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Chris Getman '64 comments on the new Handsome Dan

Yale University makes mascot statement with a different breed of bulldog in New Haven

New Haven Register

May 20, 2017

Handsome Dan XVIII, Yale University’s newest mascot, is no ordinary bulldog.

The dog, also known as Walter, is not a member of the traditional bulldog breed at all. He’s an Olde English Bulldogge, a recently developed version of the lovable, friendly dog that has won the hearts of Elis since Yale introduced the first college mascot in 1889, according to Chris Getman, who was the handler for four Handsome Dans over 33 years.

When Walter’s predecessor, Sherman, died Aug. 12, 2016, at 9½ of a brain tumor, Getman turned the leash over to Assistant Athletic Director Kevin Discepolo. But first he talked with Yale President Peter Salovey about switching breeds, because of concerns that the traditional bulldog is prone to health and reproductive problems.

“They’re breeding them so they have this look. It’s kind of like a human face all squashed in,” Getman said. “They can’t breed, all their births are caesarian. Three of our dogs had to have their trachea stretched. They’re unhealthy dogs.”

He said they “look like sausages on four legs” and called their breeding, which results in a large head and short muzzle, “inhumane.”

Walter (named for Yale football legend Walter Camp) “doesn’t have all the afflictions that normal English bulldogs have,” Getman said. “He won’t have to have his throat stretched, he can swim, he was not born by C-section, and he’ll be able to breed by himself. He’s not as bulky in the chest. When he’s fully grown, he’s not going to look like a Mack truck.

“It’s really important and significant that Yale made this statement that we’re going to do something about it,” Getman said, pointing out that the bulldog is the most popular college mascot. “I hope other people will listen, just for the sake of the dog.”

Discepolo said that when Yale began looking for Handsome Dan XVIII, “we took recommendations from a lot of people” and received “recommendations of other breeds.”

“Ultimately, what we also really liked is that the Olde English will grow up to be more true to the original Handsome Dan,” who was “a bit taller” and had “a more athletic build” than the modern-day standard. The Bulldog Club of America’s website describes that as a “heavy, thick-set, low-swung body. … The general appearance and attitude should suggest great stability, vigor and strength.”

John Little, national president of the club, strongly disagreed that the bulldog has become a sickly version of its old self. He said the breed “in the last 30 years, specifically, has gotten healthier beyond belief.” The Olde English Bulldogge was developed by “backyard breeders. Generally they’ll breed their dog to any mongrel,” Little said.

“The breed historically has suffered from a lot of misinformation,” said Little, who lives outside Columbus, Ohio. “I’m continually frustrated by the negative publicity we get.”

But criticism of how the traditional bulldog has been bred and the health problems it has developed go back years, Getman said. In 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a story asking “Can the Bulldog Be Saved?” The story cited three reports that said the way bulldogs have been bred is “detrimental to the health and welfare of dogs.”

At one conference, Brenda Bonnett, a consulting veterinary epidemiologist, reported that the bulldog is the breed most like to suffer from “a wide range of health issues, including ear and eye problems, skin infections, respiratory issues, immunological and neurological problems, and locomotor challenges,” as well as hip dysplasia, the Times reported.

Dr. Melissa Shapiro of Westport, state representative for the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, said bulldog breeders “continue to breed dogs that have severe, severe physical deformities that cause them great distress. They suffer.

“They have a pushed-in face; they can hardly breathe because, besides [their snouts] being very short, the nostrils are very small relative to the size of the dog. … They’re just panting all the time and breathing through their mouths.

“Everyone thinks it’s funny that they snore, but it’s not funny,” she said.

Shapiro, owner of the Visiting Vet Service, said the American Kennel Club and breed clubs “continue to keep the breed standard the same … They’re still being bred to some ridiculous standard that they’re made to suffer. … They are perpetuating what I call abuse of dogs.”

AKC weighs in

Brandi Hunter, spokeswoman for the AKC, said, “We don’t develop the breed standard; the parent club does.” She said the AKC will accept the breed standard “unless we view something in the breed [standard] that’s inhumane.” That standard is set by the breeding club, she said.

Hunter said the AKC considers the number of owners of the breed, with a minimum number registered with the organization, when deciding whether to recognize a breed. “What we don’t want in the AKC is for a breed to get recognition and then nobody’s breeding them” and the breed goes extinct, she said.

Shapiro said Yale’s decision to choose “a different type of bulldog is great, but let’s be careful because it’s still a bulldog” and could have some of the same problems. In her view, “they could go rescue a dog that needs a good home and that could be the standard for their students.”

Little said the criticism is the result of “jealousy” about one of the most popular breeds of dogs. A person who is devoted to a dog breed is known as a “fancy,” he said. “There is no other group of people breeding anything else that has the level of zeal and enthusiasm and love for the breed that the bulldog has. That’s just a fact,” Little said.

“It’s just the age-old thing, if you can’t beat something, you try to kick the props out from under it.”

Little said many of the college mascots do not represent the breed well, calling the University of Georgia’s bulldog, Uga, “a lousy specimen.”

“The reality is the bulldog has gotten a lot better,” Little said. “I judge shows all over the world and the bulldog has gotten more popular.” He said it’s not true that the bulldog is unable to mate or to give birth naturally.

“They certainly can breed naturally,” he said. “It’s very frustrating to me. The other old saw is they can’t whelp naturally.” He said that artificial insemination is used because semen can be cooled and shipped long distances and it avoids spreading diseases.

He said caesarian sections are used to avoid the mother losing the last two or three puppies from a large litter because of “uterine fatigue” caused by the dogs’ large heads.

“A large number are delivered by C-section, but I have had a number of litters where they whelp naturally, just like any other animal would whelp,” Little said.

A great dog

During a recent visit to Yale Field during the baseball playoffs, Walter was a popular figure, with fans coming up to take his picture — or to have their photo taken with him.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Discepolo said of taking care of Walter, who was born Sept. 23, 2016, and made his debut on Nov. 18. “He’s a great dog. He’s a celebrity around campus for sure.

“Part of his training is having him socializing,” Discepolo said. “Since he first got on campus when he was 8 weeks old, people were swarming him. He doesn’t mind crowds” and has “a perfect demeanor for his job duties,” which are to “attend the games, be a good representative of Yale athletics and Yale University.”