My husband and I live on an acreage just outside of Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. We have had many dogs in our lives but when I chanced to fall in love with the Bernese Mountain Dog, our life as we knew it, was forever changed! I had never even thought of becoming a breeder when we had registered German Shepherd dogs to run and play with. Our border collie cross was a true working girl and I knew that if we were ever allowed to go into an obedience competition, we would do very well. At the time though, we were not able to compete so that thought was put on hold. Then came my first acquaintance with a berner girl named Katie. She was a large girl but her tail never stopped wagging! And she had a smile that would make anyone feel better. I lost my girl Mitzy to cancer at the age of ten but Katie was there to make me feel better. I will never forget her.
So began the hunt for the perfect companion dog. Why not look into this breed? Surely Katie was an unusual dog, as she worked at a vet clinic. But no, the more I researched this breed and the more kennels I went out to visit, I found that the personality is very common for the breed. How wonderful! I finally decided on a girl from a breeder in B.C. and she came to be known as Jasmine. Officially she was: Ch. Valleverde's Jasmine CD CGC. She was a very smart girl who took her Obedience classes with either second or third place standings. She also was a Champion in conformation and of course flew through the Canine Good Citizen Award. She became my first breeding dog. And so it began....here I am still breeding dogs after almost 12 years! Still loving the puppies and especially the oldsters!
