Please welcome Napa, the official DP Wine Cellar Dog!

Napa is a yellow Labrador retriever, born on Feb 25th at Captain’s Kennels outside of Nisswa, Minnesota.   I only drove over to check on the kennel, talk to the breeder, and then contemplate whether or not we truly needed a wine cellar dog.

She came home with me that day!  Weaseled her way into my heart the moment she ran over to me and buried her head in my lap.

It’s a bit of a long story as to why she was available, but suffice it to say sometimes timing and luck are what you really need in life and this time we had both.  The breeder hadn’t advertised this litter since and I just happened along at the right time.  We wanted a yellow female and there she was!

She came home and immediately went to work as you can see below!

Our family has always had dogs and since at least the mid 1990s they have all been Labradors.  Yellow Labradors.  At the peak of our insanity we had seven in the house, but that was when we were breeding our very special, dog-of-a-lifetime, Cinder!

When my wife was diagnosed with her brain cancer we had to part with Dune, the last Lab we had.  I could barely find anyone qualified to take care of my wife and when I did not a one of them would agree to watching a dog too.  That was over 15 years ago.  A long time to go without a dog.  Sadly my wife’s war with brain cancer came to an end in 2016.  On the day that would have been my wife’s and my 43rd anniversary I made the decision to bring Napa home!  I think, back in the old, pre-cancer days, Mary Kay would have approved of my impulsiveness and welcomed her to our family wholeheartedly!

For the time being, Napa is working at DP Wine Cellar North.  As you can see it is hard duty for both of us!

I am working to teach her sit, stay, come, and of course how to tell a zinfandel from a merlot!

But now she’s a bit tuckered out so before I begin my personal lesson on a bottle of Charles Krug Howell Mountain Cabernet (2014), I better take her for her evening walk!

Cheers and bow wow!