Hi everybody,
We have been off the list since early December and are still catching up with the mail. It's so terribly sad to find that some of our extended Berner family have passed away during our absence. It is heartening to read of new people and new puppies on the list.
So, I have a question to throw out to the list in general: how many people on the list have dogs that still suckle in their sleep long after they've been weaned? Holly has now passed the 7 month mark and she still makes that sucking sound (there isn't a good onomatopoeic word for it) in her sleep. She is developing into a typical teenager, which is to say evil incarnate, but when she is sleeping she turns back into a sweet little pup. I don't recall any of our other dogs doing this. I think in her case it is some sort of survival mechanism, look cute while you are asleep so they won't strangle you when you are awake.
We just spent the past six weeks in Germany and France and we did a lot of dining out. One of the things I like best about Europe is that you are able to take the pups with you just about everywhere. Gandalf, who is now 2 and 1/2, has become quite the gentleman. He will lie quietly under the table in the restaurant and be content to just lay his head on somebodies foot. Holly, on the other hand, will slowly inch her way around until, before you know it, she is lying under somebody else's table! "Hi! I'm Holly! I'm cute, give me a treat!"
All of our Berner's have been full of mischief, but none of them have kept us on our toes like Holly. Did I mention how much laughter she has given us? Poor Uncle Gandalf has the patience of Job, and he loves her dearly, but at least five times a day he just has to resort to sitting on her head in order to calm her down. Everyone thinks this is hysterical except her. When she finally manages to get out from underneath him she dances around him like a mountain goat barking her head off, it really bugs her when he just turns his head away and ingores her. Don't you feel sorry for people who have never known what is like to have these creatures in their lives?
Christl has decided that Chateau is far to grandiose a word for our humble abode in France so I am officially changing our sign-off. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season.
Tim & Christl, with Gandalf & Holly
Domain Bernois
Nimes, France
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