Puppies

Celestial Eclipse Litter: Summer 2024

Greta

+

Bryson

+ more about the parents

This litter was born June 6, 2024!

Greta and Bryson are a great match and we are expecting all tawny (include silver tawny) pups with black masking. Size should be average to above average for Chinooks. Being a 75% Chinook/25% Bernese Mountain Dog litter, we are expecting heads to more closely resemble Chinooks, but still retain some blockiness from the Berners. Temperaments are a standout for both dogs and we expect these pups to be great family dogs.

This will be a satellite litter for Desert Sol Chinooks with the puppies being raised outside Syracuse, New York with Greta's family and Desert Sol assisting Greta's family as much as possible, including the screening and supporting of the puppy’s new homes. Since this is a Chinook Breed Conservation Program, we'll be especially interested in homes willing to keep their dogs open for future breeding. If interested in a puppy from this litter please fill out a puppy application by clicking the button below.

Desert Sol Vitality Greta Nesryn (Greta)

Birth Date: 10/25/2019

Pedigree: Click here to see Greta's Pedigree (sire information available to puppy owners)

Hips: OFA Good

Elbows: OFA Normal

Eyes: OFA Normal 1/25/2022

Stats: 78 pounds, 25 inches

Registration: COA CBCP - X20-0115-50%

Genetic Test Results: Dwarfism: Clear, MDR1: Clear

Other: Seizure & allergy free

Greta was born October 25, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona as part of the Throne of Glass litter. We thought the name Greta was perfect for a mountain dog. Being 50/50 Bernese Mountain Dog/Chinook, Greta is a member of both the Chinook Breed Conservation Program and the Bernese Mountain Dog Vitality Project. Future Chinook and BMD litters will bring better health and diversity to both breeds. In August 2022, she had seven puppies as part of BMD Vitality project and currently shares our home with her almost 2 year old daughter, Hermione.

Greta is the queen of our house. She is smart and gentle and pretty quiet most of the time, unless there is a squirrel or some other invader in our yard or Jenn’s mom comes over (she loves her Grandma). From the beginning we stared into her big beautiful eyes and had lots of cuddles. She loves a belly rub! Greta is not one to hide her emotions so you know when she is bored, happy, annoyed, hungry, upset, excited, or content. She has many sound effects - and according to Jenn, even sounds like R2D2 sometimes.

Greta is a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and can occasionally be found in Jenn’s Elementary school library as the reading dog, licking faces and making people smile. She enjoys training, especially if there are treats involved. She is also a good traveler, once she has settled, and has gone on several trips to Canada, Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania on vacation to see family. Greta loves her people and we love her right back!

Bashaba Mackenzie Bryson (Bryson)

Birth Date: 3/2/2016

Pedigree: Click here to see Bryson's Pedigree

Hips: OFA Good, PennHIP 0.33/0.35

Eyes: OFA Normal 9/22/2022

Stats: 80 pounds, 27 inches

Registration: UKC - A874557

Genetic Test Results: Dwarfism: Clear, MDR1: Clear

Other: Seizure & allergy free

Bryson loves to be outside exploring new places and revisiting old favourites. Named for the author Bill Bryson, Bryson's human was reading the book A Walk in the Woods at the time Bryson came home to Canada from New Jersey. It's no wonder that he loves spending time on trails any time of year - though he's happy to enjoy a more relaxed place and plenty of ponds, rivers, and lakes in the hotter months. He's been a motivated puller in harness for skijoring and canicross, and while he'll win no races, he gets very excited when his harness comes out of the gear closet. He equally loves his backpack, and has done multiple overnight backpacking adventures. This fall, Bryson and his human will head out to the La Cloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario. A full week of adventuring on rocks and in forests will be a highlight of the autumn. Were it not for his human's appalling inability to complete paperwork, Bryson would have completed a few of the Chinook Owner's Association Active Chinook Program achievements. While Bryson loves camping and is well-mannered in a tent, canoes are not his favourite, and he's happy to wade but doesn't love swimming.

When not exploring the wide world, Bryson loves meeting and playing with other dogs. He's good at matching their energy and has played very hard with his buddy Oliver, a stout black lab. He'll also lay down to be eye to eye with Tagg, a miniature Schauzer. Indoors, Bryson loves to compare soft surfaces, evaluating the comfort of the couch, his bed, his human's bed, and, when possible, a pile of laundry. He loves anything to do with fish and the sound of any can being opened is a cue that tuna or sardines will end up in his bowl. He has not yet figured out that other stuff also comes in cans. Although he has an independent streak, he does love a good morning cuddle and is not an early riser, but once he's up, he wants to be outside, and will tap dance in his excitement to get out and enjoy the day.

