[null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://shadowmtnsaints.com/?page_id=120", "unformatted_src": "http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqk0zqZjQw1r13d24o1_r1_500.jpg", "src": "http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqk0zqZjQw1r13d24o1_r1_500.jpg", "formatted_filename": "tumblr lqk zqZjQw r d o r", "alt_text": " Jax: A Eulogy Ya know, Jax, I&#8217;ve had quite a few dogs die on me, but none of them affected me the way you did. I still remember you as a puppy. When your paws grew faster than the rest of you. You spent more time falling than you did actually running. Did you know that it was because of me that we even got you? I was the one who decided I liked St. Bernards and convinced my mom to buy one. That, by all rights, should have made me your favorite. I wasn&#8217;t. But you were mine. You were always such a brat. That&#8217;s probably why I liked you so much. Remember when I took you to Starbucks? It was your first time in public. I was trying to break the horrible stereotype that the movie Beethoven had created, but you weren&#8217;t having it. Everyone you came in contact with got a lovely souvenir of your DNA. That drool thing only got worse as you got older. I swear you would look around the room to choose your next victim. Then there was that phase with the squeaky toys. I was really hoping you&#8217;d grow out of that. I even had an intervention planned. I was so excited when the squeak died in that octopus of yours. I know you were devastated, but you stayed loyal. Even without the squeak, it was still your favorite toy. Jax, did you know that St Bernards were bred to be rescue dogs? In the snow? That&#8217;s the white stuff that you didn&#8217;t really care for. Nope, no snow for you. You preferred to be laying in the sun in 100* heat. Usually on one of our lounge chairs.\u00a0 Do you remember that barrel collar we bought you? I had always planned on throwing a party and filling that barrel with whiskey. I know, traditionally it was brandy, but I&#8217;m not really a brandy sort of girl. I wish I had done it&#8230;but I suppose it&#8217;s for the best, I don&#8217;t really know anyone who enjoys a whiskey-drool sour. The thing I liked best about you, Jax, was that you were always so laid back. When Aleah and I had scary movie night and freaked out because of the random summer storm, you just laid there and ignored us. And no matter how loud we would make the tv, it never seemed to disturb your\u00a0gentle\u00a0snoring. You were always welcoming to the strays my mother would bring home. Even the litter of puppies Zoey had didn&#8217;t seem to bother you.\u00a0 Of course in the back of my mind I always knew you were going to die. I just always assumed it would be from anorexia. Let&#8217;s face it, Jax, you were the supermodel of St Bernards. Always nibbling on your food before abandoning it to go lay in the sun. Probably working on your tan for the next photo shoot.\u00a0 I&#8217;m not going to lie, even though it broke my heart, I got quite a few laughs when you started going deaf. I know, it sounds terrible. But if you could&#8217;ve seen how ridiculous your reactions were, you would&#8217;ve laughed too. The way you&#8217;d jump up and skitter around when someone touched you, even if they&#8217;d been standing next to you for over 5 minutes.\u00a0 You made me laugh quite a bit at your expense. Your whine made me laugh the most. Oh, the way you would lay there and whine when no one was giving you attention. It was probably the most dramatic whine I&#8217;d ever heard. And I&#8217;ve known some dramatic people. Yes, you were impish and goofy, still a playful puppy even at 9 human years, but you also had your sweet intuitive side. You were always there for me when I needed you the most. It&#8217;s amazing how comforting just hugging you could be. I wish that I could hug you one more time.\u00a0 People generally miss their childhood dog the most, because they grew up with it. Well, Jax, I grew up with you. You were there for all of my 20s. I wonder what you thought of me, of how I changed. All the different weights, and hair colors, and boys. I wonder if you would just inwardly sigh every time I&#8217;d come home at 3 or 4 am and sneak, loudly, into the kitchen.\u00a0 Christmas isn&#8217;t going to be the same without you and Zoey around. It won&#8217;t feel like Christmas without you two charging into the living room looking for your stockings. And, to be quite honest, Blue never looked as good as you in those reindeer antlers. It&#8217;s weird to me that you&#8217;re gone. But that&#8217;s how these things go isn&#8217;t it? It always seems surreal at first and eventually you just numb yourself to it. Humans do it all the time, don&#8217;t they? I suppose that&#8217;s why love is so scary. Because you always lose what you love. Either to time, or to death, or to life.\u00a0 I hope that there is a doggy heaven, with tons of squeaky toys and stuffed octopuses. I hope there are endless amounts of leather couches\u00a0for you to wipe your drool on. I hope it&#8217;s sunny and over 100 degrees every day. I hope you and Zoey are there together. And I hope that my next dog is at least half as great as you were."}, null, null]
Shadow Mtn Quidditch v Vicdory CD, RAE, NAP, NJP, NFP, OJP, WP


