"If Dogs Could Talk"

Dear Friends,

In spite of the negative and very sad parts of life, our pets are here for us, giving us unconditional love and support and consistently improving and enriching our lives. In honor of this very important role they play, I'd like to share, yet another wonderful dog lover's email that I think will make just about anyone smile.

Once again, I can't take credit, I am just a messenger! Blessings to all for the New Year!

Here it is:
((I believe it’s credited to: Kay Resler, “Retired and Enjoying Life to the Max!!!!”))
It's called, "If Dogs Could Talk"

"Look . . . I was thirsty man, deal with it . "
__________________________________________________________________

"Touch de duck... I keel you."
______________________________________________________

'Weeeeeee!!! Look at me I'm Yoda!
__________________________________________________________________

"You want a piece of me? Bring it....!"
__________________________________________________________________

"Kid . . . you're askin' the wrong guy."
___________________________________________________________________

'I don't get it. Where's the milk?!'
__________________________________________________________________

'Wasssup!!'
______________________________________________________________

'Bread! You're seriously giving me bread . . . ?'
___________________________________________________________________

[sniff . . sniff] . . . . "Oh, this part of the movie always makes me cry"
_______________________________________________________________

"This stupid bird's about to get a snot bath."
______________________________________________________________

'Therrrz no way that was . . . [hiccup!] . . . juzzt milk . . . [hiccup] !'
_______________________________________________________________

"I . . . hate . . you."
______________________________________________________________

"Hi!!! I'm Teddy, a wild little Gemini . . . . aaaaaannnd, I, like,
you know, long walks on the beach.
Aaaannnd I just LOVE me some tennis balls. Byyeeee!!!!"
_________________________________________________________

'I'm not....[yawn]...tired, ok? I'm...just..... a little...sllleee..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz'
________________________________________________________

'BUT I DON'T WANNA GO...!!!! AAAAaaaaaahahhhahh'
______________________________________________________

"It was only a little pee, why the 30 minute timeout?"
______________________________________________

"Rrrrr.... I'm a Tiger. Rrrrrrr"
___________________________________

"So Dad left when he found out about Mom and the Panda."

______________________

THE END.

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Technical Difficulties

Hi Readers! I'm so sorry to have responded to your emails so late, I thought I had enabled forwarding to my main email but it seems I was mistaken and I have been neglecting my inbox!
So, my apologies and I shall try to maintain more effectively in 2009! I promise!

CRU VIN DOGS on THE TODAY SHOW!!!

Big news! Cru Vin Dogs Wines have been chosen by the Today Show on NBC for their "Gifts That Give Back" segment, airing on Monday, December 15th, 2008! Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb will be hosting, and the piece is to air during the "Fourth Hour" of the show. It will be on from10-11 AM Eastern Standard Time, 11AM-12PM in the Denver area. We'll be watching and we hope you will be too! Happy Holidays!!!

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Pig-Uppy

Ok animal lovers, this one is just too good not to share. I got this email from a family member and it is incredibly cute, again, I have no idea who wrote it or took the pictures, and cannot take credit for it, but it's special enough that it needs to be shared. I do hope it brightens your days!

"Dachshund & Pink the Pig

This Dachshund is fostering this little guy for another mom who couldn't take care of him. He had his eyes closed, but now they are open. He is just a little bigger than her other pups. She loves this little guy as much as the other puppies and she is nursing him back to health. He is the cleanest pig-uppy ever because she licks him all the time.
HIS NAME IS PINK....

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Cru Vin Dogs Dog of the Month for NOVEMBER

Hey there Cru Vin Dogs fans. I have a CVD Dog of the month! Our November dog is perfect for the first really snowy month of the year, a Newfoundland! He’s a big, beautiful boy whose parents are very proud of him and love him dearly. His loyal and careful care of his family make him a great candidate for this prestigious distinction.
Doc Diamond, you are the Cru Vin Dogs DOG OF THE MONTH for NOVEMBER!

I’ll let his mom tell you more:

"After thirty years of rescuing dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks and other critters, my husband and I decided we wanted to have a puppy 'of our own'. We had long since fallen in love with Newfoundland Dogs and over a period of twenty years, had lived with four of them.

