I’ve loved dogs all my life. My fascination with the beautiful tri-color Swiss breeds started in 2002, when I worked on a story for USA TODAY that featured Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. When I discovered the Bernese Mountain Dog, I fell in love and knew that these beautiful hairy beasts would be in my life in a big way. And they certainly have.
Teddy, our first Berner, competed in Obedience and Rally. He earned his Beginner Novice, Companion Dog, Rally Novice, Rally Advanced and Canine Good Citizen titles. And he was a certified Therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International.
Ziva is four years old and is an AKC Champion and Grand Champion. She also holds Obedience, Rally and Trick titles, in addition to a Canine Good Citizen title. She is currently working on her Drafting title.
The baby in the family is Gibbs, who is a year and a half old. He is being shown in the Conformation ring, owner-handled, but we are also working toward Obedience and Rally titles. He also shows great promise as a Certified Therapy Dog.
There’s also a 16-year old miniature Dachshund, a.k.a the Warden, who keeps the big dogs in line.
There’s always a camera around.
I was a staff photographer for USA TODAY for 26 years. In all, I’ve been a professional photographer for more than 40 years, beginning with the Lansing State Journal (Michigan). I retired from newspapers in 2015.
I have now launched my own photography business, specializing in storytelling using both stills and video. You can visit my business site at EileenBlass.com.
I hope you enjoy BernerWise. You’ll find great stories and photographs, lessons learned and training tips for both dog lovers and photographers.