Posted by Paul in Uncategorized | Comments off

Jan and Snitch keep on amazing Karen and I with their performances. Who ever said a St Bernard is too large and clunky for Agility should take a look at these pictures taken of Snitch at the Santa Maria KC Agility (photos courtesy of Trista Hidalgo Dynamic Dog Photos).

We hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we did and appreciate the agility of this girl.
 


Posted by Paul in Q Litter | Comments off

Snitch is spending a couple months back east with Jann. And while we are having a gorgeous Indian Summer with temperatures in the mid 70's, based upon the pictures below, it looks like the east coast is a little bit colder. But that obviously is weather that a Saint Bernard loves. Snitch send a number of pictures that I thought I would repost ffff. Wonderful weekend at the Dog shows in Pleasanton, CA.


Posted by Paul in P Litter, T Litter, V Litter | Comments off

This past weekend we had pretty nice set of shows down in Pleasanton, CA. 2 ST BERNARD Specialties and 2 ALL BREED shows.

We took Huey, Elle and Tessa and all did well.

Starting with CH Shadow Mtn Playboy atlarge Reema RN who on Friday under Judge Lee Whittier picked up a SELECT and two points, then on Saturday under Judge Sheila Polk at the St. Bernard Club of Pacific Coast Specialty went Select for a four point major. At the Saturday PM show under specialty judge Mickey Brophy, Huey went Select for another four point major and also was awarded an Award of Merit. To finish the weekend off, Huey was also awarded another Award of Merit at the All Breed show on Sunday.

Huey has now been out 6 times for his Grand Championship title and has earned a 5 point major, two 4 point majors and a 2 point award for a total of 15 points towards his GCH title.  He has all of his Majors including two from specialty judges and will finish his GCH shortly. Shadow Mtn Testdrive (TESSA) who is major pointed went Reserve Winners Bitch under Judge Lee Whittier. Tessa now just needs a major and a couple single points.

Shadow Mtn Vogue (ELLE) who is only 15 months old also went Reserve Winners Bitch to a 4 point major under Specialty Judge Mickey Brophy.

We are very pleased with the results, obviously.

 Snitch and Jan continue to do us proud as breeders. Snitch and Jan are presently on the east coast participating in Obedience and Rally Trials. Snitch races around the round earning open legs in Jumpers and Weaves, Open Standard and Open F.A.S.T.




Posted by Paul in V Litter | Comments off

SHADOW MTN VESPUCCI'S VOYAGE TO DANKA (Sailor) lives with Rolland and Michele  Kaemerer in Western Kentucky. http://www.dankasaints.com/About_Us.html

Sailor is out of Ch Shadow Mtn Playboy AtLarge Reema-Ch Mickeys Subira Cherry Blossom and was born on 06/08/2010.

Sailor this last weekend at the Owensboro River City Kennel Club show under Judge Robert J Shreeve and under Judge Garry K Newton  went Winners Dog each day for two points each day.

Sailor now has 8 points towards his Championship title.

Thank you Rolland, Michele and Jennifer Bittner who expertly handles this y0ung dog.

