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Bernese Mountain Dogs Gallery of Friends
Remy's Story With thanks to Karen Walker 
July 14th 2009 The last two weeks have been a hectic two weeks and I haven’t had much time to email anyone to let you know what’s going on in the Walker home. Well, here it goes. Lew and I signed up to be a foster home for rescued Bernese Mountain Dogs, which was a natural since we have three of our own, Molly, Kira and Jasmine. We have been planning to get a 3 year old Berner named Remy from Arkansas. His story is a sad one, but one we hoped to make better. From what we know he was on a farm for about a year pretty much an outdoor dog left on his own. The owners brought him to a vet clinic to have him put down when he was one year old, but the vet couldn’t do it. Remy has since lived in a vet clinic for the past two years. That’s we come in. We read about his story and saw his picture and decided that we needed to help Remy have a better life. On July 3rd we drove to Memphis, TN and met the vet who had Remy in Arkansas. Remy was afraid of his own shadow but especially afraid of men. He looked like he lost a war with a lawn mower (bad haircut) and was very skittish. He sat in the back of the SUV with me the whole trip home and was quiet as a church mouse. He was so nervous that he wouldn’t get out of the car when we got home. So Colin, our son, decided to lift Remy out of the car. Remy was so afraid that he christened Colin, if you know what I mean. Remy didn’t eat for the first couple of days and hid behind our chair in our bedroom or by our sofa in the family room. He was really attached to me and he also liked Colin. Remy was afraid of my other boys and Lew. However, our three Berners must have sensed something because they were extremely gentle with Remy. Every day Remy seemed more and more “at home”. He was figuring out the routine and loved sleeping on our room with the other three dogs. Three days after he arrived I took him to the groomers to have his “haircut” evened out and to have a day at the spa. Remy came back looking like a Swiss Mountain Dog with a bushy tail, and smelling very nice. Last Wednesday I took him to our vet for a physical and to see how he was doing. Remy had a slight skin irritation but otherwise was fine. After the vet visit, I treated him to a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Since I doubt Remy had ever had one, he didn’t know what to do with it. I had to hand feed him the burger in pieces. We got home and we relaxed around the house. That night the family went out to dinner and when we came home and my son opened the door from the house to the garage, Remy and Jasmine were waiting at the door (which was rare) and bolted out the door and out the garage before we could do anything. My son ran to get Remy, which was a mistake because he really took off. I screamed for Greg not to chase him but it was too late. Remy was gone. The family called and called for him but no Remy. So we each took off in our cars to look for Remy. We have woods behind our yard and around all of our neighbors’ yards and they back up to eight neighborhoods. So we each took two neighborhoods to drive to and walk around the woods, but no Remy. We looked until 11 p.m. Needless to say, we were devastated. The next morning I printed up flyers, made phone calls and we went out again into the woods and the neighborhoods looking for Remy, putting up flyers, and putting flyers in mailboxes. Later that afternoon he was sighted but the person who called said he tried to catch Remy and he ran back into the woods. We were hopeful that he was near our home. So since last Thursday we have been walking the woods, camping out in the woods hoping Remy would come by, handing out flyers and combing the adjoining neighborhoods for any sight of Remy. Finally today (6 days after he ran away) my neighbor kitty corner from our home in the cul de sac, called me at work to see if we found Remy yet. Then she said she thought he was in her woods in her back yard. To make a long story a little shorter, I called Corey at home and he flew over to the neighbor’s house and it was Remy but he bolted when he saw Corey. Corey went back and got our dog Kira to coax him out. Well, Kira tracked Remy’s scent into the woods and brought Corey to him. Remy’s collar was missing so Corey couldn’t grab it, so he had treats and finally got Remy close enough to grab onto. Corey carried Remy (100 pounds) out of the woods and back home. He called me to tell me the good news. When I got home he was at the door to greet me. The boys and Lew and I have noticed that now Remy is not as shy in the house and seems to realize that this home is way better than the woods. He lost a few pounds, is dirty and has bad gas and was starved and thirsty, but otherwise he doesn’t look any worse for wear. He even sat under the dinner table tonight. He is sleeping next to me as I write this email to you all. Tomorrow we’ll bath him and check for ticks. I got him a new collar and tags. He already has a chip in him, and I think we are going to invest in a GPS system for dogs. We don’t want this to happen again. For all of you who helped looked for Remy, supported us or forwarded Remy’s photo to friends and neighbors, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. As Lew said tonight at dinner, “Losing Remy was bad enough. I can’t even imagine what a parent goes through when a child is missing.” We were a wreck over losing Remy. These two photos of Remy were taken today. The photo below is Remy sleeping in the foreground with Jasmine in the background, in Jasmine’s “room”. The photo above was taken of Remy sitting against our island in the kitchen. Thank you again for everything that you’ve done to help us. We are just so glad Remy is back with us. Love Karen, Lew, and Remy!!! . 
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