Luna

I see you Luna. Luna came to us from a Shelter in Philadelphia called Morris Animal Refuge. We also rescued Momo from Morris. They are very nice people who have a no kill policy. They have many dogs and cats in need of a home. Check out their website.

Aja and Luna

Can you find Aja and Luna? It's funny, I never thought Aja and Luna would become anything other than ordinary looking cats. But both grow into very beautiful cats. When I first saw Aja I thought she was sick and that it would take many visits to the vet in order to make her feel and look better. Instead she developed into one of the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. And she knows it.
When I first meant Luna I thought she was a Abyssinian. Her eye were almost shut and her noise was running because of some virus she picked up at the shelter. But after some TLC, mostly from my wife, Luna became just as pretty as any Abyssinian.

Onyx

This beauty's name is Onyx. She is a Neapolitan Mastiff that comes by to see Milo. I think she is in love with Milo or just thinks his cute. Mona and Onyx have hung out together but Onyx can be unpredictable. She has good days and bad days. The Mailman and joggers can tell you all about it. I think she's sweet but she smells like hell and drools like a faucet. She has a face only a mother could love or the prince of darkness.

Witchhazel

I know this has nothing to do with dogs or cats but this Witchhazel tree blooms in our backyard every winter. Maybe that's why they call it Witchhazel. Something magical?

Green pet owners

I saw this on TV today. It's show is called Green Pet Owners. They talk about alternative litter for cats, recyclable bedding for dogs and cats, pet food that does not contain animal organs, cornmeal and chemicals.

Momo

Hi, my name is Momo. My name means Peach in Japanese but I think it means ME. Yes, It’s all about ME. If you want to play games with Me come to my room. I do not like my sisters to come in my room but you can come if we can play. Basically, I don’t play well with others, cats. Aja and Luna sometimes fight with me because I don’t want them in my room. They can come and eat in my room but they must leave after eating. Those are my rules. I sometime leave my room to ask for food and at night when everyone is in bed, I walk up and down the stairs singer. I’m a great singer. So…If you want to play with me come to my room but don’t bring Aja and Luna.

I'm Luna

Hi, my name is.....wait... Luna..yes, that right, my name is Luna. They sometimes call me clueless. I like looking at walls for hours, chasing shadows on a wall and rubbing against table legs and also rubbing against Milo. Milo is my friend. I'm not sure but I think he a big cat or maybe a big squirrel. He's nice to me and he does not ignore me like the other big squirrel, Mona does. Aja, my big sister, does not like me being friends with Milo. But I don't care. He's cute. The other day we....what was that? A shadow!.......

I was first.

Hi, my name is Aja. For about a month now this blog’s been going on and on about Mona and Milo. Let me set the record straight. I came first. A few years ago I was out for a evening stroll when this woman came up to me and asked if I wanted to go home with her. She promised me food and shelter, so I thought, why not. Anyway, as years past they continued to bring other cats into my home. This is fine, as long as they know their place. Then came this inferior species, the dog. Mona was the first to learn of my rules if she was going to stay. Rule number one, don’t get up in my face. Rule number two, don’t ever, ever get up in my face. Simple enough? Mona, however was a fast learner. Now they have Milo. Well, well, well, what shall we do with Milo. First of all, he is not cute, so stop saying that. I do not care if he’s a rescue saved from the deplorable conditions of a puppy mill, he smells! he’s rude, and he eats like an animal. My adopted sister Luna has betrayed me and befriended this smelly beast. I will never forgive her. Therefore, I am left to enforce the laws all by myself. My rules are simple. Touch my food, smack!, stand in my way, smack!, get up in my face, double smack! Follow my simple rules and you will not feel my wrath! That is all. Aja.

Just Chillin.

Milo and Mona bonding in the backyard.

I Love My Big Sister

Milo loves his big sister. When we brought Milo home, we did not know if they would get along. Mona has always been the center of attention in our house. She is very spoiled. The first few weeks Mona wanted nothing to do with Milo. She would get up and sit on the other side of the room whenever he came near. They would go outside to play and Mona would completely ignore Milo. Later she must have realized he was here to stay. Our main concern was that she would attack him. However, slowly they begin to enjoy each other’s company. Milo has become very protective of Mona. If he thinks, we are scolding her he starts barking. He does not like to go for walks if Mona does not come along. Mona now allows Milo to share her couch.