Gemma writes home



Dear Other Mom:   Boy, has it been a busy week at Camp America.  I can’t believe I’ve been here only 5 days and I’ve done so much.   First of all, let me say that my new mom and dad CAN speak Canadian.  When I jumped on the coffee table, they say “Eh!”, when I climbed up and over the couch, they say “Eh!”.  When I chase the cat, they say “Eh!”  They didn’t watch me after eating and I pottyied right in front of the heater,  and they said “Eh!”, I think I should have said it to them!  I haven’t done that again though.   My new best friend is “Chip”.  I didn’t like him at first because he’s big and red, but he told me he’s only 6 months older than me.  He’s a VIZZZLLLLA.   Here is my impression of him: He tells me I am supposed to do this when I see a bird. They have lots of strange things here.  In the daytime I go outside with my friends Huey and Dory.  Dory loves me, she cleans my face as soon as I eat.   Their food is really tasty here, they keep trying to give me the food you have, but I hold out and eat like the big dogs.  They even put big dog food in with my kibble, but I showed them what a big girl I was and picked around it.   When they feed the big dogs, I take away Dory’s food if they don’t give me good stuff too.   When we go out to see Dory and Huey, they have some funny looking things that butt me with their heads when I tried to chase them.   They only did it once, but now I really leave them alone.  They have bells on their necks and aren’t much bigger than me, but they eat all the bushes instead of the good meat.  My new mom said someday they will move in with me to keep my area clean, but I think they are dirty, so try to clean up the raisins that keep falling out of their butts.   Yesterday we went to an elementary school where they have kids my size.  They are in kindergarten too!   My new mom said we were in the dog and pony show.   My friend, Huey, gave rides to the Prin-C-Ball, and some other kids.  I wanted to help him pull them, but new dad said I was too little, so I just got belly rubs.  There were 425 kids there, and everybody wanted to pet me, but they only let a few.   My new dad didn’t get any pictures of me, because he was holding my hand the whole time. Before we went though, my new mom gave me a B-A-T-H.  There was lots of water and soap, and something that blew air on me.  I showed her how much I didn’t like it, by getting her just as wet as she got me, and I didn’t speak to her for the rest of the night.  New dad let me climb on his side of the couch and cuddle with him. Last night a nice girl named Beckie and her husband Greg came to see me.  They brought a thing that they called Bailey.  Bailey is black and white, but has a squished nose.  I think it’s cause she hits the wall to hard.  She kept chasing the ball they would throw really fast and running, so I would chase her and my friend Chip would chase me, and Bailey’s dad Norm would chase him.  We must have been bad because everyone kept crying  and shaking and holding their sides.  When Bailey would stop she didn’t smell so good cause she passes gas a-lot.  Maybe that’s why she doesn’t have a pretty nose like me.   Well, it’s almost time for my bedtime and my beauty sleep.  Last night I got to have a sleepover with my friend Chip in his crate.  I let my New mom and dad know that he kept kicking me, and so I barked until he put his feet on his side of the bed.  I attached some pictures from my photo shoot with my New dad, cause he said I look Bee-You-Tee Full.   Next week I get to go to Seattle to a Match.  They told me I am too young to get the prizes, cause you have to be four months old, but I know it’s just cause they don’t want me to take ALL of them.  I thought I heard New Dad say it was in WASH-ing-Ton, and they better not try to WASH me up there!   Hope everybody up there is good in the great white North.  I’ll try to write again soon.   Love Gemma

Meadowbrook Gemma at Shadow Mnt (GEMMA)



Meadowbrook Gemma at Shadow Mtn (CH Lasquite Lohlah v Orlando x CH Regalbear's Eager And Earnest CGN) made her grand entrance yesterday. She is settling in nice, meeting all of the other dogs today. 11 weeks old in the picture. Amazingly, coming from Canada, she barely barks with an accent EH?Thank you Lynda Symons for sharing this puppy with us.   She will have her own page shortly. Saint Bernards and weight pulling

Sep 9


DOG NEWS did an article on Weightpulling. A good portion of the article involved our dogs and our kennel. We are proud that we have dogs that can participate both in conformation and performance venues.

If you are interested, here is a direct link to the article:




Posted by Paul in C Litter | Comments off

JAX (CH Shadow Mtn Cracker Jax WPS CGC) March 7, 2001 to August 25, 2011.

Jax was one of those dogs that stays with you, even when he leaves the home he was born in. Jax moved to Southern California with Marcie and Rob Boyens and their kids (teenagers at that time). Marcie and Rob provided a WONDERFUL home for JAX and I know he was Marcie "heart dog". While Karen and I would see Jax through the years and talk to Marcie, we never realized how deeply this dog affect Beth Boyens. Beth wrote a blog found at http://elboyens.tumblr.com/post/9444459348/jax-a-eulogy-ya-know-jax-ive-had-quite-a-few I have read a lot of goodbyes to great dogs, but this one captures the St Bernard and its relationship with humans as well as I have ever heard it express. Beth gave me permission to copy her writing here. I hope you take the time to read it and I am certain it will touch you as much as it did Karen and I. Jax: A Eulogy

Ya know, Jax, I’ve had quite a few dogs die on me, but none of them affected me the way you did. I still remember you as a puppy. When your paws grew faster than the rest of you. You spent more time falling than you did actually running. Did you know that it was because of me that we even got you? I was the one who decided I liked St. Bernards and convinced my mom to buy one. That, by all rights, should have made me your favorite. I wasn’t. But you were mine.

