Layla

When we first brought her home, her name was going to be Lucy. We use to have two dogs. An English Mastiff named "ruby" and a Lab Rottie X named "sarge". Once the children came along they graciously took a back seat and let the children take the lead. They resisted a little but "life" as they knew it had changed.

It had for all of us.

We loved Ruby and Sarge dearly but we just had such a hard time having two dogs plus a new baby. Plus it didn't help that they were BIG dogs. Ruby was anyways.

When our second was born, things got even more hectic. Four months before Luke was born, Ruby had to be put down. She had wobbler's disease and we had done everything we could for her. She became unable to walk or move and lifting her was impossible. We were just lucky to have had her for as long as we did. Their lifespans just aren't as long as other dogs. She was 6. Four months later and just weeks after Luke was born, Sarge woke up one morning and wanted outside. Once outside he dug a hole in the ground and climbed in it. We went to love him up to see what was wrong and we had noticed a tumor that we had already removed three times, had grown back over night , the size of a tennis ball on his groin.

We sadly said goodbye to Sarge. He was 12. We miss him SO much. We miss both of them.

We also decided that we'd stay dog free for a while because Luke was so grumpy and a new addition himself.

One night Peat and I were up after a night feeding and we started looking thru dog breeds. We stumbled upon the Bernese Mountain Dog. My good friend Melinda had a breeder just down the road from her and pointed us in her direction. After two weeks of researching this breed we just KNEW it was the dog for our family.

We contacted the breeder and when she informed us the price of a Mountain Dog, we thought it was just way too much for a dog.

The emptiness in the house got the best of Peat and the next thing you knew, we were en route to get our puppy.

There is a little more to the story but that's all you need to know. We got our Layla girl home and she's been SUCH a wonderful addition to our family. We'll never own another breed. I just love the Bernese Mountain Dog. Every trait that they are 'said to have', she does. She is wonderful.

She's three now. She's very much a part of us.

Michelle