It's a dog's life!

We're back!

2011-05-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Long time no bark! We've been really busy here, helping mommy and daddy to renovate the house and exploring our new neighborhood. Daddy has also been away a lot for his job, leaving mommy alone for weeks and she's had to walk us, deal with the builders, clean, cook, and work so she couldn't type for us. Mom said daddy is in Saudi Arabia and that the weather over there is really really hot. It reaches over 40C (over 104F) during the day... I don't know how daddy can cope because we know we couldn't!

We love our new place!We've got a river flowing about 1oo meters from the house! How cool is that! We go swimming a few times a week and mom has just bought us a "Paws Aboard" doggie ladder to help us get out of the river. There is a long path along the river where we can take long walks and there is no road anywhere near so we can run like mad dogs!

We have also made some new friends. Our neighbor is a vet and she loves us! But our new best friends are her chickens! They love our garden and often visit. We bark at them but they it doesn't scare them so we chase them, flatten them and lick them like lollipops! I think they like it because they keep coming back for more. We would never hurt them, we just like to play with them. Mom and dad have even decided to get us our very own pet chickens! Well, they referred to them as their own chickens and they talked about eggs and blablabla but we can't wait to play with them. Mom has warned us that we would have to be very gentle with them at first as they will not be used to be around dogs and I think she might keep them in a pen away from us until we learn to not chase them... Boohoo, BO-RING!

We gotta go eat our dinner but we promise we'll be back soon and we'll try to post some pictures of us. In the mean time, here is a couple picture of us (Domino and her Best Puppy Rosette follwed by Moka and Grizzly in "The Double Decker"!)Love and licks to all xoxo

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T11:33:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!

It has been such a long time! The last 5 months have been totally crazy. We were supposed to buy a house in Cambridge but it fell through at the last minute so we made an offer on another house. That one fell through as well so we kept looking and found another house at the end of August. We were already out of our rental accommodation and spend the whole of August at friends house while they were on holiday. We then bought a caravan to live in! Lots of friends offered us their guest bedroom but the dogs could not have come with us and it was out of the question to live away from them! We finally took possession of our house on the 12th November but only got internet connected last week. We are so happy to be back on the web and we have a lot of things to tell you!

As you may remember, Grizzly was doing very well at water rescue last summer. He went from not wanting to go in the water to passing his level A and then B in just over a month. In August, he also passed his level C and attempted a D but failed it! He also participated in a water display in Dover where he had to come and rescue me. It was his first time swimming in the sea and he did very well, especially since the waves were very big that day. He actually didn't seem to mind them at all and was the first of 3 dogs to reach its owner despite the waves going over him!

Domino (the black Newfoundland) has also grown A LOT! She is now bigger than her Bernese Mountain dog sister and weighs 41kgs! We have started showing her and although we haven't had any real success in the show ring yet, she has behaved herself and we are very proud of her. Our next show is on the 8th of January 2011 and we can't wait to attend it!

I promise to update very soon with recent pictures of the dogs (as soon as my internet connection gets better).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Cindy, Moka, Grizzly and Domino

Grizzly passed his section B!!!

2010-07-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of our baby boy. He passed his water test section B on Sunday. I can't believe how fast he is progressing! A few months ago, he wouldn't go in the water but when we put our wetsuits on, he followed us and took to swimming. Then last months, he discovered the joy of retrieving objects and he has since passed his section A and B! We now hope he can pass a C before the end of the summer. Here is a list of the elements for each test:

Section A
A1- Swim out 15 meters to boat
A2- Swim out 15 meters to handler or stranger
A3- Retrieve familiar object from 6 meters

Section B
B1- Tow boat back 20 meters
B2- Tow handler or stranger from 20 meters
B3- Retrieve provided object from 6 meters
B4- Retrieve of object from 20 centimeters underwater
B5- Controlled swim with handler

Section C
C1- Jump from boat and tow 25 to 30 meters to shore
C2- Tow stranger from 25 meters
C3- Retrieve object from 15 meters
C4- Controlled swim with handler

We are pretty confident he can learn all the elements of section C before the next tests which are being held on the 21 and 22nd of August.

