So as mentioned in another post, today is Goob’s birthday. We don’t have anything specific to her birthday planned for today, but we do have stuff to do this weekend.
Today after work we are headed south for the weekend. We’re starting off by heading up to her Dad’s cabin by Mt. Rainier & the Crystal Mountain ski area. Their cabin is pretty cool, and we’ll be staying there until Sunday. Saturday we’re heading up Crystal to go skiing. Except that I don’t ski. I tried once and it didn’t go well. My legs just aren’t made to bend and move like that. So instead I’m taking a snowboard lesson. What’s that you say? I’m almost 34 and never snowboarded, plus I’m not flexible and will probably break something? Yeah. That. I figure boarding, if any of it, would be the best bet because when you fall, at least your legs stay together. In skiing, your legs go all sorts of ways and that would be bad for my knees. Plus, my feet are naturally in a snowplow position anyway. It would end badly. Anyway, that’s the plan and we’ll see if I survive. I have to survive. I’ve got other things to do!
So, we’re staying there Saturday night as well. Sunday morning we’ll head over to Sumner. What’s in Sumner, you ask? Well I’ll tell you. If you haven’t spent much time with me lately, you may not notice there’s something I just won’t quit talking about. But you might have picked up some little statements on the blog about me wanting a dog. Not just any dog, but what I believe is the ultimate dog for me, the Bernese Mountain Dog. In Sumner, I am attending the meeting of the Bernese Mountain Dog Society of Greater Seattle to meet many Berners and their people, and learn, learn, learn.
Now for a few statements of history. One, I had never really thought of myself as a dog person. We never had dogs when I was a kid, even though we were on a farm. Not sure why we didn’t. I think someone didn’t like them. There was also a period of time where I was afraid of them, and one day it just ended. Of course, later on we had cats. Lots of cats. Gobs and gobs of cats, some who were cool, many who were not. When I went out on my own, I had no intention of getting any pets, except for the fish I kept. I liked dogs just fine, but didn’t feel that I could care for one or give them what they needed.
But I always said that one day I would have a dog. It usually came out in the conversations with The Mad Zonie about being old grumps sitting on the porch drinkin’ whiskey, with a big lazy dog and a shotgun, yelling cranky old coot phrases at the passing whippersnappers. I even came up with the basic idea of the dog I wanted, and anytime the topic came up the phrase would be as such: “I want a big, lazy dog. I want him to spend all day sleeping just so he can have enough energy to lift up his head every now and then and go “WOOF!” and go back to sleep. And every now and then he’d get up, go absolutely nuts, then fall back to sleep.” It amused me to think of that kind of laid back dog.
This changed a bit when I moved to Seattle. I started hiking and seeing the dogs hiking with their people and I liked that idea. I modified the statement to include that the dog had to be a hiking dog. He could be laid back and quiet, but boy howdy when it came time to go hiking, he’d be rip-roarin’ ready to go! Then one day years ago I was out hiking somewhere with Jen and we saw this big & strong and very happy beautiful black, tan, and white dog on the trail. I know nothing about breeds, but this dog struck my brain instantly. I asked her what it was and like the wealth of trivia facts she is, she knew and said it was a Bernese Mountain Dog. I did some research and learned and realized that this big furry dog was a huge undertaking and probably waay out of my league. But it didn’t change my interest. As the years passed on I saw a few Berners here and there and they always reminded me. And now, whenever the topic of getting a dog came up the previous statement about ‘my kind of dog’ was modified to specifically state the kind of dog: A Bernese Mountain Dog.
But I was nowhere near getting one, or really thinking that it was the right thing for me, Berner or not. I just liked the dogs. The thoughts always came and went as life changed and conditions improved to being able to support a pet. I knew I wanted a pet. We talked about hermit crabs, bunnies, lizards, even a cat, but any discussion of a dog stopped when I thought about it because a) I knew I wanted a Berner-type dog, not just any dog, but they had too much hair, b) they require a lot of attention, c) I’m just not fond of picking up warm piles of fresh shit. But that’s with any pet. So the pet discussions went nowhere fast.
It was again on a hike that things started to change. One day last year Goob and I found ourselves lazily walking around a thawing Mount Baker, taking the usual pictures of water at various stages of melt. These people with a puppy were coming up to us on the trail, and we stepped aside. As the puppy came closer I got a good look at it and it was absolutely the cutest puppy I have ever seen. Period. Look, I like puppies, everyone likes puppies. They’re all adorable. But this one was… wow. Even Goob, who historically has been apathetic towards dogs, was taken aback. I asked them what kind of dog it was because it looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. I was taken aback when they said it was a Berner. I had never seen a Bernese puppy up close. It was adorable and to this day I still remember it. That encounter got the brain working.
More recently, other dogs helped to change things. We worked on a WTA work party early this summer and one of the volunteers brought his dog along. The dog’s name was Goober, and he really liked Sunny. He was really fun to watch. Another item was when Jen finally got Duncan. She had always wanted a dog, but it was always something she talked herself out of, made reasons for why it wouldn’t work, procrastinated, etc. And the magic that Duncan did in her life to be a companion and the instant match that he was for her was very cool to see. It got me thinking, heck, if she could do it, why couldn’t I? What are the things that hold me back? Not too long later we saw an adult Berner resting on the sidewalk at U-Village, and I didn’t want to stop watching her.
More recently, I started thinking seriously about the dog question. Obviously, I started looking at Berners. They have a lot of drawbacks, such as short life span, some health problems, and obviously they are big and furry and probably poop a lot. They need a lot of attention, exercise, and most importantly, they need to be a part of the family. They are big house dogs who love you to death and expect to be treated like family, not just the dog. It’s quite the commitment, and I had to know if I was able to handle it.
As time has progressed, I have been doing a lot of research on the breed, and even more time researching my motives, and figuring out how or if it would work, and what I would need to change to make it work. I would need to make some physical changes to the living environment, but many more mental and emotional changes. Along the way in this exercise it stopped being about any dog, but a Berner, and a boy Berner to boot. When I focused on that, I found myself being able to visualize the dog, the change in life, and the exact kind of dog I want. And thus far there is zero doubt in my mind that it is this wonderful breed, the little bears called Berners.
So, back to the dog meeting this Sunday. All of us are going, and we’re going to have our first real encounters with the dogs. See, I can read and investigate all I want, but you only know you’re sure when you meet the dogs and get to know how they act, what their temperaments are like, and especially talk with their humans who share their lives. Getting involved with this group will help me learn about the breed, dogs in general, and give me the ability to get a dog when we’re ready. Plus, it will help me make sure this is the right path. Having a Berner as your first dog is a daunting starting point, and I have to get it right. It’s the only thing that’s fair to the dog.
As for the timeline for getting a doggie, well, I don’t know. We have some changes we need to make to the house. Carpet to take out, doggie doors to install. We also have to save up for all this, because it is not going to be cheap. Plus, even if I was ready today, I still might have to wait months just to get one, due to demand and availability. We’re not sure on puppies or adolescent dogs yet, either. This I hope to have answered as time goes on. But over the next few months we will be slowing making those changes to support the new family member. Because even if it comes out that a Berner isn’t the right dog right now, I’m still getting a dog.
More on all this later.