Fun in the Snow

Snow, Snow, Snow!!

We Love Snow

Mona and Milo love playing in the snow. Milo also likes to eat the snow. He ate so much snow last week he got a brain freeze. We had no idea what was wrong with him because he was howling and drooling. I brought him inside to check if he had cut his mouth but everything has fine. A couple of hours later he goes outside and does it again.
But brain freeze is the least of our concern when it snows. Many people put rock salt on the pavement. The rock salt gets caught in the paws of dogs and cats. Then they will lick their paws. So we try to walk the dogs on grassy areas. Sometimes we can not avoid walking on pavements and we wipe their pads when we get home.
Milo says "Let it Snow"!

Bernese health

Although we have never had any serious health issues with our Bernese we are aware of many dogs that had health problems. Some issues I have read about include skin diseases, cancer, bloating, and hip dysplasia. One of the ways we manage to keep our dogs in good health is through their diet. Like most dog owners we love to spoil our guys with threats, but overweight animals have more health problems. Our Vet told us you should be able to feel your dog's ribs whenever you touch their sides. If you notice a dog is overweight remember that is only what you can see. The fat tissue first starts to develop around the dogs internal organs. So we are very careful not to feed them two much food and snacks. I found a good site that goes into more detail regarding Bernese health concerns. The site is titled BMD Health.

Mona's Birthday Cookies

Here is a photo of Mona's Birthday Cookies. She loves peanut butter, so these are homemade peanut butter cookies for dogs. My wife made these from all nature ingredients. I will post the recipe soon.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Mona!

Yes, today is a special day. Mona Lisa was born on January 7, 2006 at Lewa's Bernese Mountain Dogs. Her mother's name is Melissa and her father's name is Christopher. However, Mona now considers us her mommy and daddy. What was once a little fuzzy puppy has now become a big fuzzy puppy. Mona has brought joy into our lives. Her Birthday present? Homemade Doggy cookies!! Made by Mommy! Mmmmm.

Great berner site

One of my favorite site on Bernese Mountain Dog is berner.org. This site has tons of information on Bernese's health, breeders and Bernese clubs near you. I also enjoy looking through all the photos of silly Bernese and their owners.

Mona Lisa

My wife and I wanted a dog but we could not decide what kind of dog. What we agreed on was we both like big dogs. The bigger the better. I wanted a Mastiff or a Newfoundland. My wife liked the Newfoundland but not the Mastiff. So a friend suggested we attend a dog show. The people at these dog shows are very passionate about their breed. They will tell you not what you want to hear but what you need to hear. In other words the good and the bad. We attended the annual dog show in Philadephia. Once there we went to the owners of the Portuguese Water Dogs. I know, these are not big dogs but we had heard they do very little shedding. However, we did not connected with this breed. Next we checked out the Mastiffs. These are huge beautiful dogs but as the breeder pointed out, we are seeing them at their best. They do drool, a lot. They informed us of the health problems related to the breed. We both fell in love with the Newfoundlands and sit to talk with the breeders. They gave us great information about the breed. So after doing our doggy research my wife had one more breed she wanted to check out. The Bernese Mountain Dog. I was instantly hooked. These were the most stunning dogs I have even seen. The breeders talked with us about their temperament, grooming and health concerns.

We discussed getting a Bernese for several months before calling up one of the breeders. After the breeder gave us a through background check and made sure you could financially take care of a Bernese we were invited to their home to meet the newborn puppies. Once we had arrived at the breeder's home we were taken to a small room where we sat waiting on the carpeted floor. Soon we were attacked by ten tiny tricolor balls of fur. As they chewed on our toes and crawled in and out of our laps we were in puppy dog heaven. Two weeks later we choose a female and named her Mona, Mona Lisa.

Bernese owners

I’m starting this site to bring together former and present Bernese Mountain Dog Owners. The point of this site is to inform owners of health issues unique to this particular breed. We can share advise on Bernese behavior, funny stories and other doggy topics.
If however you are not a Bernese owner and have a dog or dogs you would like to talk about, feel free to join in with any interest and funny stories.