Tosa Dog Names

Being a rare breed within the United States, you do not hear as much about the Tosa. However, the breed was put in the spotlight in the United Kingdom when a Tosa named Chewie was impounded for attacking a neighbor’s dog. Chewie was confiscated after a neighbor filed a report with the police stating that the Tosa grabbed her 12 year old Terrier named Ella, and killed her by biting her. In 1991 the U.K. enacted the Dangerous Dogs Act and the Tosa was included in that law. Chewie’s owner, Anthony Matacchieri was found guilty of owning a breed that has been deemed illegal in the U.K. and was given a 12 month community order and ordered to pay fines and kennel costs as well as performing 100 hours of community service. Matacchieri was allowed to keep Chewie after an investigation was conducted and no evidence of a dog attack could be found. Ella’s body was examined and investigators found that the Terrier had been shaken to death instead of bitten as the neighbor claimed. The exact cause of Ella’s death with inconclusive and Chewie was cleared of the charge. An animal behaviorist was brought in to evaluate Chewie’s temperament and Chewie was found to have a very good nature with no signs of aggression. Matacchieri claimed that Chewie was a family member and played daily with his small children. Chewie was impounded for 274 days while the court proceedings were going on and before Matacchieri was able to bring Chewie home he had to pay fees to compensate the police for boarding Chewie. Chewie was then released on a contingent destruction order. This meant that Chewie had to be kept muzzled and on leash when in public. He also had to be microchipped and neutered. If Matacchieri fails to comply with any of these conditions, Chewie can be confiscated again and destroyed.

In the United States, there were four Tosa dogs that made the news when they were rescued from a South Korean meat farm and imported in the U.S. to the Benton-Franklin Humane Society. Their names are No Pho, Veggie Dawg, Notta Burger and Princess Tofutti. There were a total of 103 dogs rescued and brought to the U.S. The Tosas ranged in age from about 9 months to 2 years. Because these four dogs have not been well socialized, the Humane Society will thoroughly evaluate their temperament and trainability before offering them for adoption. Some of the larger dogs rescued from meat farms are actually only released to rescue groups for rehabilitation before they can be adopted by the general public.