38 Saint Bernards breathing

October 3, 2015 5:57 AM

Lasqueti Island in British Colombia is home to about 350 year-round human residents and a whole bunch of Saint Bernards.

Featured in episode 9 of Can I Pet Your Dog? (a relatively new Maximum Fun podcast with hosts Allegra Ringo and Renee Colvert as well as producer Travis McElroy), Tikki Smith's Lasquite Saint Bernards are pretty much the best thing on a Saturday. (Or any day!)

Want to know more about the secret island of Saints?

There's a video of Tikki Smith's daughter Ruthie walking with 36 Saints. (This is a moment where she gets scared, but she's laughing at the end.)

There are puppies! And more puppies!

There is always lots of breathing.

And there are more videos. [Previously]

posted by minsies (28 comments total)

(This is my first post, but I missed First Post September by a, um, paw.)

There's supposedly a Facebook group for the Lasquite Saint Bernards, but I don't have a Facebook account to check if it works. If you do, here you go!
posted by minsies at 6:00 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

The cookie stand operates on an honour system and is always worth checking out.

This is my kind of place. I must figure out a way to move there immediately.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:17 AM on October 3, 2015

THIS IS A GREAT FIRST POST!
posted by torridly at 7:03 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Veritable oceans of drool, I'm imagining.

Great first post!!
posted by nevercalm at 7:06 AM on October 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

Any month is First Post month when you've got that many puppies. Good post. That's right, you're a good post. Who's a good post? You! You're a good post! Yes you are. Yes you are. Good post. Good post.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:28 AM on October 3, 2015 [16 favorites]

Lasqueti! Home of special boat builder Allen Farrell.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 7:38 AM on October 3, 2015

British Columbia, with a u. (British Colombia didn't quite work out.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:09 AM on October 3, 2015 [4 favorites]

Oops! Apologies for that. I got a little excited.
posted by minsies at 8:26 AM on October 3, 2015

Super first post, thank you!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:36 AM on October 3, 2015

I have loved that breathing video since I first saw it, relaxed and full of special brownies. In my mind, the st. bernards went on forever, and that was a magical thing.
posted by sazerac at 8:47 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Life as a Tom Robbins novel
posted by Going To Maine at 8:52 AM on October 3, 2015

I first heard about this island after spending a weekend at my friends cottage just and island or two over.
posted by Canageek at 9:24 AM on October 3, 2015

I want to go to there.
posted by clavicle at 9:46 AM on October 3, 2015

Come to Lasqueti, famous for our pant-o plays.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:55 AM on October 3, 2015

Not the Berns! Not the Berns!
posted by Flashman at 9:57 AM on October 3, 2015

Feels the berns
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:05 AM on October 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've been to Lasqueti. I didn't notice any Saint Bernards. I guess this means I need to go back sometime.
posted by philip-random at 10:25 AM on October 3, 2015

Hug
Hug
Hug
Hug
Smooch
Good doggie
Hug
Hug
Hug
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:04 AM on October 3, 2015

I saw lots of feral sheep when I visited Lasqueti Island. No feral St. Bernards though. It's an interesting place, one of the poorest communities in BC (according to official statistics), but also one of the highest proportions of population with Ph.Ds.
posted by Emanuel at 2:24 PM on October 3, 2015

That's rather cute but I'm now curious about whether they've been there long enough to evolve a drool-tolerate species of moss.
posted by adamsc at 3:01 PM on October 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

SO MUCH SLOBBER.

Adorable doggies! I am slain by the cute!
posted by rmd1023 at 5:57 PM on October 3, 2015

They bring in tons of food by barge

I don't think that's an exaggeration. They must need container loads of dog food for the St. Bernards! Is there a video of their mealtime?
posted by Alnedra at 7:20 PM on October 3, 2015

Here's a great little profile of the breeder, Tiki. Her mother was a back-to-the-lander in the 70s and raised her in an unheated cabin in those woods. Something tells me with all those St Bernards around, Tiki never has to worry about being cold ever again.

Those mountain dogs are generally a great fit for the Pacific Northwest climate, where it never gets very hot, but it is chilly (if not outright cold) much of the year. There are a ton of Bernese Mountain Dogs in Seattle.
posted by lunasol at 8:04 PM on October 3, 2015

The paws on those puppies are just so giant! I just want to kiss them (the paws and the puppies).
posted by Neely O'Hara at 9:09 PM on October 3, 2015

I want to be there.
posted by equestrian at 11:06 PM on October 3, 2015

There was a Pugfest held at Meany Middle School's auditorium a decade or so past, which featured a moment of silence to listen to a chorus of a couple of hundred pugs wheeze.
posted by y2karl at 4:46 PM on October 4, 2015 [3 favorites]

I almost flashed back to Cyriak's Cows Cows Cows animation
posted by not_on_display at 1:45 PM on October 5, 2015

documentary on this place by a local news crew. Tiki is featured along with others.

http://vancouverisawesome.com/2015/03/01/secret-island-50-miles-from-vancouver-where-locals-live-off-the-grid/
posted by concreteforest at 3:19 PM on October 17, 2015