We met Doc when he was 4 weeks old and took him home when he was 10 weeks. He came from a wonderful, reputable breeder and although he had a premier lineage, he was lacking a few 'show qualities'. We were fine with that. We simply wanted a puppy we could love, spoil and train to be our companion on any couch in our home. He also fit well with his animals friends: two cats (a psychotic tabby named Abigail, a wonderful old soul named Murphy) and three dogs (an autistic Newfoundland named Winter, a separation-anxiety ridden Lab-mix named Shiney and a spoiled Shih Tzu named Ghengis). This foolish group tormented him as he wrangled his way into our home. None of them had any idea that Doc’s sheer size would ultimately make him leader of the pack!

Ghengis at 17 is pretty frail. Over the years his hearing had waned and his eye sight became clouded by sclerotic lesions. His confidence had turned to fear as he confronted the world without two senses. In the spring of 2008, things went from bad to worse when Ghengis had a horrible accident and lost one eye.

And, it was at this point that Doc stepped in to become the protector and guardian of little Ghengis.

It happened, I thought, quite by accident. One night I heard Doc emitting a series of soft woofing sounds. I rolled over and said, “Doc, go back to sleep”. The sounds kept coming and finally I turned on the light. I realized Ghengis wasn’t on my bed. He had fallen and was struggling to get up. “Good dog, Doc”, I said. I picked up Ghengis and put him back on the bed. A few nights later, I witnessed the same routine. The following week, I surrounded the bed with cushioning so that when Ghengis fell the landing would be soft.

Ghengis fell again last week and Doc couldn’t get me up. My husband was sleeping in the next room (he’s a SNORER!). Doc pushed open the door and awakened him. When my husband finally turned on the light, Doc had left the room and went into the hall to stand protectively over Ghengis.

Ghengis is the size of Doc’s head. He’s a small, frail creature who is lovingly guarded by our sweet, gentle giant. Doc’s ability to sense trouble is a small miracle in a world filled with frightening possibilities. He brings a smile to my face and comfort to my soul."

-Felicia Diamond

He sounds like a wonderful dog and I was thrilled to hear from Felicia. I love to hear how pets and people enhance each other's lives. They can be such a godsend.
Aren't we lucky our pets decide to keep us?!
So, thanks again Felicia. Good dog Doc!

Feel free and encouraged to send your own stories of wonderful animals to me here on my comments page or to my email, CruVinDogs5@gmail.com. Who doesn't love a good dog story?!
That's all for tonight, wishing you all a great November!
Kristin

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The Holidays Cometh

Let me first apologize for the lax upkeep of the blog, our holiday catalog and newsletters have just gone out and it takes the full force of our budding company to get them where they need to go and looking the right way.

So, in this small moment of calm before the storm I'll take this opportunity to share some beautiful dog stories from some of our members, they're both viral emails and I don't know who wrote them or where they started but as a TOTAL animal person, they both choked me up. Just in case the email forward didn't make it out to you from your friends who know what a dog person you are, here they are. Enjoy.

"There is a God in the Post Office.

This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced.. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service .

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

'Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith. '

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten t h e letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.


Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, `To Meredith,' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:


'Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.
Love, God'"

____________
And Here's Another:
_____________


"Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God."
________________________

Sniff.




I'll need a dog of the month for November so send me your dog or pet stories, or any moving emails that come your way. I would love to hear from you! If I don't pop in before Thanksgiving I do wish you all and yours a wonderful holiday!





And just in case you need a great bottle to go with your family meal, Anne Noto, our resident chef, recommends the 2005 Bloodhound Chardonnay for Thanksgiving fare, "the nice acidity will help to balance the heaviness of the Thanksgiving dinner- turkey, gravy, etc.". Sounds delicious! Happy eating!
Kristin


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Cru Vin Dog of The Month for October

It's officially October! Which means I need a new Dog of the Month. Anne Noto, my favorite Chef/Office Manager/Super Woman has nominated her dog Schatze for October, which is perfect because Schatze is a rescue dog and I’d like to make a point of advocating for adoption. I personally, currently support ASPCA, it’s meager right now but I swear it’ll be more when I am a high roller!

If you’re interested, you can find them at: http://www.aspca.org/, or other wonderful organizations such as The American Humane Society; http://www.hsus.org/, The American Humane Association (Entirely separate from American Humane Society, see site for an explanation); http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer, Dumb Friend’s League; http://www.ddfl.org/, or just make sure to do lots of research on where you get your new family member. Unfortunately, not everyone loves dogs as much as I and those of you reading this do, and it’s great to spread the word.

