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In our house we have a Berner, a Golden, a Leo and a rescued Bichon/Poodle who is the true character in the house. When he came to us back in April, neither Louie (Berner) nor Savannah (Leo) liked him at all, but Harley was persistent and today he and Savannah are the best of buds.
Louie is the oldest and will be 6 next month. Unfortunately, in September I noticed his neck glands were severely swollen, and he was diagnosed with Lymphoma and has been under going chemo for over 3 months now. We always said Louie was an old soul as he has a serious look, and never was a hyper dog. He is doing well with treatment, and is more like a puppy than he has ever been. This first round of chemo will hopefully see him make it through a year whereas the next session would only offer a 15% chance of making it to the next year.
Savannah, on the other hand, has always been hyper, but now at 4 she has calmed down a lot. Back when we got Savannah, we were to have got a pup from Heronview, but there were not enough pups in the litter for all those on the waiting list, and no Ontario breeders had pups at the time so my daughter went to see a breeder in B.C. and then we flew out to bring Savannah back in a Sherpa bag. Yes, Heronview dogs are gorgeous, and Lori is a wonderful person.
Actually, the Berner and Leo are my daughter and SIL's, but since I am the dog sitter and super dooper scooper, I consider them mine too.
My Golden is 5-1/2 and Harley is going to be 1 next month so we had 4 puppies within 5 years in this house.
While many Berners succumb to malignant hystiocytosis and other cancers, as well as bloat, more and more on the board I belong to are living to double digits.
I should say Savannah was the most destructive of all our dogs when younger. Before I took over as dog sitter, my kids hired a professional sitter when they went on holidays, and they returned to find the hall wall chewed up in many areas. Later she moved on to the wood trim. My SIL became expert at doing this type of repairs.
Never had any experience with 4 dogs before as the most we ever had was two, but I can tell you I marvel at the difference in personalities.
Take care,
Pat
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