Thank you Grizzly for being such a good boy, we are very proud of you!

Mommy and daddy xoxo

Domino is growing...FAST!

2010-07-09T02:33:00.001-07:00

Hello dear followers,

Now that I have learned to bark...errrr talk, I can dictate my thoughts to mommy for her to type. I am doing fine although it's been really hot lately. Today, the temperature should reach 31 C but it's alright, I have found a way to keep cool. I paddle in my water bowl, make a mess in the bathroom and then lay in the water. It helps me stay fresh. Mommy thinks I'm a bit stinky but I love the wet dog smell...Eh, I'm a Newfoudland! Here is a picture of me and my brother Grizzly. He won't let me cuddle with him when it's really hot but he doesn't mind me in his favorite spot, the toilet room, when it's cool in the house. Mom and dad have told me that we won't be able to enjoy the toilet room much longer as we are moving next week. They have reassured us though, the new place will have tiles in every room on the ground floor! The tiler is coming next week and is also installing underfloor heating for our comfort in the winter.
Enwouf about the house, let's talk about me! My mom says I'm very clever for a 12 weeks old. I know the commands sit, down, shake a paw and roll over. I also wait, when mommy puts my food bowl is down, for her to say "OK". I'm almost perfectly house trained, although I occasionally have an accident. I went to the pub for the first time last week and I was really good. There was another puppy there, a 10 weeks old Cocker Spaniel but she was afraid of me and didn't want to play. I got a a lot of attention and people came to pet me and ask what breed of dog I was. Being from Canada, daddy said I was a "Newfunland" and mommy had to repeat after him and said "New found land". I know the Bristish way is the second one but I quite like the "fun" in "Newfunland"! Here I am at the pub...

I am not afraid of anything. I don't mind the hairdryer, the vacuum cleaner, the car rides, the vet, being washed, other dogs or people. Mom wants to take me to the groomer next week. She wants me to experience being washed and brushed by other people and being left alone. I'm sure I'll love it, I love being pampered. I'm a girlie girl! Love ya, Domino xoxo

Please welcome Domino!

2010-06-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

Like most of you now know, our plans to go to America have been postponed. We had to rethink our near future and decided to get a new puppy. We love dogs and it just seemed right to get another Newfoundland since we already do water and draugh work with Grizzly and Moka Bear. We rather spend the little money we have on a dog than on pub meals, nights out or clothes. I share John Grogan's way of seeing things: "We could have bought a small yacht with what we spent on our dog and all the things he destroyed. Then again, how many yachts wait by the door all day for your return?" Our dogs have never destroyed anything though... well not yet anyways!

We love the breed, their temperament is excellent and although they are big, do not require to live in a massive house as long as you're willing to share your space with them! I actually call Grizzly my velcro dog as he is always attached to me (or so it seems)!

Domino has been with us for 2 days and is a very clever girl. We have started obedience training and she already knows the meaning of sit. We intend to show her when she is 6 months old and we will start ring craft classes after she has received all her injections. She will also be taken to obedience classes, water rescue training and will learn to pull a cart when she is older.

An update, at last!

2010-05-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

We're sorry it took so long to update our blog. Our mommy has been sick and a lot of things have happened in the last few months. First of all, the Houston move had to be postponed. The guy who wanted our dad in the Houston office resigned so the plans are on the ice for a couple years. We still hope to get there sooner or later but we don't want to rush things. Mommy and daddy are a bit disappointed but have promised to keep us busy and very active until the move so we now do draught work (pulling a cart) and Grizzly does water rescue in addition to all the training and walks we get. It's a lot of fun and we get to spend our Sundays with other Newfoundland dogs as we train with S.E.W.N. (Southern England Working Newfoundland). I (Moka) am the only Bernese in the group and I am now considered a "small" dog!
We will also move this summer, probably in July. Our granddad has invested in a property and we will live in it. Mom and dad are very excited about this as it means we'll finally be able to get rid of the carpets and replace them with tiles. Carpets make mommy sick as she has asthma.

