Bill George (dog dealer)

Bill George (1802–1881) was a Victorian era dog dealer and well-known character in London, England.

George's first job was as a butcher's boy. A bareknuckle prizefighter, he later became an apprentice to Ben White of 'May Tree Cottage', Kensal New Town, a dealer of Old English Bulldogs, the ancestral breed of Bulldog used for dog fighting. Kensal New Town was a rough working class area with many Irish immigrants and the scene of Protestant-Catholic conflicts. He was indirectly part of an incident in 1825, sponsored by Sam Wedgbury, who had bought a dog from White, and a menagerie owner called George Wombwell, involving lion-baiting by Bulldogs. George is said to have unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade the participants from continuing in this bloody enterprise. The outcome was that one of the lions was injured and several dogs were killed, leading to public outrage and a local ordinance banning the use of dogs for fighting. The practice continued in secret, however, and White's kennels remained in operation, with George continuing to work for him.

In 1835, Parliament passed the Cruelty to Animals Act, banning dog fighting nationwide. In that same year, Ben White died, and George purchased the premises from his widow, renaming them 'Canine Castle'. Aware that for the business to continue, a new clientele would have to be cultivated, George shifted the focus onto the Bulldog as a companion animal, giving the breed a fresh impetus. He also developed a new line of "Toy Bulldogs" which became a craze in France where he sent many specimens who are believed to have been major contributors to a new breed, the French Bulldog. The magazine Country Life, on 29 April 1899 recounts:

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