Birth

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 8 - 8/1/2024

The puppies have all gone to their forever homes and it was quite the journey! International travel, breeding during a solar eclispe (another one won't happen in the U.S. until 2044!), talking to all the new puppy owners over zoom, living life as normal as they can, all while raising 10 puppies to be bomb proof, well socialized, wonderful dogs with amazing temperaments! How did we get so lucky to have so many excellent satellite breeder homes?!?!

Oh, my goodness Jenn and Becky did an AMAZING JOB with these puppies!!!! We are so glad the bulk of the puppy time that they had the summer open to be able to spend all the time with them and not have to work (they both work in schools as a librarian and band teacher). We only had one 10 puppy litter at our home, and we know how hard it is to raise 10 puppies! And they both literally saved Artemis' life (along with the help of Jenn's mom, Barb, who was puppy sitter too)! I'm so glad that she gets to be near them living with Barb (Sunday dinners with Arti!). Hopefully they can visit the NH pups from time to time. We can't thank you both enough for the amazing job on raising these wonderful pups. You guys are so great at it. :)

Thanks so much to our satellite breeders Jenn and Becky!

The Celestial Eclipse litter (as always in order of appearance):

Desert Sol Celestial Yukiakari (fka Andromeda)

Name Origin/Destination:

Yuki will be heading to WA to live with Todd and Sabrina. She has already been on many hiking adventures with her parents, getting to see such beautiful scenery most of us dream of seeing. You can actually see some of this beauty (dog and mountains) as she won two calendar months in the 2025 COA Chinook Calendar!

Yuki’s name was well thought out and has a lot of meaning, especially tying into her Celestial litter theme. Yuki is Japanese for ‘snow’, and her family is obsessed with ski trips in Japan. Also, Chinooks and BMD’s have mountain snow heritage, so it was fitting for her breeds as well. Yuki also means ‘happiness and good fortune’. The full name of Yukiakari means ‘snow light’ and ‘snow brightness’ (that extra glow at night in the snow), which they felt is a magical scene and love the concept. They kept Celestial in the name to include the litter theme as well. So in short, ‘Celestial Yukiakari’ could be described as a galaxy (snowy light in space) which also ties into her litter name of Andromeda. Finally, the Japanese kanji for ‘akari’ includes characters for the sun and moon which ties into an eclipse, which she was literally created during the 2024 eclipse!

Call Name:

Yuki

Sex:

Female

Weight:

14lb 2oz

Desert Sol Azula (formerly known as Nebula)

Name Origin/Destination:

Azula went to NH to live with Danielle and Sam. They were looking for a puppy that can enjoy the outdoors with them as well as be a cuddle bug at the end of the day. Sam hopes that Azula can join him in his truck while out working in construction from time to time. Fun fact, Sam first heard about Chinooks because his sister is a 2nd grade teacher and had Chinooks in her classroom each year to learn about the breed as the ‘State dog of NH’.

Sam is a fan of the animated TV show ‘Avatar’ growing up (lol too bad they weren’t looking for a puppy when we had the Avatar litter! Both the Celestial and Avatar litters are cousins so it’s still fitting.) Even though Azula is an antagonist in the series, they chose the name because it’s strong and a fun name that reflects the pup’s personality.

Call Name:

Azula

Sex:

Female

Weight:

12lb 14oz

Desert Sol Sugar Bear Nova (formerly known as Nova)

Name Origin/Destination:

SugarBear will go to live in PA with David and Angela and their son. They have a mini-farm with chickens and keep honey bees (which SugarBear learned fast that they are not to be messed with) and hope to add goats. She will also have adventures on mountain hikes and water activities.

Sugar Bear’s name comes from the Bravo Co 4-123 AvReg Chinook (helicopters) unit where David was stationed early on in his Army career. The name is said to have originated during the Vietnam War when Chinooks (helicopters) would deliver supplies, including the breakfast cereal Sugar Crisp with its mascot, the Sugar Bear, to the soldiers. The Chinook dog breed was in Alaska where they were used to run supplies by dog sled much like the helicopters running supplies in Vietnam. So the name SugarBear is fitting. SugarBear (fka Nova) has Alaskan blood running through her veins and is an Alaskan at heart.

Call Name:

SugarBear

Sex:

Female

Weight:

15lb 6oz

Desert Sol Kaladin (formerly known as Asterix)

Name Origin/Destination:

Kaladin made it to NJ, where he will live with his human, Zevi, who cannot wait to get him hiking, biking, longboarding, snowboarding, and as many other outdoor excursions as possible.

