About us

As a young girl growing up in Germany, I (Hannah) fell in love with the Bernese Mountain Dog the moment I first laid eyes on one. The soft tricolor coat, the gentle expression, the obvious love for children had won my heart for the next 30+ years to come. I had a purebred dog breed book that my sister and I would peruse for hours and we loved watching dog shows together, but despite having many favorite breeds make my list, the Berner remained at the very top. Fast forward into adulthood, marriage, and three young children, we decided after getting stationed in Maryland that we had enough stability to finally add a dog to the family. My husband loved the look of the Berner's Swiss cousin, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, but knowing the temperament of the Bernese Mountain Dog better suited our growing family and that I was going to be the primary caretaker (or so I thought) he committed to acquiring the breed I had been longing for.  On my 30th birthday we brought home our first little tricolored family member, Beretta. She was a tiny thing, the runt of her litter, but we were smitten. I found out the very next day that I was pregnant at 4 months postpartum (SURPRISE!) and thus Beretta quickly went from "my dog" to my husband's dog as he assumed the majority of her care and training while I delt with my unplanned pregnancy ailments. The love Beretta has for our family, and for my husband in particular, definitely won him over to the breed permanently. 

Fast forward another few years, and a couple more kids, and I knew that I was finally ready to acquire the Berner who would be MINE! We had learned a lot about the difference between a purebred and a truly well-bred purebred as well as backyard breeders and ethical preservation breeders. Beretta had come from the former and although she was an amazing family member, she did not measure up to all a Berner should be according to the breed standard. In addition to  that, I had aspirations to pursue my dream of dog shows at last. After much research and reaching out to breeders who checked my boxes for the highest quality, Beata Pluta behind the Von Romanshof kennel in Poland reached out to me to say she had a show prospect available! I had admired her breeding program for years and was so honored to be considered for one of her beautiful dogs. With the prospect of being stationed in Germany, we said yes to not only our fist well-bred purebred, but our first import that I could show both here and in Europe if we ended up there.

Bees And Honey Von Romanshof joined our family during my birth month (we like puppies born in March apparently) and would go on to become more to me than I ever could have imagined! We named her Tikka and at 5 months old with a few handling classes under our belt, we attended our first dog show where she went on to win a Beginner Puppy Group 2 out of a large and lovely lineup! As luck would have it, Maryland was a great location for dog shows, and a couple months later at the Potomac Valley Regional Specialty just 30 minutes from our home, Tikka not only took Best Puppy in Show both days, but a also took a 5 point major Reserve out of the 6-9 month puppy class under esteemed breeder judge, Denise Dean. I didn't quite know what that meant at the time, but it fueled me for more! With limited showing, we slowly began collecting points toward her championship with either me or occasionally my Berner breeder/handler friends Mickala Berta and Kristin Greenwood Reynolds at the end of her lead. At 2 1/2 years old (after a summer stint as a Reserve Queen to major after major) Tikka obtained the final major win needed to finish her championship...exactly one week before I was due with our sixth baby. That winning weekend my 10 year old daughter took Tikka into the ring for the first time and was awarded Best of Winners by none other than Denise Dean, the judge who gave me my first big win two years before. What a wild ride and amazing adventure it has been with so many new friends and amazing mentors along the way. We're excited to start this new chapter with Tikka as our foundation.