SHOW HISTORY

A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE PRESA CANARIO

It was not until 1986 that the people of the islands began to think of the Presa Canario as a purebred dog and decided to hold dog shows for it. On October 19, 1986 the I Muestra Regional de Perro Tipo Presa Canario, First Regional Show of the Presa Canario Dog Type, was held in Santa Cruz in the island of Tenerife, with the participation of 150 examples of the breed. On June 6, 1987, Manuel Morena Miranda put together the second show in Santa María de Guía in the island of Gran Canaria, to which were presented 80 examples of the breed.

Of this second show Carlos Salas Melero reports that, "amongst the 80 dogs presented there was of everything...many showed evident traits of crossing with diverse breeds: Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, American Staffordshire... In Tenerife, logically, the same had occurred. But the truly important thing was to verify how, amongst this population presented, existed a group of dogs with very similar characteristics within each other, which did not denote the influence of any other recognized breed. And, yet even more important, was to establish that those examples obtained the general approval of the enthusiasts. These examples were, without a doubt, the most beautiful and possessed, on the other hand, great character."

On April 18, 1989 the Sociedad Canina de Canarias, Canine Society of the Canaries, approved and elaborated the standard of the Presa Canario dog breed. On April 29 of the same year, the Presa Canario was officially recognized by the Real Sociedad Central Canina Española, Royal Spanish Central Canine Society, in Las Palmas of Gran Canaria. Due to the tremendous political strife between the two islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, the next two years would follow with the splitting up of the breed enthusiasts into three clubs.

The original Sociedad Canina de Canarias became the Club del Perro de Presa Canario de Las Palmas and is currently headed up by Miguel Vega. This club has had amongst its followers such well-known authors as Clemente Reyes Santana. The other Gran Canaria club, the Asociación del Presa Canario Faycan, which presented so many dogs in those early shows, became the Club del Perro de Presa Canario del Jardín Canario and is currently headed up by Julían Celís Sanchez. The most successful club, however, and the one that eventually took official Spanish recognition from Gran Canaria and brought it to Tenerife, the Club Español del Presa Canario is today based in Tenerife and headed by Miguel Angel González Pérez.

The Three Big Clubs

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