The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain

Rescue Scheme

Please note that all the dogs whose photographs and/or stories are featured on this page are already placed in their new homes.

The club runs a Bernese Rescue section to help rehome dogs who for whatever reason are no longer able to stay at their existing homes. Sometimes expensive veterinary care is required or kennelling fees or other costs incurred. The club runs a separate account for this and donations are always welcome.

Solo - rehomed aged 2 years.(Click on photo for a larger version)

Adopters of dogs are invited to take part in the Rescue parade at the Garden Party and for many this is a highlight of the day. These dogs and their new owners cause many a moist eye with the tales of rejection leading to happiness.

The club is extremely grateful to all its adopters, some of whom have taken numerous dogs over the years and we are always pleased to acknowledge their contributions. Last year Edna Whenmouth was made an Honorary life member of the club in recognition of her years of taking unwanted Bernese especially the older dogs that few other people will take. This can be a particularly traumatic experience as often the dogs are near the end of their lives when they arrive and have precious little time with her but at least their final days are in a loving and comfortable home.

 Nowadays there are various legal aspects the club has to take into account with an activity like Rescue and sometimes these can restrict our options.

Sandra Gatward, the Rescue Co-Ordinator outlines the Rescue procedures………..

CONTACTING RESCUE

Contact Number 01202 872217

 The Rescue Co-ordinator is Sandra Gatward, (number as above)

The Assistant Rescue Co-ordinator is Glynis Sawyers (Tel: 01750 32292)

 The Rescue phone (01202 872217) ALWAYS has its answer phone in operation but that does not necessarily mean I am not at home. However as its maximum is 4 rings before the answer phone engages many people hang up before I can lift the receiver. PLEASE listen to the message and give me time to remove the cat from my lap, swallow a scalding mouthful from freshly made coffee or even politely tell friends to whom I am speaking on the private phone that I have to hang up because something more important has come up. If that fails please leave a message.

  Samson - rehomed aged 2½ years

The club answer phone tells the caller that if the need is urgent they can ring the assistant co-ordinator, Glynis Sawyers who is excellent at calming people who are having a moment of crisis but eventually still contacts me before action is taken.

BMDC of GB Rescue is open 365 days of the year but Glynis and I do have personal lives and would appreciate non-urgent calls to be at reasonable times of day, (9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. preferred).

  Jeeves - rehomed aged 2 years (Click on picture for a larger version)

RELINQUISHING YOUR BERNESE

To explain what happens should a dog be offered into rescue: People may decide for a variety of reasons that they are unable to keep their Bernese but sometimes just talking things through with Glynis or I may allay fears and even prevent the dog being rehomed. We are always pleased to give advice.

 Should it be decided that it is in the best interests of the dog that a new home should be found for him, the dog is always assessed by a competent, knowledgeable person before we agree to take him. The existing owners are asked numerous questions about the dog’s character and life style to enable us to find him the best possible home.

  Dylan - rehomed aged 6 years

The dogs are most definitely NOT placed on a “first come first served” basis. They are carefully matched with a selected home most suited to their needs – and that’s how it is – the home has to suit the dog, which is a slightly different emphasis (although essentially the same result) to the dog has to suit the home! Some people have to wait a very long time for a Bernese; others may come onto the list at just the time when the ideal dog is offered into rescue.

 Where possible we move the dogs from HOME to HOME which is obviously less stressful for the dog. Effectively this means that after the dog has been assessed, the adopters go to meet the dog at his existing home. He does not go to a CARER or KENNEL. All owners of the dog have to sign our forms relinquishing the dog to the club.

  Merlin - rehomed aged 5½ years

It may be necessary to put a dog with a CARER or into a kennel as a temporary measure, either to assess his character more fully or because an ideal home is not ready, waiting and home checked. CARERS have to be competent, knowledgeable dog people because they have to make very important decisions for this dog, in conjunction with me and Glynis. A dog’s future is never decided by one person alone and stringent guidelines have been drawn up by the committee.

  Dudley - rehomed aged 13 months

Sadly there are always likely to be dogs who are not re-homeable. Hopefully, only a very few Bernese will ever fall into this category but we cannot take chances with people’s safety and a dog with a history of  aggression must be a very unhappy dog. One can only hope that the unfortunate owner of such a dog has the courage to take him themselves to be put to sleep for it is the kindest thing they can do for him. It is CRUEL to be less than honest about your dog’s temperament, to pass him into Rescue and let him spend the end of his life in kennels before being taken for that final visit to the vets by a STRANGER. We owe it to our dogs to do what is best for them, however hard it is for us.

