Dog Days of Summer event pairs wine and pooches
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Dog lovers and wine fanciers assembled for a group photo during the “Dog Days of Summer,” a fundraising event for STOP held at the Souza Family Vineyard on June 10.
Canine Creek Dog Wash & Boutique owners Bill and Susie Atherton, along with Guide Dogs of America spokesdog, Simon, are moving to Seattle. Canine Creek will remain open, and both Simon and Susie will continue to educate and amuse their Facebook fans in Tehachapi.
“Simon the GDA Puppy,” now a spokesdog for the Guide Dogs of America, gets a goodbye smooch from Jade, a puppy-in-training, for Canine Companions for Independence. Jade is being trained by Melissa Billingsley, who works as a technician for her mother, local veterinarian Beverly Billingsley. Melissa is also working on becoming a doctor of veterinary medicine. In addition to 13-18 months of basic training, Jade will receive an additional year of specialized training for future assignment to a wheelchair-bound recipient.
Canine Creek Pet Wash & Boutique partnered with Souza Family Vineyard for the Dog Days of Summer on Friday, June 10.
The event paired wine, pooches and lots of canine smooches for a fur-riendly fundraiser benefitting Save Tehachapi’s Orphaned Pets (S.T.O.P.).
“Working with Patty and Bob [Souza] as awesome. It was perfectly planned. The food and wine were excellent. We were very happy with the participation of the community-it exceeded our expectations,” Lynda Pearson, president of S.T.O.P. said. “Where else can you sip fine wine and enjoy appetizers, gourmet cupcakes and bring your favorite dog! Thanks also to the sponsorship and motivation of Susie Atherton of Canine Creek. Her dedication to helping the animals will be sorely missed.”
Human’s enjoyed wine tasting on the Souza Family Vineyard’s patio, while their faithful canine companions perused pet products and won a variety of pet-tacular prizes.
A portion of all proceeds benefitted the local rescue organization.
The event offered a perfect opportunity to bid a fond farewell to Canine Creek owners Susie and Bill Atherton, who are moving to Seattle, where Bill has been offered a job with Amazon.com.
“My husband has been very supportive of me for the last seven years in building Canine Creek, and now it’s my time to support him in his career,” Atherton said.
“I feel very comfortable leaving the store in the capable hands of my employees.”
“Simon the GDA Puppy,” no longer such a little pup, will be moving with his trainers as his status was recently changed from “puppy-in-training” to a “career change” dog.
As a local Chamber Ambassador with nearly 1,000 Facebook fans of his very own, Simon has become quite the celebri-dog around town since the Athertons began facilitating his GDA training over a year ago. Simon’s career change means he won’t become a guide dog for the blind, but he will remain an official spokesdog for Guide Dogs of America.
The next Dog Days of Summer event on Friday, July 8, from 3 to 7 p.m., will benefit the Doberman SOS Rescue.
