About

Remington came to us in the summer of 2012 under the name "Tank". He was about 50 lbs. undernourished, depressed, filthy, smelly and all-around deflated. He suffered from hot spots on his elbows and sides of his feet, was obviously suffering from malnutrition and had an ear infection. The first order of business was to get him cleaned up and groomed and change his name to something that was more dignified. Thus, Remington was chosen. His first week, he was given a free grooming session by a local mobile groomer and ended up biting her causing 16 stitches. I was horrified and for several weeks, he was only permitted contact with Floyd and Derrick was his primary caretakers. After passing professional dog aggression tests and becoming more trusting of people he began to blossom into the dog he aspired to be and took 'uncle Timmy' as his "best buddy" and Remington follows Tim wherever he goes and lays at his feet. During the summer months he spends a great deal of time outside, running and playing. With 4.5 acres - he has lots of room to romp. We have security cameras all over the property so we can always keep a watchful eye on his activities (he's rarely unsupervised) - but in the winter when it's "potty time" - he knows to make his way to the nearby wooded area and it's only there he does "his business". He is also outfitted with a light-up collar to better see his whereabouts in the darkness. The first few winters he was kept in a private heated room where he had free reign and a memory-foam mattress - (yes - this dog had more amenities than most people do). While never intentionally causing any harm or damage to anything in the room, he's a dog that slobbers A LOT and let's just say that room will need a good paint job this summer!! This past winter (2015/2016), he refused to be in the room and wanted to be in the house with the rest of the family and the other dog. Being the kind-hearted person I am, I found a suitable blanket and let him in one evening when it was particularly cold (mind you the room was heated) - and allowed him to lay on the floor with us. To my shock and surprise - he was very well behaved. He stayed on his blanket and never caused any commotion. The other dog was not so impressed and freaked out every move Remington made ... but dogs are like that when someone new moves into 'their territory'. That night he was put back out to his private room and the next morning he was up early... barking because he wanted "back in". Having to choose between the loud, thunderous sound of a deep-bellows of a 180 lb. dog or just letting him have his way - I opted to just let him in and see what happened. Again - to my surprise - I went back to bed and he never stirred from his blankie. He's been in the house for about 2 months now and aside from the occasional slobber on my leather couch, he really has not caused any headaches that would warrant me separating him from the family. Occasionally he will drink from the other dog's bowl and make a huge wet mess on my commercial tile kitchen floor ... but outside of that - the only hardships I face is having to run the sweeper every single day and dust the hair from my TV stand and tables each day. St. Bernard's shed small poodles every day!! They also consume large quantities of food - and when you are buying wholesome, high-end food this can be quite costly! But seeing him now and when he first arrived - the transition is astonishing. I have been treating him with Tea Tree oil during his baths and this has greatly cut down on both his itching and shedding and he smells great and is so so soft! Most of the day he spends sleeping. During the day he will occasionally come to my office and make an appearance just to "say hi" - and then again retreat back into the living room to his blanket and it's off to dreamland again for a few more hours. At night time, after he gets his round of good night kisses, I hear him plop down outside the bedroom door and there he stays until morning when I open the door and am greeted with a 180 Lb. ball of fluffy love. Admittedly, having to tiptoe around a large beast first thing in the morning gets the morning stretches out of the way - but can also be a challenge when nature wants you to reach the bathroom in a timely manner! For the rest of his adult life, he will have an abundance of love, generous exercise and toys and a warm home for as long as he wants.

Sadly in the fall of 2016 Remington was diagnosed with bone cancer. After countless doctors appointments and ups and downs. We had to make the hard decision to put Remington to sleep. Before he suffered much more, it was truly the hardest thing we have ever had to do. On Saturday, December 17th 2016 Remington had his last big adventure until we meet him again on rainbow bridge. Before Remington passed away I was in the process of rebranding Bortner Designs LLC. I chose to change the full name to Remington Design Studios LLC. This would allow Remington to live on in memory forever.