Cleo and Memphis are larger than life, figuratively speaking but also literally. Sitting at a combined weight of just over 100kg, both Bernese mountain dogs know how to hold their own.
Cleo and Memphis belong to Toolamba’s Fasano family, which has had both dogs since they were eight months old, with Cleo now seven years old and Memphis four.
Owner Kristy Fasano said her family had become accustomed to the large frames of the dogs.
“They will lean on you and sit on you, they think they’re lap dogs. If they’re going to sit near you they will sit so they’re leaning on you,” she said.
However, their size isn’t the only big thing about them. Both dogs have the spirit and energy to match it, as they run around the dog park chasing each other.
Cleo took on the alpha role when Memphis came into the Fasanos’ lives four years ago, according to Kristy.
“She's definitely an alpha over him,” Kristy said.
“She'll tell him what to do. He’s completely under her thumb.
“She can be too extreme though, like when he was little, he was interested in balls and then she told him balls are terrible. So he won’t have a bar of balls now.
“Cleo doesn't like toys. So she's told him not to play with toys.
“I've seen her go over to him and he's doing something, she'll go over and get him to stop and he’ll never do it again.
“Cleo’s excellent with babies and smaller people. Like a little toddler will be crawling along and she’ll deliberately lay in the way so they'll crawl on her, she absolutely loves it.
“But Memphis is terrified of anything that’s like two and under, they’re just too unpredictable for him.”
Despite their differences, Cleo and Memphis are the best of friends and know how to have fun together.
“Before we got Memphis, she was starting to get depressed,” Kristy said.
“She was really not herself and when we got him, she really perked up and they’ve been happy ever since.”
Though both dogs are similar in appearance, there are a few ways to tell them apart, with the most noticeable feature being that Memphis’s tail is considerably shorter than Cleo’s.
“When he was born it came out broken, it was like a big tick. So they cropped it on the spot rather than try and fix it,” Kristy said.
What Memphis does have though is a special bond with Zoe, one of the Fasano kids.
“Zoe and Memphis have a special bond for sure ... If Zoe’s on the ground, the dogs are already there,” Kristy said.
“I love having a friend around to always talk to,” Zoe said as she patted Memphis.
Bernese mountain dogs are naturally bred for the Swiss Alps, hence their heavy body weight, and despite Shepparton being quite flat, the Fasanos can imagine them enjoying the chilly mountain ranges.
“We really want to take them to the snow, they would love it; I mean, that’s what they’re bred for, the Swiss Alps,” Kristy said.
“We’ve also got a lot of dirt piles around the backyard and Cleo’s always at the top of them, but they’re her piles, Memphis is not allowed on them.”