Looking for a Berner that needs a new home…

Meet Rhylie, our 2nd Bernese Mountain dog. We thought Oliver was big, but Rhylie was even bigger! Rhylie came into our lives July of 2008, not long after we lost our sweet boy, Oliver.

When Oliver was about 7 years old, he tripped on his leash while getting out of my Honda CRV. I knew he hit the ground pretty hard, but when he got up he seemed ok. I didn’t put it together at the time, but in the coming months he would refuse to “sit.” I thought he was just being stubborn, which Berners are known for! A number of months later he started having mobility issues. Despite seeking out many healing modalities he continued to decline. One sleepless night I remember a conversation with God saying– “He is so central to my life, what am I going to do without him?” No sooner than I had said that, I heard/saw the words, “Another one will come to you that needs a new home.” I didn’t quite know what to make of it but I felt a sense of peace come over me and was able to go back to sleep.

May of 2008, when he was 8-½ years old, we lost him. Losing Oliver was very tough. We both missed him so much. The weekend of the 4th of July we went to a Swiss Mountain dog gathering in San Francisco. None of the dogs were for sale, but James and I went to the event just to be around Bernese Mountain dogs again. There were at least 100 Berners there –different sizes, ages, colors, and temperaments. As we walked around, we happened across two, 10-month old Berner siblings that reminded us of Oliver. Of course, I got the name of the breeder and emailed her the moment we got home – Subject: Looking for a Berner that needs a new home.

The next afternoon I got an email from the breeder saying she received a call that very morning from a couple who had adopted Rhylie, a litter mate of the two dogs we had liked so much at the Swiss Mountain dog gathering. The couple had a new baby and couldn’t deal with both the baby and Rhylie. They wanted to return him to the breeder. What are the chances?!

Mind you, James hadn’t been quite as enthusiastic about getting another Berner as I was, but had agreed that sometime down the road we would. We made arrangements to go meet Rhylie and “sometime” turned into the next day!

We, of course, fell in love with Rhylie the moment we met him. Just in case James still had doubts, it turned out that Rhylie and James shared the same birthday. And, Rhylie’s “father” was named Colin, the same as James’ son.

So a couple months after saying goodbye to Oliver, Rhylie entered our lives. We thought Oliver was a big boy, but Rhylie was even bigger than Oliver! We were thrilled. I still get goosebumps when I think of all of the synchronicities.

Sadly, we lost Rhylie to lymphoma August of 2015 right after James and I got married. A year later, Gracie came into our lives in an equally beautiful way. That story is coming soon!