A Gathering of Berners

Every year, a pumpkin patch in Half Moon Bay, CA holds what they call a "Bernese Mountain Dog Day" where Bernese owners and their pooches visit the farm for fun, frolicking, and quite possibly Halloween pumpkin purchasing.  "Farmer John" as he calls himself (which is fitting since his name is John and he really is a farmer) states on his website that last year they had about 100 dogs there!  I really wanted to attend this event with my two, but given Leila's lack of personal skills, I was really not sure this was going to be possible.  The last thing I needed was for her to get all neurotic and freaky and undo all the months of other-dog-training we have been doing.  On the other hand, what better place to get in the middle of the fray with a gaggle of her peers?

Put on your big-girl dog-panties, Leila, we're going socializing!

Now, Half Moon Bay is a good hour-and-a-half drive from my house, so as we sailed along the freeways (two kids, the hubby and me, and two happy drooling canines) I had plenty of time to think about all the awful things that could go wrong after we arrived at this place.  I had visions of the half-hour it took me to get Leila out of the back of the truck when we went to the snow that one time (another lengthy drive I thought would end in disaster) or her being so intimidated by the other dogs running around that she dashes off into the Pacific Ocean and we have to drive all the way home with that wet-dog smell.  Neither vision was very appealing, given the time and gas it took us to get to the coast.  But I was pretty much committed now and seeing how this was all my idea, was praying for the best!

The town of Half Moon Bay loves Halloween.  Famous for their pumpkin growing, Half Moon Bay sports pumpkin patches on every corner.  In order to entice tourists and locals alike to visit their grounds instead of  their neighbors, over the years each patch has gotten more and more elaborate by introducing corn mazes, bouncy houses, face painting, train rides, pony rides and whatever else can capture a youngster's attention.  As we rolled into town, my kids' attention was 100% captured as they pressed their faces to the windows to check out farm after farm that rivaled the fanciest of Las Vegas Casinos.  We turned on the coastal highway and made our way to Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch which was not as splashy (thankfully!) but still decked out with festive fall decor.  As a result, I felt good about the jaunty Halloween-print bandannas I brought to put on the pups so they played the part.  My husband, definitely not a fan of dressing up pets in any form (with particular emphasis on reindeer antlers at Christmas or little chihuahuas in doll dresses) gave me the Olympic version of an eye roll and groaned "You're not going to put scarves on them, are you?"  I corrected his obvious fashion faux pas by shooting over a look that would freeze fire and announcing that yes, the dogs are going to wear their Halloween bandannas, thank you very much.  If I had to battle the throngs of old ladies at the fabric store in order to purchase two little pieces of cotton fabric, they were not going unused!

We get to the parking lot for the farm and the employee directs us to a parking area walled off with hay bales.  We turn the corner to the clearing and find a place to park the SUV.  The parking area was a sea of shining black and brown...Bernese dogs running everywhere!  My kids started squealing with glee and both dogs started barking, although I don't think it was a "gleeful" bark.  A "WTF????" bark was more like it.  I could tell already that it was going to take some creativity to get Leila out of the truck again.  After a little coaxing and friendly shooing away of other dogs who came to inspect the SUV, we finally manged to encourage (read: yank) Leila out of the back of the truck.  It was crazy-amazing to see so many dogs in various shapes and sizes, but all looking the same, with their fluffy black tails and white blaze of forehead, not the mention the shining white Swiss Cross on their chests.  We started to walk to the back area where we could safely let them off the leash.  Through clenched teeth my husband whispered to me "Good call on the bandannas!"  That made me laugh.  Even if this trip turned out to be a total bust, at least I was vindicated on that front!

The nice thing about Bernese is that they are friendly, happy, goofy dogs.  They are the stranger in the car ahead of you that pays your bridge toll.  They are the coffee-drinker that holds the door for you at Starbucks when you are trying to exit with two Venti toffee-nut lattes in your hands.  They are silly, inquisitive, smiling representatives of the canine world and here in this crazy gathering of distant cousins, none of them are fighting, snapping, even barking.  They are all just playing and milling around like old friends at a high school reunion.

Then there are my two.

While not being aggressive, my two dogs are clearly set to DefCon 1.  Leila's eyes are so big she looks like she is drawn from Japanese anime.  Bodie perfects the art of bob-and-weave so he can avoid the oncoming greetings of other dogs.  At least the two have each other and when they run off to the outer fringes of the clearing to get away from the herd, at least they are together.  Some dogs pose for their picture on a table.  Mine hide under the table.  A handful of dogs are bellying up to the big tin bucket of water for a drink, mine are sneaking up behind me and licking my hand so I can pour some of my bottled water into their foldable water dish I had the sense to bring along.  It was then I notice that although they are not socializing in the party-sense of the word, they are not fleeing in terror either.  Maybe it's the feeling of familiarity when you show up to a party where everyone is wearing the same outfit, or maybe just tired in the heat of the October sun.  Either way, they seem a bit more interested in these other dogs and yet, keeping a respectable distance.  Even Leila has a spring in her step which is probably her way of saying "La la la, I can't see you!" in pretending the other dogs really aren't there.  Hey, whatever works for her!

All in all there were maybe about fifty dogs there, all dancing around and trying to get their owner's attention.  There were a few pulling carts like their ancestors did before them.  One was so fluffy and fat her looked like the canine version of a pot-bellied pig.  Even a  few little cuddly puppies that relished all the attention they were getting and made me nostalgic...was it really only a year ago that my two were that size?  The dog owners were all friendly, chatty folks and over the din of laughter you could always hear the question "Which one is yours?"  I could usually find mine within a minute or two, first checking under a table or at the outer edges of the cornfield.  Yep, there they are!

We made our way to the pumpkin side so the kids could pick out a couple of good jack-o-lantern candidates and climb all over hay-bale pyramids and tractors.  After a brief stop for lunch we made our way back across the bay and headed for home.  It didn't take long before kids and dogs were all asleep in the back, exhausted from all the running, jumping, laughing, and in Leila's case, hiding.

It was such fun to see so many Bernese in he same place.  And thanks to their bright garish bandannas, at least we came home with the right ones!

Many thanks to John and Eda Muller of Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch for hosting this wonderful event.  Sadly, the Muller's own beloved Bernese passed away just a few weeks before the event date.  We send them our best wishes and hope to see them next year as well.