I have always had a houseful of pets, right from when I can first remember. The only time in my life I have never had a pet was when I went to university and lived on campus for the first two years, where no pets were allowed. It wasn’t long until I had a little kitten running around when I moved off campus! There were always at least two cats and one dog in our household — I couldn’t understand families who had no pets!
I have had everything from a pug to giant breeds, and several cats, each with their own individual personality and quirks. These days I am the proud pet parent of three Bernese Mountain Dogs, a Bernese-Rottie rescue, and three cats — plus the occasional visiting neighbour’s cat who considers himself an honorary member of the crew!
There are always adventures in our house, and we have also run the gamut in the challenges involved in owning pets, from training to litter box issues to feline diabetes and dental care. I have learned what toys stand up to over 200lbs of puppy tugging… and how to give pills to cranky cats… ear drops to grooming. So I’d like to share some of my experiences and adventures. Without further ado — meet the crew!
Grace
Graceless Grace… I think that explains it all! Grace is almost 7 now — an old lady by Bernese standards — and she has earned every grey hair. (No, she’s not a St. Bernard!) I fell in love with the breed years ago, and my research told me this was the dog breed for me and my daughter.
She is a people dog. She spends more time sitting on people’s feet and soaking up attention at the dog park than she does playing with the other dogs. She is amazing with babies and toddlers and will adjust her energy to match (same with puppies!). This gal was a nightmare to train. She is exceptionally smart, sassy and stubborn. But she is an amazing dog, extremely loyal and loving… on her own terms — although I’ve never seen her turn away from a belly rub. Lover of vacuums and hair dryers. And belly rubs… especially belly rubs.
These days she is slowing down and has decided that walks and exercise are for other dogs. She is a couch queen now, and honestly? She has earned it.
Benson — Forever Part of the Crew
Oh, sweet lovable big Benson! Benson was my soul dog — my true gentle giant, a huge Bernese Mountain Dog, three months younger than Grace. I got Benson because I noticed, even with a dog walker twice a day, that Grace was getting lonely during the day, and I thought she needed a companion. Two puppies three months apart may not have been my smartest move, but I wouldn’t change a thing!
Benson was a mommy’s boy through and through. He was always at my feet and on my lap (at over 115lbs, this could be fun). He had an abundance of energy, and I’d never seen a dog his size hop and bounce the way he did! He was exceptionally eager to please and was a breeze to train, which was a bit of a relief after Grace, haha. He was also very protective of his family and house.
Benson fought cancer bravely and put on a good show right to the end. We lost him in March 2026, and I will forever miss him. I carry a small urn with his ashes with me every day — and since his passing, he has come along to St. Lucia, Victoria, Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City… and even skydiving. He will always be part of this crew.
Sassy
Sassy is three — she came to us as a wild child and remains a wild child! Just less destructive now, haha. She welcomed both Beau and Barney into the family, and she was the best mentor to Beau after his time in the shelter, teaching him how to be a dog. She mothered Barney too, teaching him what the house rules were. She can be very persistent with her people, and she is super loyal to her family.
Barney
Barney is our 6½-month-old Bernese puppy — the baby of the house. I wasn’t expecting to get a puppy so soon after we lost Ben; as a household, we were still very much grieving him. But I reached out to a very reputable and ethical breeder, and somehow five days later, Barney was coming home! He was born five days after Ben passed — and I don’t believe in coincidences. He was meant to be part of our crew.
He is a funny little (big) man, full of personality, love, and puppy curiosity — a perfect combination. He is vocal and opinionated, barking and kicking out his back feet if he disapproves of something! Sassy took him under her wing from day one, mothering him and teaching him the house rules. We look forward to seeing the man he will become.
Beau
Beau was a tough one. He is three now, and he came to us as a rescue from the Humane Society with severe anxiety issues. We saw the potential in him despite a bite history and a heavy medication schedule. We weaned him off the meds and trained him — and Sassy took him under her wing, teaching him how to be a dog: how to play, how to trust, how to be part of a family.
Today he is the perfect family dog — my daughter’s through and through. He is her soul dog.
Bubbles
Bubbles is my oldest gal at the moment. She is an absolutely beautiful diluted calico with the clearest green eyes that look right into your soul. She is also the smallest of the group, but the shrewdest and wisest by far. She was the tiniest little kitten, about half the size of her brothers and sisters. One stroke of that baby-soft fur was enough to capture my heart forever. It didn’t help that she snuggled right up to my two-year-old daughter at the time as well, without using her claws once.
