About the Buster Foundation

The Buster Foundation was founded by a core group of rescue volunteers, veterinarians, and breed supporters in 2003.  Our mission is to save, protect, and rehome bully breed and mastiff breed dogs from around South East Michigan.  We are a bully and mastiff specific rescue which means we primarily rescue and work with Pitbull type dogs as well as mastiff type dogs.   We are a foster based 501c3 rescue.  This means we do not have a dedicated facility. We house our dogs in foster homes across Southeast Michigan. Our base of operations is in Southwestern Wayne County.  

What is a Pitbull?

Throughout the years many people and the media often see a strong, compact, muscular dog with a blocky head and instantly label it a Pitbull.  Many times, that identification is incorrect as MANY dog breeds present with such physical description.  However, once a dog is labeled a Pitbull it is often subject to breed-based discrimination due to the perceived danger around the “Pitbull” breed.  The actual breeds that are routinely labeled as “Pitbulls” include the:  American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, as well as many mixed breed dogs that may have traits associated with the aforenamed breeds.  We call ourselves a “Bully” rescue because we specialize in working with a number of breeds that are often associated with Pitbulls or “Bullys”

Why do we work with Mastiffs?

Dog ownership trends often change and with that misunderstood breeds often change.  Up until recently Pitbull or Bully breeds were often misunderstood and discriminated against.  That is still happening, but there are new breeds that are becoming increasingly popular and with that popularity becoming the new status dog.  Those new breeds are often mastiffs, specifically Cane Corsos and Presa Canarios.  Both breeds are mastiff type dogs that were historically breed for livestock guarding roles.  Like most mastiff breeds they are NOT for everyone.  In general, they bond very closely with their family and can be suspicious of others.  Like most dogs, they are not innately aggressive but due to their large (easily +80 pounds) size if an incident does occur it can be traumatic.  Our founder has years of experience working with mastiff breeds and as such was one of the first to begin working them as they started to be more common in the rescue world.  Much like Pitbull’s, they make amazing pets when the owner is well versed in their needs and how to manage them.