We're off to Wales this weekend to try to get our Level 1 Draught certificate. We will camp with mommy and daddy and we can't wait to eat Frankfurters on the fire... Well, it's not part of our usual diet but we heard daddy say he was gonna bring some to grill on the fire and we can't imagine him not giving any to us... We will beg until he gives us some!!!

Have a great week everyone,

Moka Bear & Grizzly

Newfoundlands don't swim!

2010-02-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Life is for sleeping on the sofa!

Hi guys,

Hope you had a great week like we did. Last weekend we went for a long walk at the Milton Country park with mom and dad. They said it was to celebrate Moka's 3rd birthday. We paddled in the water but none of us wanted to go for a swim. Mom said I was a silly Newfoundland dog but I'm not sure I understand why she said that.

We are also looking for a roommate. We're so excited: one more human to pet and love us. Isn't that wonderful? We'll let you know how the search goes.

Cheers,

Grizzly & Moka

Photos

2010-02-05T01:30:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken on the 26th of December. We were reindeer for the day!

Dad brought this singing dalmatian from his trip to Canada. One of his friend gave it to him and I (Moka) love to sing along with it!

Grizzly the guard dog!

First swim, first bath and lots of fun in the snow!

2009-12-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hey, Moka here!

We had another great weekend! It snowed quite a bit in the night of Thursday to Friday and when we woke up Friday morning, we had about 6 inches of snow in the yard. I was so happy to see snow. It reminded me of Canada. My silly brother Grizzly, on the other hand, was afraid of it and didn't want to go outside until 10:30am! It is very unusual as he usually goes first thing in the morning! We then went for a long walk in the fields close to our place. We had never seen so many dogs and people outside. We usually meet one or 2 dogs on our walks but there was at least 25 in the fields Friday morning. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shinning. We ran and ate snow and mommy took a bunch of pictures that she will post as soon as her computer is fixed.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the Cambridge market. Grizzly wore the Santa hat that I won't keep on and got lots of cuddles and AWWWWs. How unfair is that? Maybe next year I'll try to tolerate the hat...maybe. Mom and dad then went to a hot dog stand and the lovely man working there gave us 2 HUGE sausages. They were yummy! Mom said later on that it had been a mistake to fed us sausages as our burps were quite smelly. Not sure what she means, we didn't mind, we even liked it!

Sunday, we went for a walk at the Milton Country Park. Grizzly had his first swim when he decided to go for a walk on the very thin layer of ice. Ok he didn't really swim as he could touch the bottom with his paws but he did try and it was the first time he went in any water body so mom and dad were very happy. I made the same mistake a few minutes later and got all wet too. I didn't panic and mom and dad praised me for keeping my calm and lifted me out of the water. We had to leave the park shortly after because we got our parents all wet by brushing against them and they complained of being cold.

When we got home, Grizzly disappeared in the bathroom with mom and dad and next thing I know, he's sitting in the bath and he's covered in foam. He then got towelled and mom put a blanket on the living room floor and asked him to lie down while daddy got the 2 hair blowers ready. I suppervised them from the couch as they dried and brushed him. I think they did a good job because Grizzly felt asleep and started snoring while being blow dried! Mom took a video and I hope to be able to put it on here when I can.

Today Tuesday, we still have lots of snow on the ground and they are forecasting more for the next few days. We will have a white Christmas and I'm not going to complain about it!

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! May 2010 be filled with love, happiness and health!

Moka Bear & Grizzly xoxox

Christmas market and pub lunch

2009-12-14T09:03:00.001-08:00

Hey! Hope everyone is doing fine and is ready for Christmas! We are and can't wait to get bones and treats and new toys!

We had a fabulous weekend! We met up with friend

s on Saturday. We all went for a walk and then mom and dad had dinner with our friends' parents and we got a few yummies! Then on Sunday, we met up again and went to the Stamford Christmas Market to socialize. We got pats and kisses and told how beautiful we were. Mom and dad had to answer a bunch of questions about us and were very proud of us for being such good dogs.

