Hello! And a big Laurent-sized welcome to the Gothic Mastiffs blog! This is our inaugural entry into what I plan to be a regular occurence and look into the varied activities of Gothic Mastiffs. While we did not attend many dog shows during 2011, 2012 has already been a busy year, show-wise. We started off the year at the Kennel Club of Palm Springs show, and Dazzle won the bred by class and Laurent went Reserve Winners Dog! Neither Dazzle nor Laurent had been in the ring for quite a while, but showed so well. We were so proud of them! February brought us to the Saharo State Kennel Club show in Phoenix, and Laurent did quite well, one day winning his bred by class of 4. He also won the bred by class one of two days at the Scottsdale show in March. April has found Laurent taking Reserve two of three days at the Kachina/Arrowhead cluster of shows, and Dazzle won Best of Winners one day for her first points. We also got the chance to visit with Jinkies and Peanut and both of them looked fabulous and happy. Peanut is going on 10 years old and is still a beautiful girl. Jinkies has retired from the show ring but will be doing exiciting things in the future, so stay tuned! And last but certainly not least, Laurent passed his therapy dog certification and is now working at Mesa Christian and Rehab as a Therapy Dog. He is so gentle and happy to be petted and loved on and is a natural at pet therapy work.
 
We have some very sad news to report, in contrast to the good news reported above. Our beautiful Jilly Bean passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 4, in her sleep. Jilly--Gothic BonBon by Brite Star, was going on 10 years old and had a long, healthy and adventurous life. To date, she has produced 6 champion kids, and is missed by many people and dogs. If that weren't sad enough, we also said good bye to our beautiful Whitney Lynn on January 30. Whitney was 10.5 years old, and also had a very long and interesting life, and she had 4 champion kids. We know that these two girls were good friends in life and are together now, with their special friends Jack, Ernie and Harley. It's very sad to say goodbye to these wonderful friends that we have known and lived with for so long. Jack, Ernie, Whitney and Jilly were either over 10 years old or close to it, and Harley was going on 15 years old. Yes, they lived long lives, but it is still so sad to see them leave this world. It is comforting, however, to see all four of the Mastiffs' kids around and know that they truly live on through their progeny.