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 Damara
Bolte, of Leesburg, VA grew-up as an
"Army-brat", graduated from Purdue University in
animal husbandry and studied animal sculpture
in Paris.
She bred Reveille Basenjis since 1955 and has
handled a good many Basenjis over the years
including 9 Best In Show winners. She has been
a BCOA Board member and wrote the breed column
of the AKC Gazette for over three decades.
Her avocation has been professional handling
with a career as an Animal Husbandman for the
National Institutes of Health. She accompanied
Basenji breeders Jon Curby and Stan Carter, DVM
on the '88 Basenji search in Zaire.
Damera
received the AKC 2002 Hound Group Breeder of the
Year Award, the 1998 PHA Handler of the Year and
was the 2008 recipient of the AKC’s Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Damara bought her mother their first Mastiff in
1956. For thirty years she showed and bred, on
a very limited basis, the house Mastiffs. She
had the privilege and honor to have handled dogs
to Best of Breed at the MCOA National Specialty
in 66, 67, 68, 71,74,76,79,82,& 93 with six
different dogs. Among those were the following
Best of Breed winners at the National
Specialty: 1967 and 1968 CH Reveille
Juggernaut, 1971 CH Reveille Defender and
1974,75,76 CH Reveille Big Thunder. She also
won the National with CH Deer Run Zen and CH
Matts Joshua of Dogwood Knoll. Damara relates
some exciting handling moments. She handled the
first Mastiff to go BIS in Continental US, her
own Brindle Mastiff to win a group and the first
Mastiff to win a group in Canada.
Damara retired in 1992 from a
33-year career as an Animal Husbandman at the
National Institutes of Health. She is an AKC
Registered Handler and still continues at it but
the breeds are getting smaller and smaller as
she no longer handles Mastiffs in the show ring.
She has rehomed 8 Mastiffs. Three of which have
their forever home at Reveille.
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