After 2 hours of walking around the market, we went to a lovely old pub for lunch where everyone had pizza but us. We begged and slobbered and ended up getting a few crusts.

Today, we are exhausted but it was soooooooo worth it!

Meet my big brother Grizzly

2009-11-27T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi! Today I want to introduce you to my new big brother. Grizzly is an almost 3 years old brown Newfoundland dog. He was born on the 30 of December 2006 and that makes him my older brother (pffffff!). He has been in our family for 2 months now and has adapted very well. When we adopted him, he was in a pretty bad shape. He had mats the size of a grapefruit all over his body and was about 20kg (44lbs) underweight. He had never been walked or trained and so was terrible on the leash. The first thing mom and dad did was to clip all his mats and brush him. It took them about 5 hours to complete the task. Second thing was to call the vet and ask if they could take him in for a castration. I was very happy to hear that... I mean, he was a sexual predator! I had to sleep between mom and dad at night because he would chase me and try to hump me! Then when he was recovered from his surgery, mom started to walk him and train him not to pull on the lead. He learned pretty quickly that it was unacceptable to pull too much and he is much better now. He still pulls a little bit and mom says she would love for him to stop completely but she can walk us together now. Grizzly has also learned a few commands. He didn't even know "sit" when he arrived in our family but now he knows sit, down, stay, carpet (mom uses that one if she wants us out of the kitchen), shake a paw and hi-5. Mom says that roll over is next. He can do it if he wants but this is one trick I'll never ever do. Mom tried over and over again but I'm NOT interested! Grizzly often rolls on his back so mom thinks he's an ideal candidate!

Mom says she will get him a harness soonish and will teach him the art of carting. I hope I'll be able to cart with him eventually because I love it! Especially when we go to the farmer's market and mom and dad let me pull the trolley with all the fruits and veggies. I don't have a proper cart at the moment but a modified garden trolley instead. Dad needs to build me a cart but he hasn't had the time yet.

Ok now I don't want to be rude but I really need to go. Mommy has prepared some mince turkey and pasta for us and it smells sooooooooo good! I'm drooling all over the keyboard so I better go and eat breakfast now! I'll be back soon though :)

Our new life in Cambridge

2009-11-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

The first few months, I spent a lot of time walking, running and digging in the garden and sleeping on mommy and daddy's bed. Then in July, mommy got bored and decided to start her own business: a Doggie day care and B&B (Bed and Biscuits obviously!) that she called Tails'R'us.

In October, mom and dad decided to change my diet because I was slim and wasn't interested in any dog food they bought for me. They started feeding me a raw diet, mostly meat and bones. It was love at first taste. Shortly after being switched to my new diet, I stopped limping completely and my coat got a lot shinier.

Fast forward to September 2009. The last year, I spent playing, walking, sleeping and snoring and although I had a lot of fun, September 2009 brought me a big surprise! A brother! A big brown older Newfoundland brother! His name is Grizzly and I will tell you all about him in my next post! Until then, here is a picture of him with one of our friend who's been with us for 3 weeks now!

My flight to the UK

2009-11-13T02:59:00.000-08:00

I kept taking Metacam twice a day in February and March and was able to go for short walks. Then came April and on the first, mom and dad rented a YUKON, a huge SUV and filled it with suitcases, my crate and then asked me to get in. We said our goodbyes and drove from Ottawa to Montreal. I wasn't sure what this was all about but soon find out that we were going to the airport. Mom and dad had to drop me off at the cargo area 4 hours before the flight departure where I was weighted and put in my crate. I wasn't allowed to have any food but had some water in it. Mom and dad then told me to be a good girl and that they would see me in London.

14 hours later, I was finally allowed to see mom and dad. I was a bit excited but most of all I needed to go pee! Mom and dad were told that I had been a really good girl, they offered me some food but I wasn't interested. We then all got into our rental car and drove to Cambridge. We were all very tired so we headed to the B&B straight away and enjoyed a night of cuddling and relaxing.

