Bentley, a senior needing a home

Bentley has found a new home where he gets to keep in contact with his old one! 3 cheers for Bentley!!!!

 This is another courtesy posting for an owner. Bentley lives in Traverse City. The owners contact information is at the bottom of the listing.

I would like a home where I can just settle in and be happy

“Bentley is an amazing seven year old dog and a part of our family, which is why it is so hard to be in this position of having to find him a new home. Bentley is a very loyal dog who will thrive best in a home that can offer a level of consistency, no children and no dogs that have dominance issues. Bentley like most Bernese has some issues with anxiety, big changes in routines and noises, such as, strong winds and thunder often can make him anxious. All that being said there is a lot of good in Bentley. Bentley was born in Quebec on December 9th, 2004 and came to live in Vermont with us when he was ten weeks old. We have done our best since the beginning to provide Bentley a good home. Our first night together, Bentley feeling homesick, ended with us falling asleep on the couch together. He has loved the couch ever since. As much as he loves his naps he loves his walks. He walks well on a leash, though like most dogs he likes to stop and sniff along the way. Early on he became used to two walks a day often one walk would often be in a area where he could walk off leash. He does great off leash. Bentley is neutered but we did not make the decision to neuter him until he was three. He has had some history of conflict with other dogs, mostly he takes a defensive stance because of his loyalty and wanting to protect his family. I do not consider him an aggressive dog. Bentley just went in for a wellness exam on 1/16/12 and is up to date on his shots. For his age Bentley is in great health he has no current medical issues and does not take any medication besides glucosamine and msm for joint health. He does have some arthritis and dysplasia in his hips but maintains a normal active lifestyle.

Some history on Bentley leading up to this point. Things started to change just over two years ago when we adopted our friends 12 year old golden retriever. Bentley, with a little time to adjust to not being an only dog, has done really well having another dog around. More change came about 14 months ago with the birth of our son. This was another even bigger adjustment for Bentley. We worked hard to help make him feel comfortable around Quinn knowing his life was changing just as much as ours. I was out walking Bentley two days after returning home from the hospital, we didn’t want him to feel forgotten. Even more change came with our move from Vermont back to my home town in Michigan. Bentley had to again adjust to another dog since we moved in temporarily to my parents house who also have a dog. It has been a lot of change in a short period of time and we were aware of the stress it has placed on Bentley. Unfortunately despite our efforts to help Bentley adjust you can’t monitor a dogs every action and stop them from reacting. Quinn was running up to me but came up from behind Bentley who had been focused in on a piece of pizza I was eating and was startled by Quinn. It was a quick reflex reaction meant to send a warning to back off, but he snapped and made contact with my sons head. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The bite was serious enough to send us rushing to the hospital and our son having surgery the next day to close the lacerations on his head. It was a very unfortunate accident. This being said I have to look out for the well being and safety of our son and do not feel certain we could prevent this from ever happening again which is why we are looking for a home without children.

Bentley is the type of dog that follows you from room to room he needs and loves that human connection and wants nothing more than to be a best friend to you. And that is what we are hoping to find for him.” Contact us at e-mail; lynds1979@yahoo.com      Lyndsay & David  231-620-2929


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