Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin <g>.
We've had Bernese for nearly 17 years and I thought we knew
everything about their expensive habits that there was to know...
Diet - including sofas and dining room suites.
Vets fees - from acupuncture and arthritis, through crutiate repairs
& entropian, to sebaceous cysts and things far nastier. Now our vets
are in our Friends and Family dialling circle and we have full pet
insurance.
Mode of transport - the more you have, the bigger the vehicle needed.
A 7 seater with all but 2 seats removed is just right for 4 dogs.
House redecoration -new carpets, no carpets; wall paper, no wall
paper; cat flap, no cat flap.
Bedding (ours) - A king size bed is an absolute necessity for those
early morning snuggles, if *you* want to be included.
Chores - a vacuum cleaner on an industrial scale is essential to keep
up with those miniature Berners that like to lurk everywhere from
under the freezer to the top of the wardrobe.
Garden - ahh, the garden. We've given up expecting anything other
than a lunar landscape. A lot of money flowed into the garden before
we learnt to let the dogs do the gardening and let us get on with
more important things, like housework.
Yes, I thought we knew it all.
Until the advent of 18 month old Roxie into our lives last June.
Roxie the Berner with pogo sticks instead of legs.
Roxie the dog who likes you to get up with the sun to keep her
company.
Roxie the Houdini dog...
AKA Poxie Roxie.
Our garden consists of an acre fully fenced for the dogs and 5 acres
of rough for them to run in under supervision. Our 4' fences have
always proved more than equal to the task of keeping our dogs in,
even Toby, who at 36" at the shoulder could easily jump or even knock
the fences over.
Until Roxie.
She soon jolted us out of our complacency by bouncing over the fence
with ease. So we heightened it by running 2 strands of wire along
the top of the existing fence and weaving another strand between them
and the existing fence, bring the height up another 9" or so.
She still escaped. And a wise lady from the list told me that once a
Berner has the taste for escapism, we're doomed...
How right she was!
Last month, I gave in and decided that as my husband was away all
month, I'd get a professional fencing contractor to cast his eye over
our problem and come up with a once and for-all solution.
To save money (a fatal flaw when considering our beautiful and agile
breed), I decided that I would only get that part of the fence done
that she was getting over. That cost us nearly 400 UK pounds.
I was impressed, no way was Roxie going to get over a 7' fence. I
wondered in an idle moment if we should have watch towers installed
too, with search lights and stuff.
Roxie spent her time walking the fence line. I watched and laughed.
For a whole week she surveyed the fence, I sniggered and told her
she'd never escape now.
NEVER give a Bernese a challenge like that.
The day after Malcolm came home and agreed it was money well spent,
Roxie jumped the fence. No, not the tall one, just the 5' one which
had strands of barbed wire along it until we could heighten it.
Back to the drawing board and another large sum of money on fencing
materials. We are now so well know at the contractors, that Malcolm
has been told they'll keep all their odd bits of fence wire for him,
it's cheaper to let us have it than to order a rubbish skip to take
it all away!
Yesterday Malcolm finished erecting another run of 7' fencing and
said "I'd like to see her escape now".
So she did.
This time she slithered through the gap left in the strands of wire
holding everything together. She just has to be double jointed, I
would have defied a cat to get through that gap.
Soooo... Another day is drawing to a close, another day spent making
the fence Roxie proof, and Malcolm has just issued her with another
challenge... Get over that if you can!
I'm not betting either way!
Thank doG she doesn't go far, we live up a private road away from
town, although we do get stupid drivers who think children and
animals shouldn't be on the road; and luckily, all the sheep were
moved at the end of last year.
By the time I feel fairly confident she won't ever escape again, we
will have spent well into 4 figures.
Is she worth it?
You bet! The sheer zest she has for life is intoxicating. I can't
even feel aggrieved when she's been bouncing all over my emergent
daffodils. Anyway, life would be so dull (if not so poverty
stricken) without a daily challenge!
Oh, and through all this, Mags and Toby just stand and watch her
escape, with, I think, a little admiration and some jealousy in their
eyes!
Are there any other expenses lurking round the corner that I'm not
prepared for I wonder? Well, as long as we have dogs, I'm willing to
bet something somewhen will crop up that I'd never have imagined in a
thousand years!
Liz Bradbury in Scotland, with Roxie (2) the bouncing Berner;
Newfs Toby (6) and Maggie (16 months); & the 6 Feline Fiends.
