Molosser Moment #16

If there is a name that is synonymous with the Dogue de Bordeaux, it is Professor Raymond Triquet. A French schoolteacher who made saving this native Molosser his life’s work, Triquet literally wrote the book on the breed – his famous Saga – as well as the current standard. The breed was flirting with extinction in the 1960s when Triquet acquired a female from one of only two remaining breeders in the country – and then wisely bred her to the elderly stud dog of the other. Triquet assiduously promoted the resulting litter, reintroducing the breed at dog shows all over Europe. Universally admired and watched for his reaction to drifts in breed type, Triquet has made a point of warning that the breed should not stray in the direction of becoming a “gargoyle” – so overdone that the dogs lose their athleticism. Today, rather than being a rare breed on the brink of extinction, the Dogue is growing in popularity around the world. His mission fulfilled, Triquet came full circle in 2011, when he cheered as the Dogue de Bordeaux went Best French Bred at the World Dog Show in Paris.