The evening of 7/11/06, I got a phone call from the director of the City of Berkeley shelter, saying that she had a dog (intact male, taken in as a stray, thus no history on him ) there who looked like a Bouvier to her. She was hoping I would bail him out of the shelter because he was reacting very badly to the stress of being there : he was trembling and not eating well. She assured me that several people had handled him and that he was completely gentle to handle and a nice dog in every way. She also was phoning BCNC's former rescue chairperson who lived nearby to ask her to come see the dog and evaluate as to whether or not he was a Bouvier. I said that if he was a Bouv or a Bouv mix, I would be willing to rescue him whether or not the club would and that the club was not willing to sponsor mixes.
 
Well the report from our former rescue chair was that the dog was not even part Bouvier. Possibly a Newfie or Newf cross ? (Which is the opinion she had expressed about a previous dog in a differenct shelter, but that dog was showing a fair bit of aggression , so I did not pursue the matter. I have to assume that that dog died in the shelter.) But she confirmed that the dog was very gentle, though she felt he was also somewhat unresponsive generally and did not seem to seek affection from her. (That kind of shut down personality could be his genuine personality or it could be a reaction to shelter stress : some dogs go actively nutzo and some go into zombie mode.)
So I phoned a Newf rescue person who lives very near the shelter and she said she could go in an hour or so and would report back to me. I was preparing myself to tell the shelter director that I probably could not bail this dog as I was likely to have difficulty placing him. Meanwhile I checked my e-mail and found that two different people had found this dog , on on the shelter's own site and the other on petfinder, and both thought he looked like a Bouvier. I checked the photos, of which the best is the one shown above, and I thought he looked like he could be a Bouv mix or he could be just a "pretender", but that in any case his face really reached out and grabbed me. The Newf rescue person said he was not a Newf or Newf mix and she had no idea what breed designation to put on him, but he was a very sweet gentle dog and if I decided to bail him, she would refer possible adopters to me.

Well , partly because I had already assured the director that I'd take him if she was Bouvish enough that I could place him, and partly because two independant opinions from knowledgeable people had backed up the shelter director's statement that he was a really nice dog behaviorally (which should be the major factor for any sensible adopter !) and my own eyes told me he was appealing visually (which does help a dog get placed), and partly because although the shelter director intended to avoid putting him down if at all possible I knew all too well that dogs who are not doing well in the shelter environment can go downhill behaviorally and in health very drastically and reach the point where the decision to kill them does get made, for all these reasons , and maybe (maybe ?) because I am a bit crazy, I went to check him out. He was as nice as stated. Moreover when we tested him with two of the shelter cats, cats used to judging dogs' reactions, he showed only mild benign interest. When a dog shows that he could adjust to living with cats, that opens a lot of homes that would be closed to the majority of Bouvier, that majority who regard cats as squeeky toys or as prey. I should add that everyone on the shelter staff loved him and one man in particular had spent hours grooming him and bathing him. This is the first shelter dog I ever bailed who actually smelled good ; he smells better than most of my own dogs.
 
Because up to now this poor dog had been treated pretty much as a nobody, I named him "Nemo". That's Nemo as in Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, not Nemo as in the recent Pixar cartoon. He has been treated as nobody and nothing, but I will give him the chance to be somebody and become something.
 
Nemo has been here ten days now. In that time he has gone from being a very shut-down zombie dog to being a very laid back but responsive and affectionate dog. He is not affectionate in a demanding way, but he will come up and gently gently lean against me or gently gently put his head under my hand. He gets along well with all my other dogs, at one point with 6 of them, and he tolorates Shady mounting him without the slightest protest. He had probably never been inside a house before, or else lived in a house that did not have TV or radio, because he spooked briefly the first time I turned on my TV. He recovered quickly. He learned to use the dog door quickly and appears to have housebroken himself (and during his frist few days here, in my kennel run, he showed a very strong den-cleanliness instinct by never eliminating inside the run). While he does not "target" to a food lure, and indeed the first few days would not take any treats from my hand, he has responded gradually to training . I taught him Sit by physically moving his head up with the halter and pushing down on his butt (which is much like trying to move a large cement block) and praising warmly when he actually touched his tush to the ground. While he will probably never be a vivacious dog or an exhuberant one, that is not such a bad thing considering he weights a bit over 100 lbs. While he is not dogdom's fastest learner, though that may improve now that he is more eager to take food from my hand so I may be able to use it as a "target" or "lure", he is generally well behaved enough that he will need only the basics. He comes fairly well just to get a bit of petting.
 
