In the beginning...

There was King George.

King George is our first Berner. He is about 8 weeks old, and we got him from Heidi and Bailey Basham at Basham's Berners in Corning, New York.

King George, or just George for short, is a playful, eager to please, adorable little guy... well... little for now anyways. His dad, is 145 lbs, and his mother is about 85.

We first discovered the Bernese Mountain Dog (or affectionately known as the Berner) when we decided it was time for a family dog. My husband and I have both grown up with different breeds, and one thing we knew was we didn't want a high energy dog.  We have 6 children, and the last thing I wanted was to add a dog that would be bouncing all over the place.

We wanted something big, that much we knew. I liked the look of dogs with longer coats, and I loved the tri color markings of black, white, and brown.  I didn't want a pointy muzzle, like the Collie, or the fierce look of a German Shepherd.  Great Danes were too tall, the Newfoundland drooled WAY too much for my taste, and the Saint Bernards fell into that same category.  Decisions, decisions. It seemed like we would never find the "right" dog for our family.

Then...

I stumbled on a website that had the Bernese Mountain Dog. It was love at first sight. They were beautiful, loveable, huggable, and HUGE! The more I read about them, everyone said how easy going they were, loveable, great with kids... SOLD. Where could I get one of these dogs?!

Like any responsible pet owner, I looked for a reputable breeder. One who could show us the lineage of each puppy, and could prove there were no major health issues running in that line.  I searched, and I searched, and I searched, and I searched... and then I searched some more.

I didn't have a good feeling about some of the breeders, they seemed to have "puppy mill" weaved in between their ushy, gushy, sweety-pie descriptions.  It just didn't feel right.

After awhile I stumbled onto a facebook page for Basham's Berners.  After reading their website, I decided to contact the owner, Heidi.  Her and her daughter, Bailey, breed the puppies.  Heidi and I hit it off right away. She had all the same values I had concerning breeding, puppies, everything.  After talking with her for over an hour, I decided it was time to meet with her.

She had one male left, who she called Phillip.  I drove down the next day to see him, check out the way she did things, and see what happened.  I took my two oldest kids, M and A, with me.

We showed up at Heidi's at about 7:00pm. As we walked up to the yard, two large Berners came barking and charging at the fence. They both proceeded to jump up, and put their front paws on the fence, barking at us.  My kids and I all froze.  THIS was the dog I had read about?! Are you KIDDING me?!

We were all terrified, and smiled nervously as Bailey came over to let us into the yard. I was thinking, "There is NO WAY I am going into that yard with those huge dogs. Not happening!"

Heidi and Bailey put the females away, but left Henry, the 145 lb male out. We cautiously entered the yard.  Henry came over and sniffed us all, and I made my bravest mommy-isn't-scared-honey-it's-really-okay face to try and encourage my kids... hoping this miniature bear wasn't going to eat us all in one fell swoop. To my utter surprise, he sniffed us, and walked over to Bailey (did I mention she is only 13, and shorter than me?), and leaned on her legs. She started petting him, and I realized then that everything I had read was true. They WERE big, cuddly teddy bears!  I knew this was the dog I wanted. Both my kids warmed up to him soon after that, and by the time we left an hour and a half later, they were laying on the ground with dogs licking them, and playing.  It was great.

Henry is the sweetest dog I have ever met. Gentle, but huge. Protective of his family, but a sweet heart.

We bought Phillip, and brought him home.  We changed his name to King George.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it all got started!