The Bellingham Bulldogs got their start in 2008 when Dick McKinley and Jeff Fisher purchased the rights to the Northwest Avalanche from Craig Jackson.   The Bulldogs applied for entry into the Pacific Northwest Football Conference, however the PNFC decided to merge with the Evergreen Football League.  The EFL accepted the Bulldogs as a rebranding of the Avalanche and awarded the team full membership for the 2008 season.
 
After a 3-6 finish to the 2008 season, the Bulldogs decided to shift over to the summer leagues and departed the Evergreen League for the North American Football League in hopes of attracting players from British Columbia disenchanted with the team options in Vancouver, as well as the sparkle of a potential nationally traveling league.  Jeff Fisher used his marketing skills to help acquire a team bus, which would become a point of controversy prior to a Skagit Valley Lightning game in 2009.  Former Lightning coach and quarterback Brad Collins would join the Bulldogs and split time at QB with Mark Simmons during the 2009 season.  During the off-season, Dick McKinley would sell his interests to Jeff Fisher and Phil Smith would take the reigns as head coach.
 
These moves proved fruitful as the Bulldogs opened the '09 season against the Langley (BC) Longhorns dominating the Canadian contingent 49-0 and reeling off 11 straight victories on their way to a date with the Southern Oregon Renegades in the NAFLNw Championship.  Chase Cantrell, a former Western Washington University player, proved a valuable two-way athlete.  In the western conference title game, the Renegades found Cantrell, who rushed for 147 yards, a score and had 2 sacks ond 3 tackles on defense for the Bulldogs, plus the 10-hour road trip too much to overcome.  A tough St. Paul Pioneers team fresh off a win over the storied Racine Raiders came to Bellingham from Minnesota and walked away with a 5-point victory ending the Bulldogs cinderella season.
 
The Bulldogs roared through the 2010 season again winning the Olympic Division of the NAFL Northwest setting them up for a run at the NAFL Championship.  Defeating the Bay Area Gamblers of California in the semi finals handily, the Bulldogs and Nashville Storm were set to square off in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the NAFL Championship.  Bellingham went up 14-0 early but the Storm reeled off 41 unanswered points to send Bellingham home disappointed, but undefeated in their last 25 games against regional opponents.  The Bulldogs dominated the West Division All-League selections with 23 players on the first and second teams, in essence, every starter made the top two teams.  45-year old backup QB and current QB coach Tod Shackleford stepped in while Mark Simmons was out with an illness in the season opener.
 
2011 Began a new era as the Bulldogs entered into the Pacific Football League comprised of some of the strongest teams assembled in the Northwest with a spring season start instead of the previous NAFL summer-fall schedule.  Across town, the Bellingham Blitz made a move to bolster depth and talent leaving the shaky PDFL dominated by the Tacoma Cobras to the Western Washington Football Association. A Bulldog win over the WWFA Renton Ravens seemed to start things off where they left off the past two season, however the Snohomish Vikings detoured the Bulldogs plans of being undefeated in the PFL North division.  The following week, the Colts took a 5-point offensive battle that started a derailment of the Bellingham season as the 'Dogs lost eight in a row.  The season wasn't a total loss as Bellingham upset Grays Harbor in what would start the Bearcats late-season exit from the playoff race.  In the season finale the Vikings were dismantled in the rematch of the Bulldogs PFL season opener.

 2012 brought the formerly split town together as the former PDFL Blitz merged with the Bulldogs and for the first time in half a decade Bellingham was a united team.  Prior to that, both the WWFA and the PFL were announcing schedules for the Bulldogs/Blitz.  It's unknown if the Blitz formally announced their intentions to withdraw from the WWFA, but the schedule the WWFA announced was published anyway and is reflected in the canceled games. 
 
The Bulldogs went to work quickly crushing the Renton Ravens for the second season opener in a row, then traveling over the hill to face Wenatchee.  The Rams led the Bulldogs 10-0 through 3 quarters until WR Toby Seim took over the game and the Bulldogs battled back to take a 21-17 victory from the eventual Washington League (WFL) Champions.
 
A set-back against the Mavericks on the road cost Bellingham a home playoff game, but they returned to Yakima and defeated the Mavs to advance to the PFL Championship as North Division champions.  There they could not overcome the firepower of the Portland Monarchs who went on to win the PFL and the GNFA crown.
 
With the merger of Bellingham fully completed, the Bulldogs set out in 2013 to claim the PFL championship.  Following a Week 4 upset of the Portland Monarchs, the season looked like a sure bet.  However, the following week a trip to Yakima proved to be a trap game as the Mavericks pulled the upset.  Three weeks later, the Stallions would shut out Bellingham further lengthening the road to a title.  Two road victories in the playoffs and North Division championship proved that this team was ready to be crowned and in the PFL championship they left no doubt in feasting on the Buzzards 40-7 to climb back to the top as the GNFA Regional Champions.  In the process, the Bulldogs had dethroned the Monarchs and Bears, winners of the past five GNFA regional crowns.
 
The 2014 season got off to a rocky start with a non-conference game against the up-start Puyallup Nation Kings.  Pooling talent from around the leagues, the Kings took down the defending champs 47-36, launching their own run to a league title game.  Limping to the playoffs with a 7-3 record following a regular season finale loss to South King, the Bulldogs looked weary.  A depleated Monarchs team, struggling on it's own after a player/coach movement to the cross-town Boltz, struck last with a final second score to knock Bellingham out of the first round of PFL playoff play. 
 
2015 would be a tough year as the team endured the early passings of Sean Hicks in January and Stephen Faoro back in November of 2014.  Two beloved linebackers and fan favorites, their loss was felt mid-season during a stretch of 3 losses in four games where opponents averaged 35 points per game.  Topping the Clark County Vipers for the 4th time in a row dating back to 2012, and maintaining an average of scoring over 42 points per game in their first round playoff, was not enough as the Portland Raiders ended their season with a blowout in the semi-finals.
 
Looking for greener grass, the Bulldogs made a move out of the Pacific Football League and into the WWFA.  Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with new Teal and Black colors, a new nemesis emerged for Bellingham as the Puyallup Nation Kings owned the WWFA and both meetings on the season.  The Wenatchee Valley Rams, an old foe from the PFL, held it's spell over the Bulldogs as well handing the Bham boys a 58-7 defeat, it's worst in team history.
 
The Bulldogs suspended operations for the 2017 season and announced a restructured organization set to play in the WWFA for 2018 but ultimately never made it back on the field.

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