RESCUE AND REHOME FOR BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOGS
Fund Raising for Rescue
Raffle donations help with rescue expenses
*How long is the waiting list for a rescued Bernese Mountain
Dog?
We date stamp all adoption applications, however, we sort through the list looking for the best family match for the dog based on its needs and requirements. When the history of the dog is known, we try to place them in an environment that most closely resembles the one from which they came. When a dog's history is unknown, we take great care in placing the dog in an able environment.
*How many dogs does your organization currently have
available?
We have rescued or re-homed seven dogs in two years. It's
not a very high number, and we hope that it remains low. We are fearful that
with the growing popularity of the breed, this number will
increase in the future. We are taking action to educate puppy buyers so that we
will have fewer unwanted dogs later on.
*How is a family selected when you find a dog that needs a
home?
Any candidate family that meets the needs and requirements of a particular dog
and who has registered as a candidate family by
completing the "California Rescue and Re-home Adoption Application", will be notified of a dog in need. Each of those families
has an opportunity to meet the needy
dog, learn about the dog's situation, be interviewed by a member of our rescue
team, and schedule a home inspection. With our current
rate of adoption, we are finding that many who sign up as candidate families
wind up dropping off later because they purchased a puppy,
moved out of state, just had a child or made other life changes. To date, we
have never had too many families competing for a rescue
dog.
In the future, as the popularity of the breed increases and we find ourselves
with more dogs to place, we will enact policies successfully
deployed by other rescue organizations. We look to the rescue organizations of
more popular breeds for our policies and procedures.
Rescue organizations that support Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs and
Great Pyrenees have contributed to our structure.
*I only want to rescue a young dog, since Bernese Mountain
Dogs have short life expectancies. What are the chances I can rescue a two year
old?
Our most common request for rescue dogs is a two year old, obedience-trained,
housebroken, well-mannered dog with good markings.
Our least common rescue dog fits this description. Rescue dogs by definition are
being rescued from a place that is worse than where
they are going. That said, the dog could have suffered trauma, been abandoned,
or surrendered to a shelter. Families interested in
rescuing a dog need to remember that they are helping an animal to find a better
place in the world; even if it means that animal needs
extra TLC. Re-homed dogs by definition are finding new homes from owners who are
taking effort in their new placement. These owners
might be breeders, or loving families who are in life-crisis. These dogs are
typically not traumatized, but will need extra love to help them
over their grief.
*I can't afford to purchase a Bernese Mountain Dog at prices
of $700-$1500 a puppy, so I want to rescue.
Bernese Mountain Dogs have health issues that could include
cancer, dysplasia, entropian, ectropian, bloat and more. Survey the average
owner of a Bernese Mountain Dog and they will tell you that their
biggest investment into their family pet or show dog was *NOT* the puppy fee. We
caution anyone who thinks that they are getting an
economical deal when rescuing a Bernese Mountain Dog.
*I heard that Bernese Mountain Dogs are great with kids. I
want to rescue one for my children.
It's true that Bernese Mountain Dogs are wonderful with children. And, many
rescue or re-homing situations are appropriate for families with
children. However, some rescue or re-homed dogs are very senior, have poor health
conditions, have never lived with children, or in the
rarest of cases, have shown aggression. (we rarely see this in this breed). In
that case, we would not place a dog with these types of
needs in a home with small children. And, on the flip side, a young energetic,
well-adjusted dog, who had always lived with children in
the past, might grow sad without them. In that case we would do our best to
place in the dog in like surroundings; therefore finding a
home with children.
*I want to breed a Bernese Mountain Dog because I think it
would be neat to have all of those little cute puppies.
All rescued or re-homed dogs that we place must be spayed or neutered. Our
organization does not support the careless or thoughtless
breeding of Bernese Mountain Dogs. We support only those breeders who take a
serious interest in their puppies and require a buy-back
clause in their puppy contracts which provides them with life-long
responsibility to every dog they bring to this world.
- Rescue and Re-Home
- For Bernese Mountain Dogs
*serving Northern California from Bakersfield north to the California-Oregon border