dogs were small and very closely inbred, but
their gameness was proverbial-especially that of the group of strains
that was known as the Old Family. |
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Jackson |
Diane |
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