The B&B was out of town. It was a bit unfortunate for mommy who couldn't go anywhere when daddy was at work but I really liked it as it was located on a 17 acres lot. I had lots of room for me to run and pheasants I could chase! We found a rental place after about 10 days but needed to wait another 2 weeks before we could move in.

We finally moved in at the end of April 2008.

Shoulder trouble

2009-11-03T03:14:00.000-08:00

The next day I was still limping so mommy didn't take me for a walk. Boo-hoo! She seemed to be happy about it and said something about the weather being -25C. I didn't understand, I'm not very good with numbers! My limp was gone the following day but after a short walk it came back. Mommy said that I needed a few days rest. Double boo-hoo! After a couple days in Quebec City, mom told me she was going to leave me with granny and fly to her home town in Northern Quebec for a week to visit with her friends and family. I didn't really mind as I had a playmate and the week went by super fast. I was still not allowed to walk but I got loads of play time and cuddles. When mom returned , she took me for a walk and my limp returned so she decided to take me to the vet. He gave me some anti-inflammatory and told mum "she is not allowed any off-lead exercise and should be kept on the leash even when she goes for a wee! If the problem persist in 2 weeks, we'll have to take x-rays". Mum and I had to return to our place in Ottawa so she told the vet she would not come back to him but we would visit my regular vet if my limp didn't go away. Even though, I wasn't allowed to take walks or run, I was having a good time as mommy had to follow me everywhere. She would come with me outside first thing in the morning when it was -30C and I made sure to take my time to do my business, often forcing mommy to follow me on the snow banks... My situation didn't get any better after 2 weeks so we returned to the vet and they took some x-rays of my shoulder and leg. It showed that I had almost dislocated my shoulder and that my bone was slightly out of place. The vet said that there wasn't much to do for now but to take more anti-inflammatory and that if things didn't improve in 3 months, they might operate. Mum explained to them that we were leaving for the UK in April and said that a surgery would mean that I wouldn't be fit to fly and asked if it could wait until after the move. The vet said yes and mum got the x-rays(after a long discussion with the vet as he wanted mum to returned them!). I took Rimadyl twice a day for a month and then I was switched to Metacam which really helped me.

Winter in Canada

2009-10-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry if I haven't posted in a while. Mom and dad went to Greece and took the laptop with them! Where was I? Oh yes, right after Halloween. November 2007 was cold and snowy. I was so happy. I could spend hours playing or sleeping in the snow without getting hot! Mommy kept saying that it was too cold for that time of the year but I didn't think so! When December arrived we already had a couple feet of snow! Dad said that it was different than the previous year when they had a green Christmas! I have to believe him because the previous Christmas, I was in my doggy mom's belly! During the first week of December, we went and choose a Christmas tree at the garden center. We paid a fortune for it and it was the most horrible tree ever! It barely had any branches on one side! Mommy hang my #1 dog stocking above the fireplace and told me I had to wait until the 25th to get my goodies. I could smell all the lovely bones and treats in it, it was a torture. I was a good girl and didn't touch my stocking until Christmas morning. Mom and dad had put a few bones, some squeaky toys and some doggy chocolates. Everything was lovely and I destroyed my squeaky toys in 5 minutes chrono! The day after Christmas, we packed the car and mom and dad announced me that we were going to visit mom's parents in Quebec City. It's would take 5 hours from Ottawa but I really didn't mind because I would get to play with granny's dog: Beaute. On our way out of town, we stopped at my other granny's place to drop off the keys of our house. While daddy was inside talking with granny, me and mommy were waiting in the car. The window was open as to let the fresh air come in. Then it appeared... a squirrel! I couldn't resist and I jumped out of the SUV to chase it. As soon as I landed, I felt a horrible pain in my shoulder and started limping. I tried to chase the squirrel but mommy jumped out of the car and ran after me. She looked a bit panicked and I wondered why. She lifted me in her arms and put me back in the Pathfinder. I don't know how she did it because I weighted almost as much as her! She closed all the windows and put the cold air on! Daddy came back and mommy told him everything. He had the same panicked expression in his face as mom had had a minute ago and told me to stay put and not to do that again. We left Ottawa and when I woke up, we were in Quebec!

