Portrait of America’s French Bulldogs

Linda Maingot (El Torro) was mentored by Angel Terrette and Janis Hampton.  She has been breeding frenchies for over thirty years, has an extraordinary pedigree memory, has knowledge and expertise and is a talented artist.

In her Preface Linda states “In this book, I have compiled some of the late great French Bulldogs’ pedigrees … This selection of pedigrees starts from the mid-1960s and ends with dogs that had already produced champion get by the year 2000.”

In the Epilogue Linda Maingot recorded “I agonized over the choices of dogs and pedigrees to include in this book.  There were so many more who deserved to be mentioned … Included are the dogs who I felt made the greatest contributions and of whom breeders would like to know more about.  The portraits … are depictions of how I viewed and interpreted the dogs’ virtues that have contributed to our breed.”

There are 55 full page color portraits of 63 champions with four generation pedigrees opposite each painting which is prefaced by succinct but interesting notes.

Biographical details include “Linda Maingot … has a special gift of capturing her subject’s physical attributes, while expressing the essence of the subject’s personality in her artwork.”

The book is a visual pleasure.  At its start is a nine page article by Juanita Imperiale about genetic manipulation from earliest days and is most instructive.  It emphasizes the critical importance of genetic compatibility.  “A smart and knowledgeable breeder is continually updating their knowledge throughout their entire breeding career and learns from those new or old in their breed.”  The article enhances the importance of this book.

At the end of the portraits and pedigrees there are two succinct pages by DaNee’ D. Jensen (Dejavu) “Show Grooming for Beginners”.  Crystal clear and to the point, as one would expect given the biographical details near the book’s beginning.  “Her most important requirement is health.  Her second most important requirement is movement and soundness.”

At the book’s end there is a two page alphabetical index listing the dogs.

Spiral binding, A4 soft cover, 247 pages, self-published, beautiful portraits of happy dogs, fine artwork and the quality of the color portraits can be seen from the front cover. The book clearly represents a labor of love for all involved.  It is an important addition to the French Bulldog library, both historically and constructively.
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