Formed in a San Francisco park in 1974 as the first regional BMD club, this 25th anniversary was one worthy of notice and a natural time to honor the past and acknowledge the accomplishments of the San Francisco Bay Berners.
Were you there? or do you know?
when each of these Berner things was done by the SFBB for the
first time in the U.S.A?
< First fun-match (Bernerfest with costumes, Swiss music andguest folk dancers),
< First AKC Sanctioned B-OB & A-OA matches with qualification for BMDCA to hold a Breed Specialty,
< Computerized complete records of BMD-OFA hip certifications, < First BMD Regional Club formed,
< Started Club rescue/rehome service,
< First all-Berner Obedience class (ages included 4mo.- 8yrs),
< 12 adjustable harnesses were ordered from a saddle maker,
< Application for AKC recognition as regional group was refused on basis that name could not contain the word BERNER
< Entertainment for SF Bay Area community with cart rides and square dancing; was videotaped by two different TV stations,
< Adoption of 'breeding control code' (later withdrawn in favor of membership 'Guidelines' for progeny testing),
< Supplied Berner cases to Dr. Wind, UC Davis, for first formal study of elbow dysplasia,
< Alerted BMDCA about concern of cancer frequency,
< Brought first overseas judge (Eva Walliser for Puppy Sweeps) and acted as 'host club' of that 1986 San Francisco Specialty,
< introduced first 'planning booklet' ('Bare Knees' theme!)
< first Specialty setup of a 'Confidence Course' (predating 'Agility')
< the International BMD Database was on public view for first time;
< with Canadian/USA cooperation, the square dance waspresented with 12 dog/people couples (do you remember the one errant puppy -- stuffed?)
< Established Steering Committee and funding which resulted in incorporation of the Berner-Garde Foundation as an independent, fully tax-exempt organization.
< When 2 additional clubs formed in the SF Bay Area, they met with the BMDCA and, in absentia of the SFBB, defined the limited territories for AKC recognition of the 3 clubs' activities.
< Talks of merging two of the clubs revealed there was no model in the dog world for cooperative, merging ventures; there were only models for separating or dissolving.
< A grant was given to the GDC to be awarded to a project which would increase the participation to submit BMD tumors for open registry. This fund was awarded to Dr. Peter Moore, UC Davis to develop a website for the latest information on histiocytic proliferative diseases.