This article is from the Neapolitan Mastiffs Breed FAQ, by breder@neapolitan.com (Barry Reder).
The Neapolitan Mastiff has been documented as being in the United
States at least since the early 1970's, although it is believed that
individual dogs were brought over with their families all during the
great waves of immigration which started in the 1880's and continued
into the first half of the 20th Century.
Around 1973 the Neapolitan Mastiff Club of America (NMCA) was formed
by Michael A. Sottile, Sr. . Mr. Sottile and his family imported
Neapolitan Mastiffs, bred many wonderful dogs, and converted many
people into lovers of the Neapolitan Mastiff as well as educated many
new fans of this breed. The NMCA also ran a registry of pedigrees for
the Neapolitan Mastiff in the United States, and kept pedigrees,
lineage, and ownership information for most, if not virtually all
Neapolitans in the country at that time.
Around 1990 there were several movements across the country to form
alternative clubs and registries to the NMCA. In late 1990 the United
States Neapolitan Mastiff Club (USMNC)was formed and began operations
as both a breed club and registry. The USNMC was officially
incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1991. The USNMC also
drafted a breed standard to reflect the standard of the country of
origin. The standard was approved By the AKC (American Kennel Club)
and the Neapolitan Mastiff entered into the AKC - FSS (foundation
stock service) for pedigree record keeping in 1996. Sometime in 1990,
the American Neapolitan Mastiff Association (ANMA) was also formed but
has ceased its registry operations as of January 1, 1999.
 
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