Hi friends! I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! Here’s a little peek into this summer with our Berners. Above, you see Bulochka, our beautiful girl from Ukraine, and her two girl puppies we kept, Brookie and Brielle, enjoying relaxing in the yard.

“Isn’t it good to be alive on a day like this?”
-Anne of Green Gables

Summer thus far has been lovely–filled with quiet days at home, days spent adventuring, huckleberry picking, hiking, fishing, swimming…

Here’s a sampling of photos from this summer’s adventures:

I simply love wildflowers. One day, I made a wreath of wildflowers and took pictures of Brookie and Brielle wearing it. Aren’t they beautiful?

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11

And Bighorn, the boy puppy we kept from Bulochka’s last litter, is growing great. At 4 months old, he’s 50 lbs. now. He’s full of love and affection, but one of the calmest puppies we’ve ever had! I think one of his favorite things to do is just lay outside by the house and watch what’s going on.

All of Bryshka and Bourne’s puppies from “Litter K” went to their forever homes. Kaya, Kootenai, and Kila all stayed in Montana, while Kenai went to Idaho, and Kodiak to Vermont. Below are some pictures we snapped of them shortly before they left.

All going well, in a couple of months, we’ll have another litter of puppies, this time from Brookie and Bronco! (Head over to our Puppies page for more info about our puppies.)

Bulochka, Bryshka, and Bourne came along on a road trip that included driving through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. I’m not sure if they appreciated the breathtaking mountain scenery, but they do love hanging out with their people and coming along on adventures.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
-Helen Keller

Well, that’s all for now! How has your summer been? What adventures have you taken your Berners on lately? We’d love to hear from you! Comment below!

Hi friends! Ah, how I love springtime! Brielle does, too, as you can see from the photo above. The ground is covered in green grass, new leaves and blossoms are on the trees, plants are growing in the garden… and we have a new litter of puppies!

Early in the morning of June 4th, we made the drive to the vet clinic with Bryshka for her puppies to be delivered via c-section.

Bryshka had five healthy puppies, and I’m pleased to introduce you to Litter K! The four girls are Kaya, Kenai, Kootenai, and Kila. And the boy is Kodiak.

Mama dog and puppies are all doing great, and we’re loving watching them grow! All of these babies are reserved already, but you can contact us if you’d like to get on the waitlist for our next litter.

Here’s a recent picture of Bryshka, the mom of this litter. We’ve had lots of rain this spring, but after rain often comes rainbows!

And a recent picture of the daddy, Bourne.

Bryshka also recently made an appearance in a children’s book! I (Savannah) published an updated edition of the children’s book I co-wrote with my mother about my younger sister Sadie and her journey with epilepsy. It’s a sweet story reminding us that every life is beautiful. Sadie is Bryshka’s person, and so Bryshka made it on the cover and in a few illustrations inside. Here’s a little sneak peek:

You can grab your copy (signed by the authors, illustrator, and heroine of the book) here or buy it on Amazon.

This spring we’ve also enjoyed long walks in the woods…

And trips to the lake to fish…

We’ve also enjoyed getting updates from our puppy families! Here’s a picture of Tilda (from Bulochka and Bourne).

And Emmitt (from Bryshka and Bourne).

He weighs 140 lbs. now!

All of the puppies from Litter J (Bulochka and Eli) went to their forever homes in May. Here are pictures of them before they left.

That is, all of them went to their new homes except for Journey, whom we are keeping! His new name is Bighorn, and we are all in love with this newest addition to our family.

Well, that’s all for now! How have you been enjoying the spring? Comment below and let us know!

Hi friends! April has been a good month with a combination of warm, sunny days, chilly, rainy days, and cold, snowy days! Amidst the busy routine of puppy care and our other daily activities, we’ve taken time to enjoy the little things. Things like a long walk in the woods where the pine trees are tall, green grass is shooting up, and in the quiet, you can hear the rustling of the branches in the wind, and the song of birds.

“When you value the little wonders, every day is an adventure.”

Little things like playing in the yard with our Berners…

Or taking Brookie along on a drive. 🙂

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” – Charles M. Schulz

Our puppies (Litter J) are doing great and growing well! They all love people, love to play, and love to eat! Here are some recent pictures of them:

As always, we love getting updates from our puppy families! Here’s a sampling of some recent pictures of our puppies from previous litters. Their families love them, and they are all growing so fast!

Another fun bit of news: Harvey (Darth Vader Alexberns), Bulochka’s dad, and Brookie and Brielle’s granddad, recently won a Veteran World Winner title.

Isn’t that impressive?

Well, that’s all for now! I hope you’re all having a lovely spring! How have you been “enjoying the little things” in life? Comment below!

Merry Christmas friends! We hope you all had a wonderful, joyful, peaceful Christmas season! How lovely it is to celebrate the birth of the Baby Boy who changed the world forever, the King in the manger who offers us freedom and hope.

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6

Scroll on for some more festive photos of our dogs!

Brielle and Bronco joined us for some Christmas shopping one day. They both got lots of attention (but the baby, Brielle, got more!). There was a lovely old historic church building all decorated for Christmas, and we had Brielle and Bronco pose in front for pictures.

This is the first time since coming out west that we did not get a white Christmas! Crazy, huh? However, we did get some snow earlier in the month, and the dogs loved it! Here’s a picture of Brielle in the snow:

Brielle is 4 months old now and weighs 48 pounds! She’s growing great, loves to play, is very smart, and so sweet! I really couldn’t ask for a better puppy.

Seeing pictures of our puppies after they go home to their new families is always fun. We loved this picture of Brielle’s littermates, Nora and Goose.

Thanks to Sparrow’s Nest Bernese for sharing this darling photo!