Kaladin, or Kal for short, got his name from a character from Brandon Sanderson's book series, The Stormlight Archive. In the story, Kal goes through battling and mastering the elements and himself to learn that it's about the Journey before the Destination! Zevi hopes to enjoy every day with the nugget as a new Journey as the Destination is getting out there and enjoying the time together, while embracing all the elements!

Call Name:

Kal

Sex:

Male

Weight:

15lb 6oz

Desert Sol Artemis

Name Origin/Destination:

Artemis will be staying in NY nearby Jenn and Becky since she will be living with Jenn’s mom Barb! Barb helped out a lot with the litter so it’s extra special that she got to care for her future pup. We all know that Artemis was a tiny one, needing extra feeding and care and now she’s thriving! Barb built a special bond with her during this time. Jenn and Becky will get to see Arti weekly for Sunday dinner, which means mom Greta gets to see her again too! (Not sure how she feels about that, ha!) Arti (pronounced RT) is keeping her name, but Barb says that RT also stands for ‘rough and tough’, that’s her girl!

Call Name:

Sex:

Female

Weight:

10lb 0oz

Desert Sol Aurora

Name Origin/Destination:

Aurora is heading to NH with Briana and Herb and their daughter (another daughter is in college). Their favorite activity they look forward to doing with Aurora is vacuuming… lol! No, really the favorite activities they are looking forward to are having a great running and hiking partner!

While her family was waiting to learn which puppy would be coming home with them, they would look at the puppy’s pictures for inspiration and add names to their list. As a family they would score and rank the names on the list, continuing to both add and eliminate names as they went. Aurora wasn't even a name on the list, but when they got the news she would be coming home with them, her sweet little face just matched her litter name. Plus, it's such a great name! There are both a Goddess and a Princess named Aurora! In Latin ‘aurora’ refers to dawn. What holds more possibilities than the break of day?

Call Name:

Aurora

Sex:

Female

Weight:

12lb 3oz

Desert Sol Voidbringer (formerly known as Venus)

Name Origin/Destination:

Brin went to live in UT with Lydia and Justin, their three children and Lydia’s father. She will bring joy wherever she goes whether it’s the farmer’s market, the family horse farm or on weekend hikes!

Voidbringer is a name from the Brandon Sanderson The Stormlight Archive series. (Kal and Brin’s families did not know the other was naming their pups after characters in the same series! What a funny surprise.) Voidbringers are the legendary creatures of the ancient Desolations. We think little Brin is cuter than these shadow creatures though, ha! There's a quote they love where one of the characters is teasing her spren and calling him a Voidbringer. “You're my pet Voidbringer, and no lies are going to change that. I got you captured. No stealing souls, now. ”

Call Name:

Brin

Sex:

Female

Weight:

14lb 5oz

Desert Sol Camber Joye (formerly known as Luna)

Name Origin/Destination:

Camber Joye is living with Liz and Kaisa and their two boys in NH. She will get to be outside a lot as they are outdoor enthusiasts, love to garden, go to the kid’s baseball games, winter sports and more!

Camber means ‘a bend in a horizontal surface’, it’s a term often applied to snowboards and is a preference of the more experienced riders on the mountain for its stability, response and grip on snow. Both Kaisa and Liz are avid winter enthusiasts and are also expert snowboarders, which is why they chose the name. They also learned that Chinooks can be ‘bendy’ and thought that term fit that as well! Joye comes from ‘joy’ itself and how much joy the puppy will bring to their family. It’s also a nod to Kaisa’s grandmothers name Joye as they share a deep connection with their grandparents.

Call Name:

Camber Joye

Sex:

Female

Weight:

13lb 13oz

Desert Sol Celeste June (formerly known as Celeste)

Name Origin/Destination:

CJ is now in IL with Jamine and her daughter. Jamine wanted a dog she could go on daily walks, weekend hikes and jogging during the summer and fall. They hope to also go on roadtrips with their pup.

Jamine and her daughter wanted to name their next dog CJ in honor of their previous dog. The loved her litter name of Celeste and added June to it to commemorate her birth month. Both these together fit perfectly with the CJ nickname

Call Name:

Sex:

Female

Weight:

15lb 10oz

Desert Sol Bear Bogart (formerly Mars)

Name Origin/Destination:

Bear will be heading to CA with Keith and Henrietta. There he will enjoy hikes, walks on the beach or just hanging around the yard with his family.

They thought that Mars looked like a little Bear so that’s how he got his name. Bear is a powerful symbol in Native American cultures for strength, courage and wisdom. It also means ‘brown one’, coming from the Old English word ‘bera’

Call Name:

Bear

Sex:

Male

Weight:

15lb 10oz