I Love Lucy

We are so excited to introduce our new puppy, Lucy. She is a Bernese Mountain Dog, or for short, a Berner. She is 9 weeks old and comes to us from a rescue group east of Youngstown. 

We have both wanted this kind of puppy since before we got married but figured we would not likely find one in a rescue group or shelter, as they are right up there with golden retrievers and labs in popularity. Last week I found Lucy's listing online and contacted the group to apply for adoption; I meant it to be a fun surprise for Aaron's birthday next Saturday to take him to pick her up. Unfortunately Lucy's rescue home could not keep her that long according to policy so I changed the game plan and surprised Aaron almost a week early. He was delighted and surprised as I hoped he would be. Please, remind him of that when he is telling you all about cleaning up her messes and losing sleep every night over her puppy energy. 

Berners are a breed very similar to St. Bernards. The breed comes from Switzerland where they were bred as farm dogs. If a typical Berner, Lucy will be fiercely loyal, affectionate and easy-going. 

Like most puppies, Lucy is extremely rambunctious, energetic and excitable. She was nowhere near being house-trained when we got her and therefore is requiring LOTS of attention and supervision. 

So far we have introduced Lucy only to our cat Doolin. We figured Doolin is the cat who is the most resilient and laid back, and he proved us right. He has taken to her well and we expect the two to tolerate each other, possibly even become friends, someday. For now he has not shown fear; just extreme caution and curiosity. Maggie does not meet any new animal, whatever species, size, or gender, without throwing a fit so we are waiting to introduce those two. 

One of our favorite moments so far has been the first time we fed Lucy. Her id tag, which hangs heavily from her collar because she is so little, clangs on her food bowl and alarmed her initially. She didn't immediately make the connection that it was herself causing the noise, not the bowl. Check it out in this video: 

Another endearing trait of hers is that she is unsure of her own depth perception when climbing down the one step into the living room, from the kitchen or library. She approaches the situation by taking as giant of a leap as her little body can manage to get to the floor. We just knew this was something we would want to look back on someday: 

 Berners are not known for living long lives. The Swiss have a saying about this breed that goes, "Three years a puppy, three years a great dog, three years an old dog - the rest is a gift." 

So far she has already been a wonderful gift, so we are off to a great start.