Phoenix Bulldog Club
From 1947 through 1973
were formative years for Arizona bulldog owners. It wasn't until 1972 that the
Phoenix Bulldog Club (PBC) was established as a member club of Bulldog Club of
America (BCA).
The
Arizona club had gone through at least six call names. The first was once known
as Thunderbird Bulldog Breeders Association, which consisted of no more than 18
members who merged with the Arizona Bulldog Club. The combined club's largest
membership, an unsteady 32 members in 1949, began sliding downhill during the
1950s.
“The Bulldog” magazine, a short-lived publication for bulldog owners of that era, contained an Arizona column which stated that in 1950 the Arizona Bulldog Club had been accepted as a BCA member. However, BCA Division III minutes recorded that the club had requested and received BCA Division III membership in 1964.
By
1966 the club was no longer in good standing with the BCA, and at the end of
that year a Cactus State Bulldog Club sent its dues to Bulldog Club of America
Division III. It was then that BCA Division III asked the AKC if there could be
two Bulldog clubs in the same city. But in1968 Arizona Bulldog Club folded in
deference to what was to become the Cactus Bulldog Club of Greater Phoenix.
In
1971, a club called Phoenix Bulldog Fanciers appeared. Finally, in 1972 the
Bulldog Club of Greater Phoenix and the Cactus State Bulldog Club apparently
merged into what is now known as the Phoenix Bulldog Club, and an
AKC-sanctioned "B" Match was planned for 1973.
In
1976, the Phoenix Bulldog Club was selected by BCA Division III to host its
specialty show, and the Arizona club of today was properly launched.
The
PBC’s late winter specialty entry has traditionally been aided by some large
all-breed shows, and the “Phoenix Weekend” provides welcome winter relief for
bulldoggers from neighboring states. More than half of the Phoenix specialty
entries are estimated to be from out of state.
Phoenix
Bulldog Club was incorporated as a non-profit organization on December 29,
1990.
History compiled by Barbara Thackery