The Bouvier des Flandres was a working dog, a protective heritage breed derived from the cattle and farm dogs of the Flemish plain in North Western Belgium. From time to time I have need to comment on Bouvier affairs, which is the purpose of these pages.
Jim Engel 
Marengo, Illinois

ABOUT ANGEL'S LAIR

Once upon a time, on a Bouvier list from which I have long since been expelled for telling the truth and being smarter than the censor, I was called the "Angel of Marengo" in a moment of frustration. Since "Engel" is  angel in German, and since the implication was more of the fallen variety, the name  immediately became well accepted.

Although it took a decade to fully realize it and accept it, I came to believe in the Bouvier as a working dog in an era when his slide into oblivion was just passing the point of no return, when the hypocrisy of the breeders and leadership, in Europe as well as America, was destroying the last vestige of the gift of the founders. A few of us thought we could turn the tide of history, but we underestimated the power of the show breeders, for whom the dog show game is in the most fundamental sense a political process dedicated to vanity, stupidity and greed. Time and again efforts to restore the breed as a working dog have been perverted into more self serving propaganda in the service the age old show breeder lie: "Show dogs can do it too."

All of the clubs, the magazines, the breeders and the judges talk nice in public, affirm that they really do believe that the Bouvier is a working dog, have ringing slogans about the character of the breed. But its a pack of lies, pure and simple. In reality all they care about is show ring winning and a case full of phony trophies. You can see the results in every show ring in the world.

My purpose here is to bear witness to this heritage, to honor the men and woman who brought this noble breed into existence and those who even today through their personal standards of training and breeding remain faithful onto the heritage, even as the forces of history sweep it away before their eyes.

LEGAL EAGLE STUFF

The material presented here is protected by Copyright, and can not be reproduced, reprinted or used in any other way without my permission. Official club publications are normally granted limited reprint permission, but must first contact us.  In addition to da law, we are protected by a Witch with a contract to cast a spell on the violators, turning all the show dogs into old time Dutch working dogs, right in the middle of the show ring at the most critical moment, and the real Bouviers into the fluffy bait and gait show dogs, the infamous "Bouviers des Boudoir," the moment before the test of courage.