ABOUT US

Our Story

Written by S. Gallo (June 2002)

Although we are new to the world of canine competition, Sean and I

have owned and loved this breed since the early 80's. My initial introduction came in 1981 when my brother purchased an APBT named Caudill's Billy Jack. This dog had an incredible personality and was hillariously entertaining. Most desirably, Billy demonstrated a great fondness for all people, especially children. My brother began a breeding program a few years later and being from a family of 12 (yes, that is twelve), we each eventually owned, at least, one or two offspring apiece.

In late 1987, I rescued a 6 month old Siberian Husky mix from the local humane society. Sasha was extremely skittish and nothing but skin and bones. It was reported that she had been severely mistreated by her previous owner and then left, tied up, in the back yard after the home was vacated.

Consequently, Sasha blossomed into the most beautiful dog that I had ever seen! In addition to her stunning appearance, she was amazingly elegant and incredibly ladylike. While laying, Sasha always insisted on crossing her two front paws.

Of course, being the sensitive person that I am, Sasha needed a friend so that she wouldn't be alone while we were away. In the Spring of 1988, a big fat 12 week old American Pit Bull Terrier came to live with us. We originally named him Kazmeyer, Kaz for short, but the nickname of Beast prevailed.

Beast (Caudill's Billy Jack & Gallo's Tiger) was the friendliest dog that I had ever met! Perfect strangers were greeted like family members and oh, how he loved kids! Whenever a visitor arrived, Beast would wag his tail so hard that it actually bled. Our poor furniture, walls and legs! In fact, he really helped Sasha come out of her shell since she, previously, hid in the furthest corner of the house.

In the spring of 2001, we lost both of our furry children. Sasha and Beast died, exactly, a month apart. When Beast first became ill, lab tests and x-rays revealed no indications. As a result, I began investigating poisonous substances on the internet thinking that it was just something that he had eaten. Beast's condition continued to worsen. Then, the dreadful day came when an ultrasound detected cancer of the body cavity lining.

About a week later and totally unexpected, Sasha fell victim to a stroke. I embraced her as she gasped her last breaths of life. It still seems like a nightmare. We held on to Beast, with treatments, for a few more weeks.

More than a year later, I can barely type a sentence without bawling my eyes out. Well, thank God, I found the Amstaff Network and Purebredpuppy Homepages! I began reading stories and poems of other's experiences in loss of a loved pet. I even wrote a poem myself. Wow, who would've ever known - me, a poet? Not!

Anyway, at the same time, I viewed all of the puppy pictures (they are so darn cute!) on every single web site that I could find. This obsession really helped me through, probably, the worst time of my life. There were other circumstances involved in this whole episode but I won't go into that.

Well, along came our Precious Little Grace, Maximus the Miraculous, Bailey Baby and Britney, the Fastest Tongue in the West (I guess that would really be southeast). They instantly stole our hearts and are, now, spoiled beyond belief!

Our home is located in Bradenton, Florida. Although we have two fenced acres and loads of oak trees, our dogs want to be wherever we are - including the bathroom! Around here, you have to be cautious about stopping too quickly because you may end up with an imprint of a cold wet nose in your hind end.

Presently, we are attending Intermediate Obedience Training, including some Agility, and hope to attain CGC certification soon. After completing this class, we will continue on with Professional Instruction and plan to compete in Conformation, Obedience and Agility. Eventually, we would like to become involved in Pet Therapy and, possibly, Rescue Missions.

At Always Faithful, we spend plenty of time with our furry children. I only work about 24 hours a week while Sean has a very flexible schedule so there is usually someone around at the ol' S & S Ranch. We've even stocked a room full of exercise equipment so that we don't have to drive to the gym everyday!

By the way, Sean has won several bodybuilding and powerlifting contests including the Jr National Powerlifting Championships (see our "Events & News" page). He spends numerous hours of his free time coaching others and then whenever time allows, he loves to bass fish!

I've also competed and won a contest or two but, currently, most of my time is occupied by the little ones (Let dogs in, let dogs out, let dogs in, let dogs out!). Also, I love to draw/sketch and plan to enroll in an oil painting class soon. Although, in the past, my specialty has been horses, I hope to begin doing portraits of my favorite canine breed.

In the future, Always Faithful intends to offer a small boarding facility so that we can spoil our furry grandchildren from time to time. I also hope to attain certification in obedience training and, eventually, become a Canine Good Citizen evaluator.

Ultimately, whether our dogs or their progeny acquire a Championship Title or not, it is most important to us that they live a happy fulfilling life and are viewed as the most stable people-friendly dogs in existence! Please take time to read the Breed History and view photos on that page.

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