The one thing about her is her absolute affinity for food… she is a fiend for her food and treats, and about two hours before each one is due, she starts the begging process, which involves meowing plaintively and sticking her claws into my hands and feet. After supper… all it takes is going up the stairs for her to peel up ahead of you and scream for her bedtime treats. She is 14 now and much more of a house cat these days, though she still ventures out back to catch some sun on the deck. Time for more pampering…
Miesha
Miesha is a rather skittish 12-year-old tortoiseshell, the middle of the cat siblings — and she is exactly the same as she ever was. My heart flipped for her the first time I saw that scrappy little face. I had just let my oldest cat go and my other cat was miserable and lonely, so along came little Miesha! She was so tiny, the vet estimated she was four weeks or less when I picked her up. She suckled the bathmat until it was sopping wet.
But the little gal came along quite well and looks up to Bubbles as a big sister. She is scared of about everything though — if you can’t find her, just look under my bed and you’ll see her big green eyes staring out at you. She is the most vocal cat I have ever had; you just have to look at her and she is talking to you. And about the most loving and cuddly cat I have ever had.
Whiskers
Whiskers is a 10-year-old giant Ragdoll who always has a glint of mischief in his eye. Despite his size he is able to move rather quickly, surprisingly enough — mostly when my daughter is trying to catch him! He thunders through the house yowling the whole time. There isn’t a pen or puzzle that’s safe from his mischievous ways. You can’t wear black in our house, as it will look like you rolled in his bed by the time you leave.
He loves, loves, loves the dogs and would like to play with the other cats, but they get a bit standoffish given his large size. This cat came home for my daughter, as the other two weren’t as snuggly as she would like — so I thought a Ragdoll sounds perfect. He loves my daughter and lets her carry him all over the house like a baby (after she catches him, that is!).
He has a heart murmur that we are monitoring — Ragdolls are prone to heart disease — but it hasn’t slowed him down one bit. He still terrorizes the neighbourhood and catches mice.
Honorary Mention: Hamish
Hamish is our old neighbour’s cat who moved away but still comes to stay for a visit on occasion! I watched him for a couple weeks when the neighbours went away, and he came over for a visit every day for that period. After that, he would come to tap on the back door at least once or twice a day, come in and have a snack then play with the dogs and rip around the basement with Whiskers! He would also sit on my daughter’s shoulders while she was trying to be in school during lockdown!
At the Rainbow Bridge
Gizmo
Giz was the first cat I had on my own after going to university. This was my boy. He didn’t like anyone else in the world. He was a crazy kitten, highly active at night and liked to attack anyone who wasn’t me when they were least expecting it. By the end of it, he had no teeth and no claws, and still scared people (like my stepdad who wouldn’t move him out of the sink to wash his hands because he was hissing and growling at him). He would fetch until you couldn’t throw the ball/arrow/toy anymore. He left me due to cancer. I think he was sick for quite some time, as I could tell he wasn’t feeling well a couple years before. But it was like he knew I needed him as I was going through a divorce and just setting out on my own for the very first time ever. He waited until he thought I was ready to be ok on my own. A loyal companion to the end.
Chester
Now Chester was a character. He was the littlest beat-up little stray at the shelter, with his claws broken, his whiskers broken off and bent and dirt encrusted in his ears. You could feel all the bones in his little body, and I knew he was the one I needed to have. He was a funny little cat. After coming home, he gorged himself to the point his belly would hang over his toes as he sat up over the arm of a chair. He loved to talk. And purr. He loved the blow dryer and would come to get ready with me every morning. It was very scary for me when he developed diabetes, but with proper diet and daily insulin shots he lived many more years with us. I think his heart was broken after Gizmo went to the rainbow bridge, and he followed a mere 15 days later leaving a massive hole in my heart.
Nemo
Sweet baby boy Nemo. I decided that I absolutely had to have a pug. And it had to be a black pug. Along came Nemo! He was so tiny when he came home, his head was too heavy for his body and he would tip over headfirst into his food bowl to eat! He was the sweetest little boy, with that snuffly little face (that required constant cleaning due to the folds). He would eat his kibble one at a time…bringing it from his bowl to the living room, taking hours to eat a full bowl of food. And if a dog came on the tv, the little man was at his most ferocious protecting his home. But as we all know, pugs are prone to multitudes of health problems, and Nemo was no exception. He passed on in his sleep at a young age for a small dog, but that funny little face and his huge heart will forever be in mine.