Happy Holidays from the VineSpring Team and Our Furry Friends
Everyone talks about how thankful they are for family and friends at this time of year. At VineSpring, we are no different. Don't get us wrong...moms, dads, siblings, cousins…sure...they are all awesome! But what about our furry, feathered, and scaly family members? They deserve a little recognition too!
Here are some of the amazing pets who make our lives (and the holiday season) a little bit sweeter.
Kelli Silva
This is Molly. She is an 8-year-old Maltipoo. We had never been a dog family before her but we fell in love with a photo we saw of her. We went and visited and took her home that day. We got her when she was 8 weeks old. When she came home my husband was adamant that she didn't get in our bed. That lasted about a month. She now not only has a spot in our bed but she has her own heated blanket.
She is not a smiler even though it looks like it in the photos. That is actually her "mad face". My daughter will make her growl and then take photos and it looks like she is smiling. She is quite the barker like most small dogs, but we are so grateful she doesn't get into things when we are not home and doesn't shed. And the greeting we get when we come home is like no other. And yes we do dress her up. We are in love and couldn't imagine life without her.
Here’s a picture of our newest family member, Toby. He is a 5-year-old male that came to our home last month. He had evidently been “in the wild” for two months before he stopped by to see us. He was quite skinny.
He has lots of personality and appears to be well acclimated to human beings. He already spends his evenings in bed with us. Electric blankets and soft fabrics are things he likes.
I realize most of the VineSpring folks are dog lovers. Let it be known that at least one of us appreciates the feline side of things.
This is Sir Balthazar the Magnificent, aka “Balthy”. When we saw him as a baby, he was in his cage all by himself - separated from the other guinea pigs. This was highly unusual as they are normally intensely social creatures. Balthy…not so much. He’s quite happy on his own with the 3 humans as his ‘herd’. He loves cuddling, falling asleep on warm laps, the vacuum (!), and exploring around the house. But the absolute biggest love of his furry little life is carrots, carrots, and more carrots.
Amy Parker
This handsome man is Dexter. A silly, big Doberman with a giant personality. Dex came to us from a Doberman rescue when he was 9 months old. Always active and getting into trouble, but so full of love for his humans. They say Dobermans are a "velcro" breed in that they always want to be right next to you. That was very true for him. It did not matter if you just moved into the other room for a couple of minutes he would lift himself up from his slumber and follow you in to check out what you were up to.
As close as he loved to be to his humans he also could always find trouble. He once ate half a bag of flour that was in the pantry. Of course, the flour made a paste that practically stuck his mouth together. It took me a minute to figure out what he had gotten into! Another time he ate an entire box of hot wings (yes there is a bit of a pattern here). That was something that could have been dangerous to him but I am pretty sure he swallowed them whole, hot sauce and all. The phrase we would often find ourselves muttering was, "Oh Dexter, what did you get into now?"
We lost him this year to bone cancer but he will always live on in our hearts and memories as one of our best dogs we were ever blessed with sharing our lives with.
Jeffry Slater
Sora (spotted pup) is an 8-year-old Staffordshire terrier, cattle dog mix. I adopted him from rocky mountain puppy rescue at the Boulder creek fest in 2014. He’s one of the smartest pups I know and if you’re lucky enough that he likes you he’s one of the biggest sweethearts.
Rosie (Sweet Potato) is a seven-year-old red nose pit. Sara and I ended up adopting her (2016) when we decided that we would go to the RMPR booth at the creek fest to show Sora’s foster how well he was doing. Sara fell in love with Rosie right away and asked if I thought adopting her was a good idea. Within the week Rosie had chewed through multiple pairs of shoes, a door frame, and a laptop. Today Rosie is still learning her manners but is the biggest ball of love.
Aku Desai
Our dogs are our family and they get pampered like nobody's business. From Cadillac-level health insurance to doggie-spa treatments, and first and middle names to boot, they are spoiled pups filling the void with our boys off to college - just ask our boys if they are being replaced!We've adopted all three dogs in one way or another and they bring us joy in the way that we hope we do for them. Sabre Legend (black labradoodle) is the old man at 14 yrs, Lucky Bear (brown cockapoo) is naughty, always looking for papers to tear to shreds, and Asher Dudley (yellow lab) who is a lovable handful.Happy holidays everyone from the Desais and our dogs.
