Residents concerned for Bernese Mountain Dogs seen wandering Murrysville since January

It’s not that easy to lose a Bernese Mountain Dog, at least from a visual standpoint.

They can get up to 110 pounds, and the breed traces its lineage back, in part, to the ancient Roman mastiffs. The American Kennel Club characterizes them as loyal, calm and high-energy.

Two Berneses — both with minimal identifying information, and one that was diagnosed as malnourished by a local veterinarian — have been found in the same part of Murrysville since January, and some residents are concerned that they are potentially being abandoned.

The first was found Jan. 7 at the corner of Hilty and Maiolie roads, a female with a flea collar but no identification tag or microchip. Despite a post and photo being shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook, an owner could not be located.

“When the first dog was found, after about two weeks I’d called a bunch of local police departments, local vets, Walkers Pet Ho-Tail (on Route 22) and we got no response,” said Lynn Petrocelli of Murrysville. “We thought maybe it could be an older dog owner who doesn’t use social media.”

A second Bernese turned up early Wednesday morning on the porch of a Sinan Farm Drive home, less than two miles from where the first was found.

“It struck me as odd,” said Karen Artuso of Norvelt, president of the Three Rivers Bernese Mountain Dog Club, which helps rescue Berneses that need to be re-homed or taken to a specialty shelter that cares for the large-breed dogs.

“We’ve been calling him ‘Moose,’ because he’s a giant,” said Maria Germansky of Murrysville, who is keeping the second Bernese as she tries to locate his owner. “He does have a chip, but it’s unregistered.”

Petrocelli and her friend Christine Jurmann of Murrysville used the number on the chip to determine the manufacturer.

“The first few numbers will give you an idea of where the chip is from,” Jurmann said. “This one is a type you can buy on Amazon and put in yourself. A lot of ‘backyard’ breeders tend to use those chips.”

Germansky said ‘Moose’ was in poor shape when she first saw him.

“It seems like either he was out for a very long time, or he escaped from someplace where he wasn’t taken care of,” she said. “His coat was very matted. At first we thought his nails were trimmed, but when we took him to the vet, they turned out to be worn out, almost to the quick, from running. The vet said he was malnourished.”

Germansky spent most of her day off Wednesday trying to track down an owner, calling Artuso’s group along with another club, Berners of Pittsburgh, with no luck.

“Somebody has to be missing him,” she said. “I’d bet money he came from a ‘backyard’ breeder, especially considering the other Bernese that was found near here.”