Fall, part 2

2009-09-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Halloween we had our first snow. When mommy let me out that morning, I got really excited and started running in circles and putting my nose in the white stuff. It was cold and it felt good! After that, it seemed to mommy that it snowed pretty much every second day. Daddy was in Africa so mommy had to shovel all the snow in the driveway. She was not happy about it but I didn't mind because it meant spending a lot of time outside. Daddy returned from Gabon at the beginning of December and fixed the old snow blower. I don't like snow blowers because they make terrible noises BUT the end results are great... they make snow mountains!!!! I got into the habit of sleeping on the snow banks at the front of the house. Mommy and daddy were always worried about me freezing out there but eh! I'm a Bernese mountain dog!!!!

The wait before moving to the UK

2009-09-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

A lot happened between the time I received my blood test results and the day I left Canada. First came Thanksgiving in October. Daddy was in Africa for work so me and mommy went to Granny and Pappy's house for dinner with daddy's brothers, their kids and my great grandmother! She is 91 years old and puppy sat me once! She is great! Mommy had the brilliant idea to buy me a Halloween outfit and she thought it would be a good idea to wear it to the Thanksgiving dinner. I know it's hard to see on the picture but I was a strawberry! Mommy said she got it for me because I'm sweet, whatever that means! After Thanksgiving, daddy returned home and mommy and daddy got married! At the end of the reception, two of their friends put a lead on me and I got all excited thinking we were going for a walk. Mommy gave them my food and some of my toys and I got even more excited, thinking "What a great walk this is going to be!" But then they forced me to get into their car and drove away. I screamed and cried " I am being dognapped!" but mommy and daddy just waved at me. I was all confused but then they told me they were going to look after me while mom and dad went on their honeymoon and I settled down. We were in the car for about an hour and then we got to their place. There I met their dog Annie and their 2 cats. I was able to play with Annie but stayed away from the cats because cats are evil. Granny's cat scratched me in the eye when I was younger and I had to go to the vet for some ointment. I have learned my lesson... My parents were not gone for too long and picked me up a few days later. I didn't really want to leave because I had made new friends and was enjoying my holiday but I was also very happy to see them again and was glad to be able to sleep with them that night.

Then came Halloween. We carved a pumpkin and put it outside and waited, waited waited... and finally someone knocked on the door. I got all excited and mommy and I rushed to answer but then I almost died. There was a monster at the door. A real monster! And he talked to mommy! I was so scared, I ran upstairs and jumped on the bed and didn't move until mommy came to get me. She said I was being silly but I don't think so. I think she is the silly one. After all, she was the one talking with the monster.

I will continue my fall story later but for now I would like to add some pictures. Thank God for daddies! Dad fixed our Picassa problem yesterday so I can add a slide shows to my blog. Enjoy!

Blood test

2009-09-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for not posting pictures as I said. I wanted to add a slide show from Picassa but neither I nor mommy could figure out how it works so we'll have to get daddy involve when he gets a minute! I promise we've tried really hard but it seems there is a problem with our Picassa installation.... (I didn't do it!!!!)

Today I want to finish talking to you about the PETS scheme. I had to have a microchip installed (what about MY privacy eh!), get another rabies vaccine (AGAIN!) and after a 3 weeks wait, I had to have a blood sample taken for a blood test to show that my rabies antibodies were high enough. My blood sample had to be sent by courrier from Ottawa to Manhattan, Kansas, 2292Km away, because they were the only lab approved by the UK in North America! It took a month or so to get the results. I was very anxious to get them because I needed to have antibodies over 0.5IU/ml to be able to get my vet certificate to travel with mommy and daddy to the UK. When my vet called mommy to let her know she had received the results and we could pick them up, we got in the car and drove to the animal hospital. My rabies titer was 3.46IU/ml! That probably happened because I had 2 rabies shot in a short period. Finally, I was almost ready to move to the UK as I had met all the requirements but we still needed to wait 6 months from the date the blood sample was taken.

