We have always been big animal lovers in our family. Growing up there were always dogs, cats and the occasional bird in our family. Last March my daughter and I went for a walk on the first warm and sunny Saturday of the year.  We ended up walking much further than we had anticipated, and ended up walking all the way down Queen Street from the Beaches and ended up in front of the Toronto Humane Society.

So of course we had to go in!  But being that we already had three Bernese Mountain dogs and cats at home I just didn’t think we would end up with another pet. Then we spotted Beau and everything changed. He was sleeping in his enclosure but we managed to entice him over to us and he came with that classic Berner full tail circle wag! He rolled over on his back and my daughter started to cry because she couldn’t give him a belly rub. He stuck his paws under the door and my daughter sat there with him crying and petting his paws. It was love between them at first sight.

As we left, I told her I was sure he would get adopted because he is such a sweet dog. I checked about a week later and he was off the website, but my intuition told me to reach out and I learned about his story.  It turns out he had already been at the shelter for far too long and it was leading to some behavioural issues. And being a big dog that can be intimidating. But not for us, with three large dogs already in the family we already had the experience to deal with about anything.  I made the decision that we were going to bring Beau home no matter what it took.

It happened fast, after multiple phone calls, a couple meet and greets with the pups and just over a week later we had Beau bundled into the car after an emotional goodbye at the shelter as he was well loved there! He curled up in the backseat on my daughter’s lap and she cried and said “I’m finally getting to give you that belly rub”.

Beau has been an incredible addition to our family. We figured out the first night that he did not like to be separated from the family and being even in a separate room was doing the opposite of decompressing him.  So we decided to give him free reign of the house and he did incredible! We learned to take his cues and I think he learned as much from the other dogs as he did from us.

My daughter and Beau have developed the most incredible bond over the time we have had him. If she is here, he is with her.  He sleeps with her every night, and she calls him her soul dog.  You can see it in the way they look at each other. He is exactly the companion she needed.

We learned a lot from Beau, and he has turned into the most wonderful loving and calm boy who loves his family, both people and fur brothers and sisters. Sassy, our youngest Bernese, and Beau love to play and are particularly close, they tug and zoom and wrestle around the house and the yard.  He is also very sweet and gentle with the cats.

From long walks on the beach to his first road trip camping in a tent, Beau is a big part of our adventures. He is a cherished family member, and despite his early challenges he has proven with the right environment and a lot of love that he could become the perfect family dog.  He has changed all of our lives for the better and we are incredibly grateful to have him as a part of our pack.