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萌宠菠菠乐园
2024-10-16 00:53

Recovery
of the Cane Corso
By the 1970’s the Cane Corso near extinction survived in only
the most remote back woods regions of southern Italian hinterland. These
peasants that still employed him and trained him in the traditional ways kept
the remnants of the breed alive. But only sparsely, few old time dog men still
remembered the proud sturdy dog of their youth. Their recollections more like
faded memories of childhood dreams. One such man was SIG. Giovanni Bonnetti. In
1973 SIG Bonnetti contacted DR Poalo Breber when he learned that DR Breber
would be working for a time in Foggia. SIG Bonnetti wrote DR Breber “he has
noticed in those places a molossiod dog different hair from the Neapolitan
Mastiff, similar to the bullmastiff, likeness of the Presa Majorca" the
letter went on to say "Prof. Ballotta, eminent dog lover, inhabitant of
Romagna, had seen several examples of this ancient Pugliese breed” With
Breber’s interest peeked he began the search for this Ancient
"molossiod" by seeking out Foggiani who’s memories went back some 50
years. These conversations led Breber various works of art, illustrations poems
and other historical documentation depicting the utilization of the breed. By
1974 Breber had acquired a few specimens of the elusive breed and began to
resuscitate the Cane Corso. Shortly thereafter DR Breber had the occasion
to write an article in the ENCI’sI Nostri Cane magazine on his work with the Maremmano-Abruzzese in this
article, two Cane Corso’s were pictured in the background. This picture drew
the attention of 16-year-old student Stefano Gandolfi. Gandolfi sought out DR
Breber to learn more about this ancient Pugliese breed of dog. Gandolfi
soon enlisted the services of the Malavasi brothers from Mantova, who at the
time bred German Sheppard dogs. DR Breber realizing that he was not a
professional breeder, agreed the center of the recovery of the Cane Corso
should be in Mantova. Breber sent a number of subjects up north to Mantova,
most notably Dauno, a very typical large black dog. In Mantova, Dauno was bred
to a bitch named Tipsi producing perhaps the most significant litter of Cane
Corso’s in modern history. In this litter were Basir, the model for the
standard of the Cane Corso and his sister Babak, chosen as the model of the
feminine characteristics. In 1983 the chief proponents of the breed’s recovery
form a breed club for the Cane Corso, the Society Amatori Cane Corso. By 1994
the Cane Corso receives official ENCI recognition; by 1996 the breed receives
FCI recognition.
In
America
The Cane Corso like the Neapolitan Mastiff was introduced to
American shores by Michael Sottile SR. As the story goes in 1988 Sottile
imported the first litter of Cane Corsos to the U.S. The following year he
brought a second litter, this second litter was a repeat breeding of the litter
from the previous year. Sottile for years while in search of Mastino
Neapolitano in Italy had heard stories of a lighter more athletic
molossar. While in Sicily for a friend’s wedding he happened upon a
farmer on the side of the road working with cows, prior to that encounter he
had only seen pictures of the breed. Sottile had made many trips to Italy over
these years to make contacts with the Cane Corso club in Italy (the first
edition of “Il Cane Corso” list Sottile as the US delegate to the SACC) and to
visit with all of the prominent Cane Corso breeders of the day. While on one of
his trips he videotaped the Empoli LIR open book certifications (subjects of
unverifiable lineage enrolled into the Italian stud book based on their
phonotypical characteristics). Sottile eventually registered this new breed of
dog with the Federation of International Canines.
In 1993 the International Cane Corso Federation was formed
to serve as the parent breed club and registry for the Cane Corso by Ed and
Kris Hodas along with Mark and Tracy Wilson. The Hodas’s and Wilson’s also made
a number of trips to Italy for the same reasons Sottile did, to cement
relations with the SACC and to procure additional breeding stock. In the Second
edition of “Il Cane Corso” this time Mark Wilson is listed as U.S. delegate to
the SACC. The Wilson’s eventually faded from the Cane Corso landscape,
eventually leaving the club and registry to the Hodas’s. In late 1994 it was
decided to split the club and registry, the Hodas’s would maintain control of
the registry while the club would be reformatted to be more in line with a
typical AKC club, complete with elections, a constitution, Board of Directors
and regional Vice Presidents. The ICCF also decided the reinstitute the
original Sottile standard for the Cane Corso. A year or so earlier Mark Wilson
decided to implement the ENCI standard. Soon thereafter the ICCF and the SACC
parted ways, thus cutting the U.S. off from ties to the Cane Corso’s country of
origin. The strained relations with Italy lasted until 1999 when a new club in
Italy the Association of Italian Cane Corso made its debut and extended an
olive branch to the ICCF. The collaboration was beneficial to both clubs as
they shared a common vision of what the Cane Corso was, functionally,
historically and practically. Also an important source of knowledge was now
available to the American Cane Corso lover. Delegations from the AICC came to
America to participate, give judges seminars and judge in the ICCF National
Specialty in 2000 and 2001, while ICCF delegates went to Italy in 2000, 2001
and 2003 to seek with the ENCI and participate in the AICC International
Raduno. Eventually, due in no small part to the relationship between the AICC
and the ICCF the standard was changed to be more in line with its European
counterparts.
In 2003 the ICCF general membership voted to seek AKC
recognition. To achieve that goal various delegates have worked diligently
toward the goal of recognition. The name of the breed club had to be changed to
Cane Corso Association of America. The Constitution and standards respectively
had to undergo changes in order to meet AKC criteria. In July 2007 the breed
was approved for the miscellaneous class and received full recognition as of
July of 2010.
Cane
Corso Association of America 2010