They’ve got a great list of advice links for adopting a pet, where to find approved shelters, pet care, animal behavior, and the latest on their fight to end animal cruelty.

It’s so important to adopt from a shelter, many times shelters have a dog like the breed you’re looking for, or from a responsible breeder.

Here’s a great link to find out what kind of dog would be a good match for your personality:
http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/grads/a/anachman/PetMatch/questionnaire.html

Oprah is blowing the door wide open on puppy mills and you know her attention will bring massive awareness, which could make a huge difference! But there’s still a lot of work to do.
To read about her investigation click:
http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/slideshow1_ss_global_20080404/1

Go Oprah!

That’s enough linkage for today, though all are great sources of info, on to our DOG OF THE MONTH!

SCHATZE NOTO

In Anne Noto’s own words:

“When I started looking for a dog to adopt everyone told me 'the dog will pick you'. I learned that this is absolutely true. I was looking between two shelters and after a visit to the Denver Dumb Friends League, I had to go back. On the second visit, we took this adorable Boxer-German Shepherd mix outside, she was instantly glued to my side and looked up at me with those big brown eyes and I said where do I sign!!!! It’s been two and half years now and I don’t recall what life was like not coming home to my happy, bouncy 5 year old that I call Schatze (German for Sweetheart).

There were no chips or records on her, although in my heart I think she may have been a Katrina victim. There were dozens of dogs being brought into the Denver area for adoption. The first time she saw snow definitely told me she was NOT a cold weather dog.
Schatze quickly became the princess of my house and loves to cuddle with her blankets and me. Squirrel chasing is just another of her favorite pass-times along playing with the H-O-S-E. She even knows how to give double high-fives during football season. She has a very sweet demeanor and gentle nature about her, but there is no mistaking she has some alpha in her!

I had such a positive experience with The Denver Dumb Friends League, I recommend them to everyone I know who mentions that they are thinking of expanding their family with a four-legged friend. There are so many animals in need of loving homes, I urge folks to take the time to consider adopting. Through adoption I found a well-trained loving companion who is this lady’s best friend.

I think Schatze is a good example of how great adopting a pet can be and how important micro chipping your pet is. I know I would miss her terribly if we were ever separated!”


What an incredible blessing pets can be in our lives. We are so lucky to have them!
That’s it for today. Send me your stories and photos if you’d like to nominate your special furry one!

Visit us at our gallery space this Friday, October 1, 2008, from 3-8 PM for the First Friday Art Walk.
Hope everyone has a great start to Fall!


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Our Canine Namesake

Happy Friday Blog Readers,

I wanted to use this post to introduce our Namesake puppy, "CruVin". Canine Companions for Independence has named a puppy bound for training after our company in recognition of the support and partnership.

He was born in April and was already weighing 8 pounds at four and a half weeks. He's being raised by a CCI puppy raiser named Emily in Alaska. He was referred to as a "little moose" and I think you'll see why!

He's on the bottom left in the whelping pool:

Looks like a sweetheart and we're thrilled to have him.

He comes from the Weldon dog line, here's a picture of his dad:
And now a more recent picture of our beautiful boy:

He's growing up happy and healthy as far as we know. I hope to meet him some day. Something tells me we'd get along just fine!

Also, our 2006 Lucky Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend is officially on the market to the public! It's a big wine and so far people have really enjoyed it. Anne Noto, the office manager (who is also a chef with her own catering business!), recommends it with "Grilled meats, game, strong cheeses, and dark chocolate".

It is truly amazing what a good pairing of food and wine will do. I'm trying to soak up all the knowledge I can from these wise old wine hands, they know their vino!
I'll try my best to pass it along, feel free to shoot us emails if you want recommendations!

Cru Vin Dog of the Month to come soon!
-Kristin

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First Friday Art Walk

Hi Cru Vin Dogs friends.

We participated in our first "First Friday Art Walk". Aka, "First Friday", the art walk takes place in several neighborhoods across Colorado, every first Friday of the month from about 4pm to 8pm.

I've been to several Fridays on the Santa Fe art walk and it is always packed, rain, snow or shine. Denver has a great art scene and people say it is growing. There is an elusive Art Bus that shuttles patrons around the galleries, I've searched for how to catch it but it appears to be a very informal bunch of fun having folks. The passengers are usually in costume, usually themed costumes and will most likely invite you along if you're game for a ride.
But if you're a veteran and have done the Santa Fe scene or if you just want to give a smaller scene a try, come on over to the Old Pearl area for a look at what we've got.

