We have been breeding Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Ostellato, in the province of Ferrara, since 2013, with one litter a year, occasionally two, sometimes none. A kennel is judged by the dogs it produces, but those dogs are usually seen only in puppy photos or in the show ring at two years old. The real question comes later: what happens to those dogs once life really begins? With numbers this small, I know where almost every dog that left here is today, what it does and how it is doing. Here I tell ten of those stories: dogs that live with families, dogs that work, dogs that are shown, and dogs that retired to the armchair after their careers. And one fact holds them all together: since 2013 no dog has ever come back, even though the option to return one is written down and has no expiry date.
Cattleya, who retired to the armchair after the ring
Cattleya lives in San Clemente, in the province of Rimini, with Ricarda Mazzola Wagner. She was shown abroad as well, and at a breed show in Germany she earned the praise of Debbie Desmond of Elitebull kennels, who called her the best constructed bitch of the whole event. She has two litters behind her, with truly typical puppies.
Today she lives in the armchair, and that is exactly what should happen to a bitch after her career.
Ricarda, her family and we have become friends: sometimes we meet at their house, sometimes at ours. That part cannot be planned, and it was never part of the deal, but it happens often.
Queen of California, spoilt without limits
Queen is Italian Junior Champion 2026, and here too the title is the least interesting part. Her owners are special people, and they spoil her without limits: they take her to the swimming pool, they take her on holiday with them.
A champion living like that is exactly what I hope for every dog that leaves here.
Lothar, and two twins
Lothar is Italian Junior Champion and Slovenian Champion, but what matters is something else. The two twin brothers who handle him at shows have found in him a point of reference: preparing him, presenting him, learning that things come if you put the effort in.
A dog that teaches two boys that is worth more than any grading in a catalogue.
A sister of Lothar, and her boy
A sister of Lothar lives with a family in Romagna. Their son is disabled, and his parents never stop thanking me for how much love that bitch manages to give.
There is not much to add. It is the story I think of most often when someone asks me whether the breed suits families.
A sister of Bilquis, on the training field
A sister of Bilquis lives with a dog trainer and goes to working dog training fields. There she excels at something that surprises anyone who sees it: the stop on command at more than two hundred metres. And she stays down for the whole evening, waiting for a command to move.
A stop at that distance does not come from genetics: it comes from whoever puts in the work. But for a terrier to stop when its drive would carry it elsewhere, it has to keep hearing its person even under stimulation. That part you do select for.
Assan, best man at a wedding
Assan is a son of Jackie and lives in Rome. He is one of the most beautiful dogs I have ever bred, but that is not why he deserves a line here.
Roberta, his owner, loves him like a son. Literally: she took him to her own wedding as a witness. And together with her mother, who has a sister of Assan, she still writes and calls me today for advice and opinions.
Two dogs from the same litter in two homes of the same family, years apart. It is the kind of confirmation no title can give.
Gina, at the gym in Verona
Gina is a red bitch and lives in Verona with her owner, who is a personal trainer. She takes her to the gym every day, and there Gina plays host: she welcomes the clients, those on two legs and those on four.
Outside work there are hill walks above Lake Garda with friends. Gina walks in a group with the other dogs and keeps everyone company. Her owner has even given her an Instagram page, Gina la staffina.
A dog that spends her days among people who keep changing, without anyone having to worry about it, is what you hope for when you select for temperament.
Tina, on the beach in Bari
Tina lives in Bari and spends as much time as she can on the beach, playing calmly with the other dogs.
A son of Nutella, in California
A son of Nutella lives in the United States, in California, with his owner of Korean origin. We are in touch now and then, a few messages, and what reaches me is mostly praise for his temperament.
It confirms that a well-selected dog works anywhere, even ten thousand kilometres away and in a different culture.
Two vets, and what that means
Among the families who have taken a puppy from us there are two vets. They looked at other kennels, they weighed them up, and then they came here. Years have passed and they are still delighted.
Coming from people in that profession, who see the consequences of bad choices every day, it is the review that carries the most weight.
The calls that come years later
Every now and then I get a message from someone I honestly no longer remembered. They thank me for the special creature they have at home, years after the puppy went to them.
And then there are the strangest calls: people who met one of my dogs on the street, in some town or other, and were so struck by it that they looked up the kennel to meet me and see the others.
A dog that makes a stranger stop in the street is not a beautiful dog. It is a dog that is doing well.
To those I have not mentioned
These are only some of the stories. Many other families have been sending me photos and news for years, and they would deserve a place here as much as the ones I have told. If your dog is not here, it is not because it matters less: one page is not enough for everyone, and I chose stories that each show something different. To anyone who expected to find themselves here, I apologise. And if you would like your dog to be in the next version, write to me.
Why this page exists
Not to list results: those are in the show record, with the judges' names, and anyone can check them.
This page exists because a kennel is measured ten years on, not on the day the puppy goes home. If the dogs you have produced are doing well, living with families, working, growing old in the armchair, and their owners still write to you, then the work has done its job.
Something that has never happened
We always tell anyone taking a puppy the same thing: if one day you can no longer keep the dog, for any reason, it comes back here. It is written down and has no expiry date.
Since 2013 it has never been needed. No puppy and no adult dog has ever come back.
I do not write this as a merit, because for the most part it is not one: it also depends on the families who came, on those who drove three hundred kilometres to see the mother before deciding, on those who waited a year because that year no litter was born. The promise still stands, though, and on the day it was needed we would keep it.