About us.....

Let us briefly introduce ourselves. We are Marko and Natasja van Blanken – Schipper 57 and 58 years old, both born in Alkmaar – Netherlands. After years of our dream to emigrate to France, from the busy and stressful Netherlands together with our 6 long-haired Scottish Shepherds (Collies), we finally took the step in September 2022. We knew for sure, we wanted peace, nature and to start something for ourselves. Marko practices his profession as a gardener, and I will focus on our holiday home (Gite) that we rent out to people with dogs and I also do the administrative work, Trim (Groome) a few breeds and am a caregiver 1 day a week. In the middle of France in the beautiful quiet countryside.
Partly because of our hobby, the Collies, we ended up in France. As owners and hobby breeders of our pack of Scottish Shepherds longhair (Collies) under the kennel name: of the Lovely Bears, we have experienced that finding a holiday address with dogs and especially with multiple dogs is difficult to find.
Our dogs are always used to traveling with us, both to shows and on vacation. We are convinced that people with dogs should be able to go on vacation just as well. Our dogs have always traveled with us to different countries such as Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Belgium, England and France. We have always managed to find something, but with a lot of effort. So the first thing we definitely wanted to do was offer something to go on vacation with the dog/s.
Are people who do not have a dog not welcome?
Yes, certainly, family, acquaintances, friends and friends of friends who know that dogs are also staying in our gite are also welcome. We are convinced that we keep the gite VERY clean, but that does not mean that there might be a stray dog ​​hair lying around. If you are not allergic to this, you are certainly welcome even without a dog.