This is a warning - this List is a pleasant place, it will continue to be a pleasant place - even if I have to knock heads together to do it! Keep discussions from becoming personal, refrain from making comments that are incendiary, and remember to be respectful of one another.
We have many rude breeders. We have many warm and caring breeders. We have many rude pet owners. We have many warm and caring pet owners. In short, we are all just people. If we were nicer than that, we would have to be Berners. Just a note about comments about breeders. They breed the puppies, they get to decide where the puppies go. They have to judge the potential owners, that's the nature of the transaction. They have a product that we want - that's what gives them the right to judge to which of us they wish to sell a puppy. We want to buy puppies from them. It is up to us to find one that we feel is the right breeder for each of us. We are all Berner lovers. If we wish to help keep the breed viable, it is up to each of us, owners, breeders, Berner-L members - it is up to all of us to stay helpful and respectful of others. Each nasty email helps someone else understand the benefit of going to a pet store. Each gruff encounter helps someone else decide the Club/Breeders/AKC types/Purebred Snobs just aren't worth the time and effort. I keep remembering a story I heard about a breeder here in Pennsylvania. He got a Berner, but when he went to his first show - he was snubbed. He's now helping to personally churn out the back yard bred Berners we're having so many problems with here in Pennsylvania. Aggression? We see it! Shyness? We see it. Too many rescues? We're seeing it. Makes you wonder what this area would be like if people at that first show had been pleasant and welcoming to a newcomer. I don't know if the story is true - but the fact that I can believe that it did happen says it all. Pat Long, List Co-Owner Berwyn PA