We had a few takers into the gallery, the Cru Vin Dogs Artist, Jay Snellgrove has many works on display here and they are all jaw dropping. His talent is definitely something to see. It's amazing how lifelike the drawings are.

Pop in to the gallery during business hours, any day of the week, at 1500 S. Pearl St., Denver, CO 80210. Among the pieces hanging currently are the large originals of the pieces used in the wine labels, as well as the newest few, an Airedale Terrier that will be used on one of the future releases currently in development and a beautiful portrait of our late family dog, Dosier, whom we lost to cancer last Thanksgiving day. Jay and Mary unveiled the portrait Friday, as a gift to my dad, Bill, who dearly loved Dosier, a very patient and loyal yellow Labrador whom we all miss very much. It was a very emotional presentation where more than a few tears were shed. If you've received the newsletters we send out, Tracks, you'll see the small paw prints across the front. These are prints of Dosier's paw.
So, if you haven't already noticed, Cru Vin Dogs is very much a labor of love and family.

The founders supplied a wonderful selection of cheeses and olive oils from all over the world for whoever decided to drop by. We'll see what they cook up for October's walk.

Thanks to the Wine Club members who came. It's a lot of fun to build this pack of like minded people who love dogs and wine. It's been a lot of fun eating and drinking with you!

And, it is now September, we need a newly elected CRU VIN DOG OF THE MONTH, so please, submit your stories, pictures or videos of your furry friend.
Thanks for reading!

Over and out.


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"Getting Lucky" Photo Album

A couple of shots from the Bottling of our Portrait Series "Lucky" Cabernet/Merlot in Sonoma California.


Lucky and Tristan, everyone got a "Get Lucky" shirt, everyone.



(photos by Jenna Parsons)












How bottles are labeled in todays modern world.
(this photo by Jenna Parsons)

Some of the Cru Vin Dogs family hand bottling the 1.5 Liter bottles:

President of CVD
Mary Snellgrove
Corking while balancing a
little Savvy (Like a pro)

Lucky "Eraser Nose" Price


Walking into the unveiling
dinner with Nurse Practitioner Randi Price. An incredibly beautiful, strong, wonderful woman I have the privilege of saying I know.
And Lucky, one heck of a smart Labrador. And a total lover!



(these photos by Jenna Parsons)






Some of the Cru Vin Dogs Second Generation;
Myself, Tristan Snellgrove and Brandi Mullins.



CVD Artist Jay Snellgrove with Jean Schultz, wife of late Charles Schultz (Author of Peanuts). The Schultz Family is a huge supporter of Canine Companions for Independence, see info at:
http://www.cci.org/site/c.cdKGIRNqEmG/b.4134039/

"Lucky" graduated from CCI training at the Jean and Charles Schultz CCI in Santa Rosa, CA!
They give tours! (You can volunteer to socialize puppies. Not a bad gig. Not a bad gig at all!)

That's all for now, to anyone who is still with me in Blog Land. Feel free to comment, shoot me any questions or comments! Goodnight!


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CVD Business and some Puppy Love

Hi!

Thanks to "Tony W" and the other anonymous commenter for popping in! True devotees will remember "Tony W" and his whippets from other references in the company. First prize to whomever guesses it right!

Times are a little squirrelly at the office currently, we're pumping out the Summer "Tracks" Newsletter. Should be labeled and in many of your mailboxes next week. We are also going to make a green option available, if you choose, you can receive your Newsletter electronically. You can let me or anyone at the office know and we'll make that change right quick!
But lets face it, real mail, (that isn't junk), is still a lot of fun to get. So look out for it, Tracks is on it's way.

Aside from office business, I've taken the liberty of refilming a video of Maya doing her leaps, this time she gets a little more air and there's a Tassie cameo.

(Yes, I promise this is the last video of her doing this, I know it's so much greater when it's your dog. Because..It's your dog. But seriously, it's funny.)

Check it out Cru Vin Dogs:


On another note, I'll also post a few baby pictures of Tassie, (pernouced Tazzie, named for the nickname Aussies have for Tazmania.) Because no one else has sent some in and really, because she's a darling.

Tassie's First Day in her new home, hiding under the bench:














Playing with the awesome new toy:


Tassie and me, napping, fantastic!



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