Bendegeit Mastiffs

I asked Murphy's owner Sue Visocchi to describe what it was like having Murphy as a family member for over 9 years - this is what she had to say:

Am CH Greco's Majestik's Murphy - Murphy is a product of the old, old Mastiffs from long ago, and is the result of a line breeding based on Eng CH Hollesley Medicine Man (who was his paternal G grandfather & maternal GG grandfather). He was an awesome male, and a big, big loving boy!  Murphy weighed about 230 pounds, with huge bone and a massive head. He was a gentle giant, a pretty quiet boy, and passed his calm loving demeanor onto his pups. His favourite past time was eating horse poop, and he used to graze in the field with the horses. Murphy also loved going on hikes and playing in the creeks whenever he could.

Murphy was shown back in the early 90's...when it was very hard to show and finish a brindle, as judges weren't too fond of them. Even though he wasn't a fan of the show ring, Murphy did very, very well, and finished his American championship in 5 weekends with 2 back-to-back majors. He is also an MCOA Hall of Fame Sire, and received that distinction for having more than 10 champion offspring out of just 3 litters.

Murphy was pretty popular in Colorado back in his day, not only for passing along his fantastic structural qualities, but also his amazing temperament and health. Murphy's kids were known for their great movement, good toplines, and pigment. He also passed on his great size & bone, and great head piece. "All the Murphy puppies were very healthy. I never had any stones or urinary issues with any of the boys, and as far as I can remember cystinuria was not a problem. One thing I do remember is that we didn't see the health issues that have evolved into the breed nowadays. I never had any health issues with Murphy's kids, which attracted a lot of attention from local breeders." Murphy's puppies and grand puppies have done very well in the show ring, and Majestiks dogs as a whole were consistently dominating in the ring.

Murphy had his hips and eye test results recorded with OFA, unfortunately the rest of his health testing that wasn't sent in, was lost in the horrible Waldo Creek Wildfire that decimated Sue's property back in June 2012. Sue & her partner survived with their lives and their dogs, but lost their home, vehicle and all their belongings & memories (including photos of their dogs and all of their health testing) in the wildfire. Murphy was over 9 years old when Sue had to make the gut wrenching decision to send him across the Rainbow Bridge due to an inoperable tumour in his nose.

As Sue so poignantly puts it, "He was a good ole' boy."
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Among Sue's many accomplishments with her dogs, her kennel Majestiks Mastiffs also received The Breeder of Excellence award from Rocky Mountain Mastiff Fanciers Club.  It was the first time they had ever done something like that, and it acknowledged the quality of winning Mastiffs that Majestiks Mastiffs had turned out through the years. The award was prompted by the fact that Majestiks was no longer going to breed...and the Mastiff Club felt they needed to do something to recognize their accomplishments.  Sue actually found a few pieces of the award after the fires, which was incredibly special for her, especially since awards like that are almost never given out.

Sue & her partner Nancy, lost almost everything they owned in the horrible Waldo Canyon fires of 2012. Had it not been for Sue's brother who was watching the dogs while Sue & Nancy were on vacation, they might have lost them as well. Very little was salvaged from the 2 feet of ash & rubble that was once a 5000 sq. ft. home - a 2000F fire doesn't tend to leave much behind - but amongst the rubble they managed to find the urn containing the ashes of Sue's beloved poodle, their safe, and a few pieces of the award.

The Waldo Canyon fire was (as of 2012) the most destructive wildfire in Colorado's history, destroying over 300 homes and killing two people in a single night. By the time the fire was put out, over 32,000 people had been evacuated, two people had died, 347 homes and 18,000 acres had been destroyed. The insurance claims alone from the fire topped 453 million dollars.