This is a very nice dog, regardless of whether he carries any Bouvier genes. Our current club rescue chair has met him and commented that she thinks he could be a Bouv as he resembles some she has known, especially Luke who has served as a home-trained Disability Assistance dog for a friend of hers who has major mobility challenges. Now that I think about it , he also is that same very heavy bodied type as Hardy, whose owner from puppyhood said he was a true Bouv, and also Zorro. Both are photographed n this site He also looks a lot like a genuine Bouvier X Newfie cross whom I rescued some years back, with breed designation by his surrendering owner. I do not have that photo on my site . So maybe he is and maybe he isn't. Only the Goddess knows for sure, and I don't have Her e-mail address to ask her.
My vet looked and looked and thought and thought and said that she would call him a "Canardly" , meaning "I can hardly begin to guess".
Bouvs do come in quite a range of sizes and shapes. I have seen registered Bouvs ranging from quite huge to quite petite and agile. I have seen registered Bouvs range from ponderous and massive (draft horse build) to a very lean and leggy (race horse build) type. Eg my current foster dog Blake looks more like a Giant Schnauzer than a Bouv, but he came to me as an owner surrender with a sales contract and pedigree from a long time Bouv breeder back east who advertises herself as breeding authentically European style Bouvs. I got a photo of Nemo and Blake next to each other a day or so ago and will add it in here. Of course part of the difference is that Nemo has a very full coat and Blake has been clipped down all over about a month ago.
 

 
Now maybe you have noticed that some people out there are gullible enough to spend $1200 or $1400 or more for a "Designer Dog" which is simply a cross-bred dog with an imaginative and appealing name on it. So maybe Nemo is really a Newfoundland crossed with a Golden Retriever (size, shape, and hair coat would be compatible), so maybe I should call him a "NewfoundGold" and ask people to pay $1400 for him. ( But unfortunately I still have some ethical principles to inhibit me.) So folks, here is your golden oppertunity to get a wonderful DesignerDog for just one quarter the normal price !!! His adoption fee is my normal $350, rather than the $1400 that you'd pay for a "Designer Dog" who might be a whole lot less enjoyable to live with.
 
Nemo still needs to be neutered. I had it set up for a few days ago, but my vet spotted something I'd missed (three whaps over the head with a rolled up newspaper for me !), namely a canine tooth (the big fang) broken off at the gum line. She can extract the root at the same time she neuters him, but the assistant who is most skilled in helping with this had to be away that day. So now we have it planned for 7/24/06. He has already had his DHLP and Rabies vaccinations, tested negative for heartworm and is on prevention.
Nemo will be a treasure for someone who wants a very calm companion of impressive size and demeanor who is loving without being a nuisance.
 
UPDATE 8/24/06 :
Nemo has now been neutered and free of his broken fang for a month . Since his surgery Nemo has really come to life. He has become very affectionate with me whenever I indicate I am receptive, while remaining good about minding his own business when I am otherwise occupied. He is still very laid back in the house, but he has come to life on walks and really enjoys going out. He gets along well with other dogs, including small ones. Gets along well at the dog park though not very playful. He is very benign when other dogs behave rudely to him.
He has been visited by a couple of potential adopters and we have had some other visitors lately, which has caused me to discover that he is initially afraid of strangers and so his first impression to a visiting adopter is not a winning one. He will very cautiously take food treats from stranger's hand , but his body is leaned back, ie ready to retreat fast. on second visit the improvement is very noticeable. It will probably take three visits or a very long all day visit with maybe stay overnight and return next day for most of the day kind of introduction for him to get comfortable enough to show his real potential to an adopter. It does seem to help if the adopter has a dog in their lap however.
I want to make very very clear that he is NOT a fear-biter, NOT self-defensive aggressive at all. He shows his fear by retreating, or if retreat is not possible he stands there trembling and enduring his fear and enduring whatever you do to him. (Had he been a fear biter , I would have euthanized him.) He is timid rather than hard-core shy. the timid dog adapts to new things but more slowly, assuming anything new is probably dangerous, but able to learn that something is harmless or even wonderful. the hard core shy dog never really adjusts, or adjusts extremely slowly and reverts back to the default state of fear very easily.
He is also a bit nervous or anxious in crowds or where there is a lot of noise or traffic, eg at the busy Farmers' Market with live music and large crowds. He is OK at the dog park however, where there is more space between people and much less noise. I think he would be best off in a rural home and worst off in a high density urban setting. How he came to be in Berkely is unknown and unknowable, as is whatever bad experiences he may have had there.
Nemo is a very sweet dog and very easy to live with. He is very much worth taking some extra trouble during the initial phase of a relationship. And don't forget that he seems benign with cats, and that is not very common in Bouviers.
 
For an appointment to meet Nemo, please phone Pam Green at (530) 756-2997 between 10 am and 5 pm California time. I do not normally consider adopters who live more than 200 to 400 miles from Sacramento.