The Divine Family has been deeply rooted with the American Pit Bull Terrier since the early 1900's. For them it's not just love for the breed, it's heritage. It started with the influence of Harrison Divine who was the father of Don and therefore Grandfather to David, Dennis & Diane. Harrison had Colby-Con Feeley bred dogs in those times. He used to run with a well respected pit bull fancier and enthusiast named Ham Morris. Ham was a friend and mentor of sorts to the family. Thought it would be nice to put him up as one of the first pictures in this timeline. Here are the Divines with Ham in the late 70's. The dog pictured is Slow Motion by Bruce and out of Nervy.

Here is Don holding Cindy. She was a Colby bred dog from a breeder out of Missouri. She was a great dog. They used to let her run through an old cemetery close to where they lived at the time in Lexington Kentucky. One day she ran out in front of a moving car. They carried her to the vet but she didn't make it. A little while after she had passed is when they went and brought a pup home from Ham Morris that led to some pretty good dogs down the road. Those dogs made their mark in history. Cindy's passing indirectly is responsible for some great things that came about for the Divine family of dogs later on. Cindy will always be missed.

Pat was a top notch breeder in his time. He had some of best dogs around so the Divines decided to visit with Pat and that's how they ended up with the old "Creed's blood". One can say the first foundation for the Divine Bulldogs of today came from him. The more they bred back to his blood the better they became. Pat's dogs crossed well with anything out there and made it better. He was one of a kind. He demanded a lot from his dogs and always set the bar high. When he made a breeding it was all about improvement. One who breeds today always bares the responsibility of making sure they are breeding quality.

There is always a dog that stands out in one's eyes. One that you feel is a super animal. One that impresses you so much you actually take a look at his pedigree. In the mid 60's is when that dog showed up for the Divine family. Spike (on the left being held by David) was the dog that got David personally hooked on bulldogs. Spike was the first dog David got from Pat as a pup. David was around the dogs from the day he was born but Spike was a different sort in his eyes. He used to take him to school and anywhere else. Spike happened to be a brother to Bodzianowski's Scratch, Cassie's dam. Don Divine is holding Mounty(on right). He produced Levi, a well known dog in his time. Levi was out of the their first foundation female, Cassie. Mounty was from a Colby breeding. He was one of Don's house dogs. These two males went hunting together and enjoyed each others company.

This picture shows the two foundation dogs and the founders of the Divine bloodline of today. As far as they are concerned, all pedigrees and breedings start with these two dogs in mind. It never seized to amaze them how beautiful, strong, and intelligent the off spring would turn out to be coming down through these two.

This is Cassie. The absolute best bitch the Divine family ever owned. So intelligent. Almost too smart for her own good. Real easy going. She'd load up in the truck and be ready to hunt on any day. The Divine family acquired her as a pup from Pat Bodzianowski. Cassie was out of another great bitch named Scratch. Cassie produced some of the finest offspring in her time. Pretty much all of the Divine dogs carry her blood in there somewhere since they thought so much of her. She put so much bone in her offspring. This picture of her was probably taken in the mid to late 70's when she was older.

Here's a good picture of Diane holding Cassius Clay. His pedigree read him to be by Corvino's Teddy and out of Wilson's Goldie who were great dogs but the Divine family thought so much of him he could've been bred out of a raccoon and it wouldn't have made a difference. Cassius was their stud. He was a "all business" type of dog. Great hunter. Made everything look easy. He was the type of dog you would watch sort something out and think to yourself later that he was reading your mind while he was doing it. Many top breeders wanted Cassius but the Divine family managed to acquire him in a funny way from Pat Bodzianowski. He is a dog to be remembered.

Here is Diane Divine with Brownie and Starky. These two were litter mates. While Starky loved to hunt, she also loved spending time with her brother. They had the run of the neighborhood. Starky is on the right. Brownie is on the left. They were by Cassius and out of Suzie. Suzie was by Saddler and Tudor's Frito(half-brother to Tudor's Spike & Jeff) and out of B. Reese's Blondie who was a Colby bred bitch. Starky was a great companion and catch dog.

Mr. Crump was Don Divine's father in law. Jim Dandy(brother to Starky) was his house dog. Of course they took him hunting all the time. It's dogs like him and Starky that let them know they were on the right track as far as breeding Cassius Clay was concerned.

Patty was a pup when she was acquired as a gift from Maurice Carver. They happened to be on their way back from a road trip with Cassius in the truck that day. Don and David had no intentions of taking home a puppy at that particular moment but Maurice took them around his kennel like normal enthusiasts do and before they left his driveway he said: Did ya'll see anything you liked out there? Don responded: Well, there was a little black pup out there didn't look too bad. Maurice then uttered his famous words when selling a dog: "Aw you've got good taste son." He then went and got her and gave her to them. Of course Maurice probably gave her to Don and David with the intention to get something by Cassius in return down the road. Kind of a unspoken but obvious trait ol' Maurice was known for. Patty was bred to great dogs and produced great dogs. What a great gift. The Divine family later sent a good Cassius bred dog to Maurice and Pat Carver. They were thrilled and said the dog met all their expectations.

The family is digging for photos to continue the timeline. Please check back periodically as they go back through the time they shared and the mark they made with this great breed!