Early History (brief summary)

In the Assyrian section of the British Museum is the Nineveh bas-relief, sculpted about 850 BC. Those   familiar with the Neapolitan Mastiff today will recognise the long stride of the foreleg. This is typical and can be seen in the best contemporary specimens. Did such a dog exist over two thousand years ago? We can prove very little. However there is such realism in the piece and such presence and power that it seams more likely to be from life. It is known that the Greeks and later the Romans, admired the ferocious Mastiff-type dogs which were not uncommon in the Middle East. It seems that the word ‘Molossus’ was used in Roman times to describe any large formidable guard dog.  In the fourth century BC, there was a Greek state called Epirus, where the rulers called themselves ‘Molossians’. History suggests that when Roman forces over-ran Epirus, dogs whose great size and power were sought after were plundered to use in the fighting arena, although there is no real proof of this. What we can safely assume is that before the Second World War a large heavy guard dog existed in Italy, in the Naples region. It was used as a guardian of the estate and it is said that the Mastini instinctively knew not to cross their boundaries. They were not leashed or checked by a human in any way, there was no need!

The British Neapolitan

Our club President ‘Douglas Oliff’, tells us that in the 1970s the breed was introduced into England by a Mr Lewis who  had a mahogany dog and a black bitch. In time these dogs were then passed to a Mr Homfray under a breeding arrangement, and a large litter was subsequently born. Most of the litter went abroad but Mr Lewis carried on importing the breed which Mr Homfray housed in his kennels. From the litter produced a bitch was kept in this country which was subsequently mated back to her sire by the owner Mrs Bacchus. From that mating there were two black bitches still available at 9 months of age.  One went to Dr A Clark and Mrs Jean Clark and became the foundation bitch of the Kwintra line. The other Douglas took on but did not breed from her as the temperament  was questionable. The Clarks went on to import several other dogs and although the numbers bred were not extensive they were the foundation of the breed in this country. Breed type is varied and as of yet we cannot claim to truly achieve breed consistency but we are now  seeing great improvements. Suffice to say that, this is still a Rare breed with only a handful of true Mastini breeders in this country, who only breed to improve. However there are still some breeders out there who are not dedicated and prefer the sound of money. It appears that most of the RESCUES we see, seem to come from stock with no KC registration papers.