LivingInPatagonia.com

Bergen’s 13th Birthday

Written by Shanie

Today is our eldest canine son’s 13 birthday. 

I have to say that I am a very proud mom. 

Bergen is doing outstanding as he is turns 91 in human years.  He is still running on the trails, hiking up steep mountains, and teaching his younger siblings how to worker smarter, not harder on big days out in the wilderness. 

Bergen is originally from Lake Tahoe, and he is a true Tahoe dog– he loves snow, the outdoors, and exercise. 

When we made the move to Argentina he flew with us on the plane, at our feet, as a search and rescue dog–everybody loved him (he was getting kudos the entire trip). 

He is a bit like a cat, though.  He truly has nine lives; he has been hit by a car twice, kicked in the head by a horse, rammed by a mother cow, was almost put to sleep in the pound (that’s when I came into his life), almost slid to his death on a steep blue-ice patch over exposure while skiing in the backcountry (his crampon-like paws pulled him out of danger before it became too close), and most recently decided to cross a swift moving river in close proximity to a large waterfall, which almost took him.  I feel so blessed that he is with us and fully enjoying life still.

He has also saved my life a few times; multiple times with scaring strange men trying to get into my tent, and helping Jamie and I find our way off a rock cliff in the pitch dark.  He also saved a baby goat from drowning in the river behind our farm.

Bergen has made our life so much brighter.   He is more than our best friend, we call him “our glue”.

So, today we did what he loves to do most–we went for a hike. 

Happy Birthday B-dog!