A little more about me...

2009-09-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

After a month in my new house, just when I started to feel comfortable in it, mommy and daddy started to look around for another house. I wasn't too sure I wanted to move because I liked it where we were but mom and dad told me that my new place would be nicer and I trusted them. At the beginning of June 2007, my parents started to pack all our things in boxes and we moved into our new place on the 18th of June. Mommy and daddy were right! My new place was ssssssssssooooooo much cooler. I had 1.5 acres of forest on a hill to myself and the house whom was built in the hill itself had a walkout basement for me to access my backyard! We didn't have air conditioning though and the first week we were there, the temperatures during the day were about 40C with the humidex. It was horrible outside but the basement was cool and perfect for me to take taps in. In July, only a month after we moved into our new house, daddy had an offer to come and work in the office, in the UK. Daddy was always away from home as he was a field geophysicist and had to work all over the globe but this offer to work in the office as a processing geophysicist meant he would be home all the time. Mommy was a bit scared to move away from Canada because she didn't speak much English back then but she was so excited to the idea of having daddy home all the time that she accepted to move abroad. There was only one condition... I had to be able to come with them. They research the Pets Scheme and after finding out that I would be able to come to the UK with them if I went through all the requirements, daddy accepted the job offer.

I had already gotten all my inoculations but the Pets Passport requires that all animals have to be micro chipped before getting the rabies shot so I got a micro chip on the 1st of August and was vaccinated (AGAIN!!!!) against rabies on the 3rd. Then we went on holidays!!! Granny (mom's mom) was getting married on the 11th of August near Quebec City so we drove to her place. It took just over 5 hours and I slept the whole journey. I don't understand those dogs who get all excited when they get in a car. I mean, why waste a perfect occasion for a nap. Short trip are good for power naps... A beauty needs her sleep! Anyways, we had a great time before, during and after the wedding. Mommy wore a long red dress, daddy wore a red shirt and I had a red scarf. A couple days after the wedding, we drove to mommy's birth town to visit her family and friends. There we went on a canoe trip, we went camping, we went to the beach and I had an overnight stay at my cousin Maya's while mom and dad went on a whale watching excursion. It was far, a 9 hours drive from granny's place, 14 hours total from home! We stayed there for a week and then drove back home in Ottawa.

Soon after, I started training with mommy at the K9 School in our town. I learned the commands heel, sit, down, stay, come and stand and graduated a few months later. Mommy and daddy were very proud of me and I was rewarded with a Jumbone! I love Jumbones!

Gotta go to Pets at home now! Hooo-ray! Will post loads of pictures tomorrow!

All about me...

2009-09-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Moka Bear, I was born in Montreal, Canada on the 7th of February 2007 and I am a female Bernese mountain dog. I always say I was born on the 7th but the truth is I was born on the 8th. Let me explain! My biological mommy gave birth to my brothers and sisters in the evening of the 7th around dinner time but I waited just until after midnight to show my cute little face so my litter is registered as being born on the 7th!

My mommy (the real one, the human one I mean!) had to convince my daddy to adopt me. My daddy wasn't interested and a little scared by big dogs before because one of his neighbors when he was a kid always let his big dogs loose and they chased and bit him a couple times. My mommy was so convincing that he finally said yes. They drove 3 hours to come and pick me up at my breeder's house in Montreal and then we all drove back to my new home in Ottawa. I slept on mommy's lap the whole journey! Mum and dad said I was a really good puppy and that made me happy but when we got to our house and that I realized I would never see my brothers and sisters again, I started crying. I cried the whole night and daddy stayed up with me. My daddy is my hero. He slept on the kitchen floor with me the following couple nights because I felt lonely but then I got used to my new home and started sleeping well.

To be continued... I need a nap!