You were always such a brat. That’s probably why I liked you so much. Remember when I took you to Starbucks? It was your first time in public. I was trying to break the horrible stereotype that the movie Beethoven had created, but you weren’t having it. Everyone you came in contact with got a lovely souvenir of your DNA. That drool thing only got worse as you got older. I swear you would look around the room to choose your next victim.

Then there was that phase with the squeaky toys. I was really hoping you’d grow out of that. I even had an intervention planned. I was so excited when the squeak died in that octopus of yours. I know you were devastated, but you stayed loyal. Even without the squeak, it was still your favorite toy.

Jax, did you know that St Bernards were bred to be rescue dogs? In the snow? That’s the white stuff that you didn’t really care for. Nope, no snow for you. You preferred to be laying in the sun in 100* heat. Usually on one of our lounge chairs.

Do you remember that barrel collar we bought you? I had always planned on throwing a party and filling that barrel with whiskey. I know, traditionally it was brandy, but I’m not really a brandy sort of girl. I wish I had done it…but I suppose it’s for the best, I don’t really know anyone who enjoys a whiskey-drool sour.

The thing I liked best about you, Jax, was that you were always so laid back. When Aleah and I had scary movie night and freaked out because of the random summer storm, you just laid there and ignored us. And no matter how loud we would make the tv, it never seemed to disturb your gentle snoring. You were always welcoming to the strays my mother would bring home. Even the litter of puppies Zoey had didn’t seem to bother you.

Of course in the back of my mind I always knew you were going to die. I just always assumed it would be from anorexia. Let’s face it, Jax, you were the supermodel of St Bernards. Always nibbling on your food before abandoning it to go lay in the sun. Probably working on your tan for the next photo shoot.

I’m not going to lie, even though it broke my heart, I got quite a few laughs when you started going deaf. I know, it sounds terrible. But if you could’ve seen how ridiculous your reactions were, you would’ve laughed too. The way you’d jump up and skitter around when someone touched you, even if they’d been standing next to you for over 5 minutes.

You made me laugh quite a bit at your expense. Your whine made me laugh the most. Oh, the way you would lay there and whine when no one was giving you attention. It was probably the most dramatic whine I’d ever heard. And I’ve known some dramatic people.

Yes, you were impish and goofy, still a playful puppy even at 9 human years, but you also had your sweet intuitive side. You were always there for me when I needed you the most. It’s amazing how comforting just hugging you could be. I wish that I could hug you one more time.

People generally miss their childhood dog the most, because they grew up with it. Well, Jax, I grew up with you. You were there for all of my 20s. I wonder what you thought of me, of how I changed. All the different weights, and hair colors, and boys. I wonder if you would just inwardly sigh every time I’d come home at 3 or 4 am and sneak, loudly, into the kitchen.

Christmas isn’t going to be the same without you and Zoey around. It won’t feel like Christmas without you two charging into the living room looking for your stockings. And, to be quite honest, Blue never looked as good as you in those reindeer antlers.

It’s weird to me that you’re gone. But that’s how these things go isn’t it? It always seems surreal at first and eventually you just numb yourself to it. Humans do it all the time, don’t they? I suppose that’s why love is so scary. Because you always lose what you love. Either to time, or to death, or to life.

I hope that there is a doggy heaven, with tons of squeaky toys and stuffed octopuses. I hope there are endless amounts of leather couches for you to wipe your drool on. I hope it’s sunny and over 100 degrees every day. I hope you and Zoey are there together. And I hope that my next dog is at least half as great as you were.

Shadow Mtn Quidditch v Vicdory CD, RAE, NAP, NJP, NFP, WP

 Snitch just posted these pictures of herself doing what she does best.

SNITCH FLIES THROUGH THE AIR. We think it amazing to see a St Bernard with this much ability to move. Don't ever let anyone tell you that a St Bernard is a couch potatoe. THANKS TO JANN HAYES FOR TAKING SNITCH TO HER LEVEL OF PERFECTION. It is pleasure watching these pictures.