 Whilst I am National Rescue Co-Ordinator for the club, no dog will be put to sleep purely on the grounds of old age. However, these dogs will not be easy to place and anyone willing to consider taking an OLDIE could get in touch with me.

  Zoe - rehomed aged 11 months

ADOPTING

If you would like to be considered as an ADOPTER the first step is to speak to me. We will chat through your experiences with dogs, your lifestyle, what you can offer a Bernese and many questions will be asked.

If you seem suitable, a form is sent with further questions and requesting names of 3 referees, (your vet and 2 doggy people). Not being able to provide these will not necessarily exclude you from being considered and this is explained on the phone.

 Presuming the form comes back , someone known to me will be asked to HOMECHECK. This requires everyone in the family being at home at an agreed time and an experienced doggy person, (usually a Bernese owner but if I do not have a volunteer or committee member in your area I may well call on people in other  breeds whose opinions I can trust), calling to chat to you all, to check that your garden is TOTALLY  secure (size doesn’t matter but being secure does) and then the home checker will feed back to me. A successful home check means that you are approved for when the right dog for your circumstances comes into Rescue.

 Those adopting only ever become the custodians of the Bernese and a form to this effect has to be signed by the new owners at the time of taking the dog. Rescue Bernese are neutered and where possible this will be done before the dog is placed in a new home. There are sometimes circumstances which make this less than ideal at that particular time, (age, just finished or in season, health problem) in which case the new owners will be asked to sign an agreement to have spaying/castration done within an agreed period (unless the dog is too elderly to undergo such surgery).

  Deefor - rehomed aged 4½ years

Another clause of the agreement for the ADOPTER is that the dog must be kept on a lead when off the premises for at least the first 4 weeks and in the garden for one week.

Chester - Rescued at 18 months

The dog remains the “property” (for want of a better word) of the club and can be taken back if ever the Rescue Co-Ordinators discover that the dog is not being kept appropriately.

 The dog may not be rehomed by the adopters – (s)he would always have to come back into Rescue if the adopters could not keep her.

 IF YOU ADOPT PLEASE GET A DOG DISC WITH YOUR SURNAME AND TELEPHONE NUMBER ON BEFORE YOU MEET UP WITH YOUR NEW DOG AND ATTACH THAT DISC TO THE COLLAR BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE. ONCE THEY HAVE ESCAPED IT IS TOO LATE.

Rio and Whisper - rehomed together aged 13months

Fundamentally, that’s it for the adoption side of things except that you will receive back up phone calls, quite frequently at first unless you contact me with progress reports, (which most proud adopters usually do). Any problems need to be sorted out sooner rather than later. Most dogs settle in after a day or two, very quickly become inseparable from their new families and live happily ever after.

Buffy - rehomed at 14 months. Buffy came into Rescue via a club member who became aware of her circumstances. He saw her being walked past while at work and engaged the owner in conversation. He said he was selling her because she was an unruly, escape artist and the final straw had come on Christmas Eve (2005) when she escaped and they’d spent the early hours of Christmas Day looking for her. He thought a young bitch would be easy to sell. The club member was horrified at the potential for buyers of an 13 month old female and pointed this out to the owner who just wanted to get rid. Eventually the member negotiated a cut price deal, bought the dog himself and put the dog straight into Rescue. She stayed with a committee member for a while to be assessed and showed no signs of wanting to escape and seemed to have an exceptional temperament. After a few weeks she was rehomed with a family who had lost a Bernese to cancer a few months previously. She immediately settled and has become a fantastic member of the family. With no reason to stray she has never even tried and enjoys her free running walks.  Buffy is a lovely, happy dog and a joy to live with and her new family are ecstatic with her.

I know that most people do alot of "soul-searching" before making the decision to relinquish their dog but if you are finding that you don't have the time to devote to him/her because of altered work commitments or for other reasons, please contact the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain Rescue.

We work really hard to find the very best home for every Bernese that we place and we are fortunate in having lots of enquiries for dogs so we usually have a choice of new owners. It is not easy to give up a dog but it is sometimes necessary for the sake of the dog.

In the 3½ years that I have been Rescue co-ordinator not one new home has failed. All the dogs were well matched with what was offered and all are still happily in their second homes. The club retains ownership of the dogs so they CANNOT be passed on; if anything changed they would have to come back into our care.

If you know of a Bernese in need of a new home because their owner has died please do contact us. It rarely works out when relatives take the dog because they feel obliged to do so. The dog would be better with someone who really wants him, someone who has been on our books and waiting for the ideal Bernese. The dog you feel perhaps "lumbered" with may just be the right companion for someone else. DON'T LET YOUR HEART RULE YOUR HEAD.

