The Patterdale Terriers
From - A HALF CENTURY with the American Put Bull Terrier “the early years”
Author: Gary Hammonds – 2003
I had met a fellow over in
Kentucky many years back. He
went by Boston Blackie and was
eccentric to say the least. He was
the fellow who owned the “Black
Jack Bronson” and “Ch” Daisy
Mae”, the famous tree climbing
bulldog.
I had visited him at his place
back then and he lived on a ridge
that had a valley on two of the
three sides. The grass was the color
they often referred to as blue grass.
I have never seen a cleaner dog
yard. Each chain space was ground
covered with this crushed stone
known as aggregate. I don’t know
if there was a kennel hand hiding
out somewhere that come out and
cleaned up when they took a poop,
but I never saw a pile during my
visit.
I had always had a liking for small
Pit bulls, mini Bull Terriers and
4
the hard hunting terriers, but had
never owned one. Blackie called
me once when he returned from a
trip to Europe and was telling me
about a breed he was amazed by,
and had rounded up some. These
were members of the Fell Terriers,
which specialize in going under the
ground for their quarry. They were
called Patterdale Terriers and he
had run into Brian Nuttall, a very
well known European breeder,
who was known for some to the
best. He said he knew I would want
to get one, evaluate it and then tell
him what I thought.
Through several years, I
researched the breed and finally got
a black and tan saddle back from
George Schiller’s stuff. These were
based on the Nuttall stuff Blackie
had brought to this country a few
years earlier.
The little guy really fit in and I
called him “Chay Ho”, but he was
quickly claimed by Barry my son,
who called him “Teddy Bear”. He
was one of the most focused pups
that I had ever seen and was certain
he could kill a cat or anything else
he construed as quarry. “Chay Ho”
grew quickly and was grown before
I knew it. He was perfect in every
way, but for one fault. When I was
outside the house or anywhere on
the place, he knew it and would
sit there and steadily bark to let
me know he wanted “out” to help
me do what I was doing. Being a
little too mouthy is a Patterdale
shortcoming, as they are easily
wound up and always looking for
the suspicious. This does make
them excellent watch dogs. My
nephew’s trainer, Casey Malone,
had expressed an interest in the
Patty’s and “Chay Ho” was