Happy New Year of the Dog!
A Salute to all Dog Lovers!

February 25, 2018 | Ralph Sands

2018 should turn out to be a great year as we celebrate one of the world’s greatest animals the Dog; man and women’s best friend

The importance of Dogs in our life cannot be underestimated. During the course of our lives from a young age to our dying day, dogs are a big part of life and we fondly remember them all, big and small. Weather it is your own dog or your neighbors, dogs are almost always happy to see to and never talk back, which is why some people are more comfortable around dogs than other people!

Almost all dogs have an aura of love that surrounds them and because of that almost everyone loves these loyal lovers. Dogs can of course be a lot of work but always worth it as they are wonderful conduits of love that warm our hearts and enhance our lives. We love them and they love us back and that is something we all need and they become loving members of the family.

The loving relationships we have with dogs lasts a lifetime, even though we know full well that the life expectancy is relatively short and that saying goodbye at the end will break your heart; and it definitely does. But as time passes you find yourself with a warm feeling inside and you smile as you remember all the great times and the love you shared together. It is then that they find a permanent spot in your heart forever that you can always visit.  

In my family growing up my brother and I were allergic to dogs, but that did not stop us from deeply loving our next door neighbors dogs (Jewel, Fluffy and Lord Snowden) just as if they were our own. In college my parents finally relented and let us have dogs, two wonderful black Labradors named “Satan Doll and Sam”. A Lhasa Apso named “Wicket”, and a Shih Tzu named “Faux Pas” were my best friends and really helped me survive the decade of the 1980’s. In 1991 I finally got married and my wife’s dog Mr. Winston was a part of the deal.  Now at age 62, I once again don’t have a dog of my own but again, I still love all of my neighbors’ and friends dogs; “Coppely, Chumley, Maggie, Olive, Penney, Ella, and Riley Boy”.

Many of us work long hours and if you are lucky your employer may be a big dog lover and your work environment may even be dog friendly; that is the case here at K&L Wine Merchants with Mr. Clyde Beffa and Mr. Todd Zucker. Hat’s off to those dog loving guys as these “at work dogs” also occupy a special place in your heart as time goes on and they seem to bring a calming and playful element to the office; a real advantage, especially during busy and stressful times.  Hall of Fame Dogs here include Golden Lab “Abbey”, Black Labs “Wiley and Lance”, German Sheppard’s “Sadie and Sammy”, a Beagle “Bailey”, two Chihuahua’s “Billy and Tina” and the latest to grace the office and steal our hearts is a miniature bulldog named “Gypsie”.

My hat also goes off to the other great dog lover in my life, none other than Dr. Shirlin Wong the owner of PrimeCellar. The love and respect I have for her goes far beyond our business relationship. Dr. Wong is a person that makes a very real and positive difference in this world by quietly being an activist for the rights and protection of dogs; she puts her money where her heart is! She is also the owner 9 dogs, 4 in Hong Kong and 5 here in California; and those doggies have hit the Lotto of love and luxury!

I hope that this New Year of the Dog will be a great one for you and your families and that you will open numerous bottles of wine from the PrimeCellar vault and remember all the great dogs in your life with a smile.

Ralph Sands
Dog lover and PrimeCellar Consultant

Tags : dog wine California