There are people who think the black Fila is not accepted, but that is not true. The official CBKC standard has always accepted it. The reason for the doubt concerning the black color comes from the end of the 70's. In 1978, the group of breeders who formed the Comissão de Aprimoramento do Fila Brasileiro (Cafib), stated that the black in the breed indicated poor breeding - breeding Filas with German Dog, which was done in the 70's. The highest ranking authority entity at the time was BKC (Brasil Kennel Clube, currently CBCK); they did not agree with the statement, and the black Fila continued to be welcomed. The committee decided to dettach from BKC and founded a separate club with their own standard prohibiting that color. The name remained the same, Cafib, but initial "C" stood for Club instead of Committee. In that same year Cafib started to work independently, they launched a monthly journal about the breed. One of the issues addressed frequently was the fact that the black Fila was considered "mestiço". "The negative promotion done by Cafib against the black Fila influenced people," comments Araceli Souza Pontelli, from Kennel Aguascalientes, Valinhos, SP. "Even today, there are many people who come to my kennel and are amazed when they see the black Fila; they ask if it is a pure-bred dog." Carlos Alberto da Costa Gonçalves, from Kennel Borghetto, Bento Gonçalves, RS, adds that the prejudice agains the black individuals has made breeders disinterested in working with this color. "With less people breeding the black Fila, there was less selection in the breedings of this color," says Carlos Alberto. "This is why there are some typical flaws in the black, such as lack of dewlaps and low croup. The evidence that seems to prove that black Filas don't come from the German Dog is that the black color was present in its forming breeds. The most probable theory for the origin of the Fila is the mixture of ancient types of the English Mastiff, English Buldog and Bloodhound. So it is natural that the genes for the black color have been transmitted to the Fila. Besides, if the presence of black because of breedings with the German Dog occurred in the 70's, how could the existence of black Filas before that be explained? Joana Szitkowski, who breeds Rilas since 1939 testifies: "As soon as I started breeding I came across black dogs." Jether is another eye witness. "Around 1945 I used to live in a farm and there were black Filas with the same physical characteristics of the other Filas." To stop once and for all with the rejection of the black color, breeders are working on a campaign to favor black. The initiative came from CBKC. The column of the Fila Brasileiro, inaugurated by the CBKC journal last November and December has been published three times. In all three of them, the issue of the black Fila was addressed.The journal also asked readers to send pictures of good black individuals, so they could be published. In the last edition (April/May), the column headline was "Champion Black Fila." It portrayed the picture of a black female which won the title of best of the breed on an exposition in 1989. The text, with a touch of nostalgic celebration read: "It is with the utmost satisfaction that we receive the picture of the Champion, Great Champion and South American Champion, Saíra do Samor." WHITE IS NOT ACCEPTED If some think the black color is prohibited, others think the white color is accepted. But it isn't. White Filas may be born in any broods, maybe as a heritage from the British Buldog, which can also be found in this color. However, not even in the first standard, written in 1946, this color was allowed. The determination, apparently for aesthetic reasons, was always followed by all with no questioning. It is not uncommon for people to mistankenly associate white color to albinism, which brings skin problems due to lack of pigmentation. That is why, for instance, the white color is not accepted in the Boxer. But, in the Fila this reason is not mentioned. People who have already had white dogs confirm this. "In my kennel 8 white Filas were born, and none of them was albino; their nose, lips and eye rim was completely pigmented," says Antonio José Brasileiro. The dappled Fila is not accepted since 1983. The decision to exclude it was made in the national congress of breeders that took place in Rio de Janeiro. According to Romero da Costa Machado, breeder who was present when decision was made, the reason is that in the dappled dogs there is a predominance of white, and therefore, the chances of breeding completely white individuals grow if they are bred among themselves. Just for curiosity sake, in the history of the Fila Brasileiro, the first Best of the Exposition title among dogs of all breeds was given to a dappled Fila in 1952.