This next photo of Bulochka and Brookie was taken almost a year ago. Look at how little Brookie is!

Here’s Brookie now at almost a year old:

Brookie is such a sweet girl. She is always so excited to see us when we get up in the morning or come home, and going on long walks in the woods is one of her favorite things to do.

Well, that’s all for now! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hi friends! Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and a wonderful start to your Christmas season! October and November were very full months for us! Here are just a few highlights from the past two months.

Bulochka and Brookie joined us on a fly fishing expedition one day. See Bulochka in the photo at the top of this post and Brookie below.

Brookie is getting so big and such a sweetheart! Here she is with our boy, Bronco.

In October all of Bulochka and Eli’s puppies went to their new best families! Jenny, Eli’s owner, came with a family member and a couple of friends to pick out their puppies first. It was a hard decision, but they chose Ira and Irina. We love the names they picked out for them! Irina is now Sparrows Nests Northern Light “Nora,” and Ira is Sparrows Nests Eureka Big Sky “Goose.”

Ian was the last puppy to leave, and we all grew very fond of him!

And we are absolutely in love with our puppy that we are keeping from this litter, Back 40 Montana Kootenai Sunrise “Brielle.”

While in the mountains of Montana, we’ve gotten some snow…

…we also took a trip down south, where we enjoyed some warm weather! Bulochka had a special spot in the vehicle, and was happy to be close by.

She tagged along while we went to the beach, went fishing, explored plantation ruins…

…she even got a pup cup from Sonic! When they brought out our food, they saw Bulka and asked if she could have a pup cup of whipped cream. Bulka loved it!

Back home, Bronco joined Sam on a trip to town and got his own pup cup. Sam said he also met a dog in the store who looked just like him. 🙂

Well, that’s all for now! Next post, I’ll be sharing some Christmas-y photos of our dogs, so keep an eye out for that!

Hi friends and happy October! Here are a few of our highlights from the month of September.

Brookie joined us for a hike. It was a fairly steep incline, but as the saying goes, “the best view comes after the hardest climb.” And it was an amazing view. Brookie started out on a leash, but after going for a short time, we turned her loose, and she was so good! She had a blast running and exploring, but stuck close by. It’s hard to believe she’s 9 months old already!

Brookie also joined us on a fishing trip to the river a couple of times.

The fall colors were lovely, and Brookie was in a good mood to pose for pictures!

Bulochka also came along on an evening outing to the river.

Mama had waded out into the water, and Bulochka wasn’t sure about following, so she found a log to rest on where she could keep a close eye on Mama while she patiently waited for her to come back.

Bulochka and Bronco came along on a trip to Glacier National Park. Here they are at Lake McDonald, which I think is one of the most beautiful lakes in the country. Bronco loved all the attention he got from other visitors at the Park! Bulochka would rather just stick close to her people and keep watch.

Bulocka and Eli’s puppies are six weeks old now! They’re growing great, showing some personality, and love attention! This is our “I” litter. The boys are Indie, Iggy, Iger, Ike, Ira, Idaho, Izaak, Ivan, and Ian. The girls are Ivy, Indigo, Irina, and Izzy. Here are some pictures of them:

Well, until next time! What have you and your dogs been up to lately? Leave a comment and let us know!

As we begin the month of September, here’s a look back at some of the highlights from the month of August!

Most of Bryshka’s puppies have gone to their forever homes now. We always love to see how excited their new families are to get their new puppy! Huckleberry, Hadrian, Hans, Henry, Hudson, Helina, and Haven are all settling in well with their forever families, and Hazel will be leaving to go to hers soon.

Before Haven left, Sadie and Levi dressed her and Bryshka up for a dog costume contest at the county fair.

The plan was to pull both of them in the wagon, but Bryshka decided at the last minute she’d rather walk and that she didn’t want to wear the hat. Leave it to Bryshka to spice things up! Both the people and the dogs had a great time and received lots of compliments! 

Levi also showed Bryshka in the obedience and showmanship dog shows at the fair. They did very well and took home a ribbon for “Best Team in Showmanship.” Levi was quite excited!

And now…

the big announcement…

Bulochka and Eli’s puppies have arrived!

On Friday, August 25th, we took Bulochka to the vet for an x-ray and progesterone test and decided it was time to go ahead and do a C-section. After encountering a few roadblocks finding a vet office that had the staff available to do it, it ended up being a pretty late night! 

Somewhere around midnight, a vet tech came into the room where we were waiting and announced– “Thirteen puppies–nine boys and four girls!” 

Thirteen puppies!  

We were thrilled to hear that they were able to save all thirteen puppies and that our sweet mama dog Bulochka was doing well. 

A little bit later, a vet assistant brought us a box full of thirteen squirming, whining, darling, perfect little puppies. We gathered around the box, admiring and so grateful. 

Before too long, Bulka was brought in, tail wagging, overjoyed to see us, and a good bit smaller now that she was no longer carrying thirteen puppies! 

We made sure all the puppies nursed well before making the hour and a half drive home, finally arriving home around 3 A.M. 

Bulochka and the puppies are doing great, and it’s been a good, but exhausting week with someone watching them around the clock, rotating through all the puppies, making sure they all get to nurse and that Bulochka gets a break, too. We’re supplementing with some bottle feeding (thirteen puppies are a lot for Bulka to feed herself!), and the puppies love our homemade formula of goat’s milk, yogurt, beef liver broth, egg yolks, and other goodies.

All of the girls are reserved and we only have a few boys still available. Head over to our PUPPIES page for more information or CONTACT US.

Well, that’s all for now! How about you? What are some of your highlights from the month of August? Leave a comment and let us know!