Chris Towt
Between my wife and me, we have A LOT of animals. Two cats, Lacy and Willie (Lacy lives in the house and Willie lives in the barn. Willie has his own Instagram page; two dogs, Shep and Rose (brother and sister we adopted from Milo Foundation ); 10 Corriente cows (see a photo of one of my favorites, Jellybean); 28 chickens; 251 horses, and 9 burros at our horse sanctuary, the Montgomery Creek Ranch (a 501c3 - donations gladly accepted for the care of the critters! )
Ryan Morris
My wife (Daphne) and I are official, card carrying members of the Cat People club. We have two cats, the older black & white is named Chaplin and the grey & white socks is a recent addition to the family, we call her Pachi (it’s kinda mix between a family nick name and “mapache” - which is Raccoon in Spanish). They are the masters of our home and get pampered like crazy.Daphne is also a true-blue Animal Person. She can cooly watch the most awful horror + gore movie, but will cry in any movie when any animal harm is depicted! She and a fellow animal-buddy take care of several feral cat families in nearby Prospect Park, building shelters and feeding them daily (so they don’t hurt the bird population there) — bird watchers have been known to kill kill feral cats here. These two also recently rescued a pair of abandoned (in the park) guinea pigs - matching them with a new home within a week. Daphne and Valerie (her friend in crime) are pretty awesome people.
Susan Evans
This is Argus, also known as Pooper, Goober, Mister, Little Man, and Sweet Pea. He’s a 5-year-old rescue pup who hails from a farm in New Mexico. I know he has some terrier in him (that much is obvious) but I’m curious as to what else created my furry friend. This holiday season I bought him a DNA test and will learn the truth in January. I can’t wait!
Argus has insane energy and cares about nothing except for me and balls. He will play fetch until he collapses if you let him. He hates riding in cars, loves a chihuahua named Poppy, and is an excellent swimmer. He’s also great off-leash and I take him trail running and mountain biking all the time. Thankfully, he also has a softer side so we also get some good cuddles in!
Jamison Morrow
Although our home genuinely loves animals, we don’t currently have pets, courtesy of my allergies. That said, I think neighborhood cats know we love animals, because many frequently wind up on our doorstep looking for food, affection, or both.
Two in particular, Cowboy and Sushi, make daily appearances in our backyard. Both have homes nearby, but they love to roam the neighborhood. These black and white cats who I’d describe as “frenemies” mostly get along, but occasionally battle very loudly for territorial control. It’s probably why they often stop by at different times now. Perhaps they’ve worked out a custody schedule for visiting us.
My youngest son loves to interact with them. They’ll chill with him in the sandbox, sit on our steps waiting to be coddled, or earn their keep by protecting our garden from rabbits and squirrels.
In our next home, we’re hoping to get some land and have animals. My wife and I often joke about building her a “she-shed” that she can fill with cats. I’m sure my youngest wouldn’t fight this outcome. We’ll see where life takes us.
Colin Brine
This is Melody. She's a beagle and a terrific work-from-home buddy. She runs the house around here (though don't tell the other animals) and like long walks anywhere and naps!
This is Princess Leia on the top and Raggamuffin on the bottom - snoozing away on the couch. Don't let them fool you though, they are both feisty cuddle-bugs! Leia was my first cat/animal I had on my own as an adult, and Raggamuffin was saved (by my wife) from an engine of a car at a fall wedding!
Next up we have the guinea pigs! We have Daisy, Sunny, Dutty, and Cookie Monster! They are an absolute hoot and are right next to my desk so I get to see them play all day. They like all sorts of veggies though, particularly peppers! They all were "failure to thrive" guinea pigs which were returned to the store for various reasons (as my wife manages a pet store) and so we made sure they got a good loving home - and obviously these little chonks are thriving now!
Joshua McNeese
Here’s my brood: Bluenose American Staffordshire Terrier “Chunk”, Fawn Rhodesian Ridgeback/AmStaff “BMO” (pronounced “bee-mo”), Calico “Bowie” (short for “Double-Rainbow”), and Russian Blue “Jezebel”. Chunk and BMO are both rescues. Chunk was found roaming the streets of Denver after the 4th of July, BMO was a tiny puppy who had been attacked by another dog and was recovering from eye surgery. Bowie and Jezebel are were both adopted from the Boulder County Animal Shelter. Jezebel had been returned twice before we got her (no idea why), and Bowie was on sale ($25!)
Kent Nowlin
She may be small but that is just her physical appearance. In her own mind she is the mighty protector of our little farmette. Her best friend is meow meow, our neighbor’s feral cat. Her cross fence rivals are that same neighbor’s three dogs. Wow, does she know how to get them riled up from across the fence! When we have chickens she keeps them company and also keeps our other neighbors’ cows in check.
She has proven to be a great farm dog and an even better cuddle dog, although she gets pretty dirty rolling in all the smells of country life. We have to spot-check her before inviting her up or we may get a whiff of something you can’t unsmell.
She loves the holidays though because there are lots of family movie nights and she is happiest when we are all together in the same room. That way she doesn’t feel like she needs to keep checking in on everyone. Stella is the perfect addition to the Nowlin family.
Happy holidays, everyone! We wish the best to you and yours this season and look forward to a prosperous 2022!
