Wags & Wine at Windmill Creek Winery; Berlin, MD




What an amazing weekend in May of 2021! It was so wonderful to be together with so many of our Dock Diving friends. Windmill Creek was beautiful and the wine was delicious!

Margarita

Our team won a 50/50 raffle plus 2 of our dogs placed in finals so The Liver Killers were able to raise a total donation of $660 for rescue!


Limoncello

Cello enjoyed 2 Big Air waves this weekend and her jumps were pretty as always! Cello recently had a change in her Dilated Cardiomyopathy, so her jumps are limited at the moment.


Hooch

•3rd Place Big Air Finals / Elite Division


Lager

•5th Place Iron Dog / Titan Division


Whiskey

•3rd Place Big Air Finals / Novice Division

•New Personal Best jump: 9’9”


Jägermeister

•1st Place Speed Retrieve / Express Division

•5th Place Big Air Finals / Masters Division

•New Personal Best jump: 21’2”


Margarita: Team Cheerleader

Rita enjoyed touring the vineyard grounds and napping under the shade of our team canopy.


Porter: Team Manager

PoPo enjoyed rides in the golf cart and exploring in the campground dog park.

11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry War Dog Memorial: The Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA

We took Lager to the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry War Dog Memorial located in The Gettysburg National Military Park .

 

Location: Gettysburg, PA
Sculptor: E. A. Kretschman
Dedicated: 12/13/1901

 

“Sallie,” a brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was the regimental mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Given to 1st Lt William R. Terry as a four-week old puppy, Sallie grew up among the men of the regiment. Sallie followed the men on marches and to the battlefield. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the dog got separated from the unit. Unable to find her way, Sallie returned to the Union battle line at Oak Ridge, where she stood guard over the dead and wounded. The dog continued her faithful service through February, 1865, when she was struck by a bullet to her head in the battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia. She was buried on the field of battle. For her devotion to the men, Sallie is memorialized at the 11th Pennsylvania monument erected at Gettysburg.”

*All information obtained from the Vietnam Dog Handler Association ( http://www.vdha.us/content15795.html )

Crossings Vineyard: Newtown, PA

We stopped at Crossings Vineyard after visiting a War Dog Memorial with Lager to celebrate Veterans Day.

The vineyard was situated on beautiful grounds, and had a really neat tasting room!

 

War Dog Memorial: Knoxville, TN (University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine)

While we were in Knoxville for the DockDogs World Championship, we were fortunate enough to have enough time to take Lager to visit this wonderful War Dog Memorial.
This noble Doberman Pinscher represents hundreds of heroic war dogs that served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.
This Memorial is an exact replica of the official memorial in Guam, was donated to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine by Dr. Maurice Acree July 17, 1998.
It honors not only the war dogs, but symbolizes the special connection people share with dogs.
We will continue to get Lager to every War Dog Memorial we can throughout his retirement years with us. Click below to see the other Memorials Lager has already visited.
Click HERE to see a list of all the War Dog Memorials in the United States.

War Dog Memorial: Bristol Township, PA

To celebrate Veteran’s Day, we took Lager, our retired Explosives Detection Canine, to the War Dog Memorial in Bristol Township, PA.

Few Americans are aware of the invaluable service given by War Dogs teams during the Vietnam War. Dog teams consisting of Scout, Combat Tracker, Sentry, and Mine/Tunnel dogs saved thousands of lives. Routinely braving danger, these intelligent and adaptable dogs would locate injured GI’s, search out Vietcong weapon caches, locate deadly booby traps and would alert and thwart enemy attacks and ambushes. 

The handlers responsible for the dog teams lovingly cared for these brave animals. These soldiers literally carried food and water into battle for their faithful friends and protectors.

Despite the impassioned pleas of the handlers these valorous animals were classified as “expendable equipment” at the end of the Vietnam War and were abandoned to unknown fates in South Vietnam. The courage and loyalty of these dogs are honored only in the memories of the soldiers whose lives they protected. 

