The Bull Terrier Club of Tampa Bay was established in 1983. The original club name was Suncoast Bull Terrier Club which was established by Sandee Franscone on August 27,1983. Nearly three months later, during a club meeting, a vote was taken and the name was changed to The Bull Terrier Club of Tampa Bay. The name has remained the same since November 6, 1983.

On January 11, 1985 we held our first Bull Terrier Club of America (BTCA) supported entry. We were part of the Clearwater Kennel Club’s show. The Judge for the day was Norma Smith.  

Our club has participated in many community events over the years. We have participated in many All Breed Show Events,  providing materials and education regarding the breed.   Many of our bull terriers have been involved in community events such as Stride for Strays, American Cancer Society walks, Bark in the Ball Park, and AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Days.  

In October of 2000, we were the host Club for the Bull Terrier Club of America’s Silverwood Show in Orlando, Florida.

In December of 2001, our club participated in the first Eukanuba Classic “Meet the Breed” in Orlando, winning third place in the Terrier Group. Striving for first place, our club participated again in December 2002 and achieved our goal, in Orlando, winning first place in the Terrier Group. The Eukanuba Classic moved from Orlando to Tampa in 2005 and   we won first place for a second time. This was a great achievement especially since several of our club members were invited to show their dogs in the event. Our success continued in 2006, we were able to participate again in “Meet the Breed” and pulled it off with a third place win. We would like to give an extra special thanks to club members Nikki and George Moor for their oustanding work on behalf of the Bull Terrier Club of Tampa Bay and Bull Terrier Club of America.

In January 2007,   our BTCA supported shows returned to Brooksville after a 2 year absence. With the return of our supported shows, the entry increased from 5 Bull Terriers in 2006 to 35 Bull Terriers in 2007. Due to our continued sucess in working with our local kennel clubs, we are included in the 2008 schedule in January at the Florida Classic Park in Brooksville. We are hoping for an even larger entry in the years to come. Please see our Shows/Events page for more information.

Our “Silver Anniversary” - 25 years - will be celebrated in August 2008.

We are pleased to announce -   the Club will host the 2008 Bull Terrier Club of America’s Silverwood Show on October 9-13, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. Please visit our Silverwood page for more information.