Thank you for your interest in adopting a Bernese Mountain Dog.  I am Chairperson for the Chattahoochee Valley Bernese Mountain Dog Club (CVBMDC) Rescue and Re-Home effort, and hope to be able to assist you.

The CVBMDC includes Berner owners and fanciers from most of the SE states, and our rescue and adoption activity also covers those states.   We receive and screen numerous requests to adopt,  and also are available to help Berners in need of rescue from shelters or unfortunate circumstances, or to assist in finding a new home for Berners whose current owners are unable to keep them due to difficult personal situations.       

    The adoption process includes completion of the attached application which we will review in order to determine what type of dog would best suit your preferences and your home and lifestyle. After that one of us may contact you by phone to discuss your application.  We may also contact the veterinarian and/or neighbor who you provide to us as references.

    Once a rescue or re-home Berner is located that could be a possible match we will contact you and share with you as much information about the dog and its history as we are able to collect.  If it looks like a good match we will proceed to place the Berner with you.  We hope you realize that this whole process may take time: some weeks we have several calls for rescue or relinquishment of Berners, and some weeks it is thankfully quiet. Also we are usually dealing with dogs of varying needs, and hopeful adopters with varying wishes.

 If the Berner placed with you becomes a permanent part of your family, we will ask that you sign an Adoption Agreement and also consider making a contribution to the CVBMDC rescue fund which is used for veterinary and other expenses for rescued Berners before they are placed.  We hope you also will accept an invitation to apply for membership in the CVBMDC to join in various activities with other Berner fanciers.

As you enter this process it will be helpful for you to become as acquainted as possible with the beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog.  The following websites contain lots of information:
http://www.bmdca.org/
http://www.cvbmdc.org/

...and of course we are available to help answer any questions you may have.

I look forward to receiving your completed application, and I hope we can identify the right Berner for you!

Thank you,

Sloane Shepard

Atlanta, CVBMDC Rescue Chairperson