We may struggle a little to place the oldies or the pairs but if you can just give us the details and be a little patient a new home will be found.

Sandra Gatward Rescue Co-ordinator 2006

More Bernese who have been helped by Rescue...........

Bentley

Bentley was dumped in a general Rescue kennels who kindly contacted us for help in finding him a home. He was 7 years old, confused and arthritic. This is one of those cases where we only have the briefest of details about the dog as we did not have the opportunity to speak to the relinquishing owner. The man who gave up Bentley only said they were moving into smaller accommodation.

Bentley’s new owners say he is doing really well and very quickly became one of the family. He has a few fears and is terrified of fireworks and other loud noises as well as people coming up behind him. Who knows what Bentley went through in the past but he is happy and safe now.

Bo’s owners contacted Rescue when Bo was just 11 months old. Her home circumstances had changed since she bought Bo and she was unable to give Bo the time she needed. The owner’s daughter was disabled and unable to walk Bo, even though the breeder had said they were the ideal dogs for the disabled. (Can you imagine any young, 50 kg dog being “ideal for the disabled? But then some breeders will say anything to persuade people to buy their puppies!)

Bo now lives in the forest “the house in the woods” !. She has several daily walks, straight out of the door and away across the heath land where she runs around like the wind and can catch low flying birds. Her owner usually manages to keep up! An extremely agile and happy girl in her new home.

Bo (cracking picture by the way)

Enzo came to us aged 2 simply because he pulled on the lead and supposedly wasn’t good with small dogs. He settled quickly into his new home and slowly began to develop a sense of humour! He thoroughly enjoys his new found freedom when allowed to run free in the woods or on the beach, obviously a pleasure he had not previously had.

Leo is a rehomed dog, one whose owner asked for help to find him a home because circumstances had changed. Leo has proved to be a “ladies dog” , much preferring the company of ladies to men. He is taking quite a time to settle in but if he is allowed to do things in his own time, without pressure, he will settle. Leo is typical of so many Bernese who prefer their own homes to the stresses of the outside world.

Leo

Samson’s elderly owner died when he was 7½ yrs old and Samson was put into boarding kennels. His new family took him on condition that he would get on with their Golden Retriever bitch and not upset their cats. Samson was somewhat bemused when he first arrived but immediately adopted the Golden and chased the cats. He now wags his tail all the time and looks for elderly people on his walks, always making a beeline for them and waiting to be fussed. Is he still hoping to find his owner of 7½ yrs? He is happy in his new home and has even stopped chasing the cats (well indoors anyway!) His new mum says “….he constantly smiles now”.

Samson and Bridie

Dudley has been in his new home for 3 years and in January 2006 was joined by Tipsy. Tipsy was unwanted because she was “……..not as perfect as her litter sister” who had died. Tipsy was living in a shed and run in the garden, on her own since her sister died before Christmas. It seems they had not lived indoors, or certainly had not done since the 4½ year old child had been was born. Tipsy was underweight and ignored by her family.

She now lives indoors and has taken Dudley’s sofa as her bed (as you can see from the photo). She settled in immediately, dines on rabbit stew (!) and is described by her mum as “……….. a delightful little girl, very affectionate and loves her cuddles”.

At 6 years old Tipsy finally has the love she deserves.

Tipsy          Dudley

Jake 5 years and Xena 4½ years were victims of a marriage break up and the owners who kept the dogs ended up in a property with a garden too small for them. Fortunately, we found a family willing to take two together. Their owners say “…….all is well with Jake and Xena”. They have settled perfectly with no problems at all”

Jake and Xena

Kitty, 4 year old Bernese and Trixie, 7½ year old Newfoundland had lived together for the whole of Kitty’s life and we were told that Kitty relied heavily on her sister so we didn’t want to separate them when their owner died and we were asked to help.

Trixie & Kitty

Bernese Rescue and Newfoundland Welfare worked “long and hard” to home these two lovely girls and finally we struck lucky with a family who had previously owned one Bernese and who, luckily, had always admired Newfies. They have been in their new home since October 2005 and are very happy, much loved and always admired. It also transpired that Trixie relies on Kitty to take the lead rather than the other way round.

It is a big decision to take on 2 large dogs. Anyone who thinks they could open their hearts and homes to 2 Bernese together, or occasionally Bernese and “friend” as in this case, please give Rescue a ring. Sometimes the dogs can and should be separated but where possible it is lovely for them to stay together.

If you have rehomed a Bernese and would like his/her photo/story featured on this web page please talk to Sandra or Glynis.

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