SWBMDC Rescue FAQ

*How long is the waiting list for a rescued Bernese Mountain Dog? 
We don’t operate from a “first come, first serve” list. We collect profiles on any interested candidate families. As rescue animals come into our program, we match the needs and requirements of the animals with the environment described by each family. 

*How many dogs does your organization currently have available?
We have rescued or rehomed seven dogs in two years.  It’s not a very high number, and we hope that it remains low. We are fearful that with the growing popularity of the breed, this number will increase in the future. We are taking action to educate puppy buyers so that we will have fewer unwanted dogs later.

*How is a family selected when you find a dog that needs a home?
Any candidate family that meets the needs and requirements of a particular dog and who has registered as a candidate family by completing the “Family Profile Worksheet”, will be notified of a dog in need. Each of those families has an opportunity to meet the needy dog, learn about the dog’s situation, be interviewed by a member of our rescue team, and schedule a home inspection. With our current rate of adoption, we are finding that many who sign up as candidate families wind up dropping off later because they have purchased a puppy, moved out of state, just had a child or made other life changes. To date, we have never had too many families competing for a rescue dog.

In the future, as the popularity of the breed increases and we find ourselves with more dogs to place, we will enact policies successfully deployed by other rescue organizations. We look to the rescue organizations of more popular breeds for our policies and procedures. Rescue organizations that support Labrador Retreivers, German Shepherd Dogs and Great Pyranees have contributed to our structure.

*I only want to rescue a young dog, since Bernese Mountain Dogs have short life expectancies. What are the chances I can rescue a two year old?
Our most common request for rescue dogs is a two year old, obedience-trained, housebroken, well-mannered dog with good markings. Our least common rescue dog fits this description. Rescue dogs by definition are being rescued from a place that is worse than where they are going. That said, the dog could have suffered trauma, been abandoned, or surrendered to a shelter. Families interested in rescuing a dog need to remember that they are helping an animal to find a better place in the world; even if it means that animal needs extra TLC. Rehomed dogs by definition are finding new homes from owners who are taking effort in their new placement. These owners might be breeders, or loving families who are in life-crisis. These dogs are typically not traumatized, but will need extra love to help them over their grief.

*I can’t afford to purchase a Bernese Mountain Dog at prices of $700-$1500 a puppy, so I want to rescue. 
Bernese Mountain Dogs have health issues that could include cancer, dysplasia, entropian, ectropian, bloat and more. Survey the average owner of a Bernese Mountain Dog and they will tell you that their biggest investment into their family pet or show dog was not the puppy fee. We caution anyone who thinks that they are getting an economical deal when rescuing a Bernese Mountain Dog.

*I heard that Bernese Mountain Dogs are great with kids. I want to rescue one for my children.
It’s true that Bernese Mountain Dogs are wonderful with children. And, many rescue or rehoming situations are appropriate for families with children. However, some rescue or rehomed dogs are very senior, have poor health conditions, have never lived with children, or in the rarest of cases, have shown aggression. (We rarely see this in this breed.) In that case, we would not place a dog with these types of needs in a home with small children. And, on the flip side, a young energetic, well-adjusted dog, who had always lived with children in the past, might grow sad without them. In that case we would do our best to place in the dog in like surroundings — therefore finding a home with children.

*I want to breed a Bernese Mountain Dog because I think it would be neat to have all of those little cute puppies.
All rescued or rehomed dogs that we place must be spayed or neutered. Our organization does not support the careless or thoughtless breeding of Bernese Mountain Dogs. We support only those breeders who take a serious interest in their puppies and require a buy-back clause in their puppy contracts which provides them with life-long responsibility to every dog they bring to this world.