The War Dog Teams were so effective and efficient that’s the Vietcong High Command  issued a bounty on them. Hundreds of War Dogs gave their lives in combat. This memorial is dedicated in honor of all the brave War Dogs from every military conflict.  Let us never forget the thousands of War Dog heroes that served with valor during the Vietnam War… 

“All gave some, some gave all.”

~from the inscription on part of the Bristol, PA War Dog memorial pictured below:

Holiday Inn Dubuque/Galena, Dubuque, Iowa

During the 2015 DockDogs World Championship and the 2016 DockDogs World Championship we stayed at the Holiday Inn Dubuque/Galena, in Dubuque, Iowa.  The hotel was located directly across from the competition arena.

unnamed (59)

Our room (2015):

unnamed (48)

View from our room (2015):

unnamed (50)

Even with the hotel being under construction in some areas, the hotel was clean, and the staff was friendly!

2016:

file-jan-23-7-13-20-pm

Comfort Inn, University Center, Fairfax, VA

Margarita got to stay in a hotel for the first time (the Comfort Inn, University Center) when we made a spontaneous decision to be “Sunday Spoilers” at the Celebrate Fairfax Festival dock diving competition!

File Jul 19, 4 47 42 PM

Rita did SO well during her first hotel stay! She made herself right at home, and was very content.

File Jul 19, 4 49 24 PM

Exhausted !

File Jul 19, 4 49 38 PM

Dock-Dogs-tired when she didn’t even dock-dog! Hahaha!

I am so proud of this little girl and how well she did!

New Jersey Vietnam War Dog Memorial; K9 Veterans Day

March 13 is K9 Veterans’ Day. Today, on National K9 Veterans’ Day , we remember and honor all military and working dogs, both past and present. We would like to thank all the courageous K9 soldiers for their service, and the sacrifices they have made for our nation. We are honored to have a K9 veteran as a family member, and thank SOC for blessing us with Lager (war zone name, Nayt) as a family member. Lager served 18 months in Iraq as an Explosives Detection Canine. In honor of Lager’s service, and all K9 veteran heroes, we took him to visit and pay our respects to the War Dog Memorial, located in Holmdel, NJ, guarding the gateway of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial . If you know a K9 veteran, be sure to shake their paw and thank them today!

unnamed (1)

Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel: Harrisburg, PA

We stayed at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel in Harrisburg, PA for the Keystone DockDogs End-of-Season Banquet.

she1995ex-155697-Exterior-Day-1-

This hotel had a great dog-friendly set of rooms that each had sliding glass doors that led out to a private, enclosed potty area.

We received the best gift ever this past Christmas – the Petcube camera – and used it for the first time here.  We were able to attend the banquet all while keeping and eye on the pups!

Here is a screen shot from  the camera that night:

unnamed (5)

The Westin, Pittsburgh, PA

Instead of camping, we decided to stay at a hotel for our last dock diving event of the season, since we are not used to staying in hotels, and because we would have to stay in a hotel for the DockDogs World Championship.  We hoped that this would prep our whole pack for our trip out to Iowa in November.  The Westin was attached directly to the Pittsburgh Expo Center, so we decided that would be our home-away-from-home for the weekend.

What a gorgeous hotel this was! …And the hotel staff were MORE than dog friendly!  We felt so at-home here! The biggest surprise was the size of our room… it was GINORMOUS! The dogs thought they were at an indoor dog park!

This hotel was very clean, the staff were not only friendly – but super DOG friendly, and the breakfast was delicious!

Pic-A-Lilli Inn, Shamong, NJ

If you enjoy wings, or buffalo-style anything, the Pic is the place to visit!  Pic-A-Lilli Inn  not only has some really great NJ Pine Barren history, (beginning in the early 1920’s!!) it’s known to have the best wings around! Be sure to read the history of this place, and how it all began here! This well-known family-owned establishment is now in it’s 5th generation of ownership, and still going strong!

This weekend, we made a trip back to the Pic…this time with Cello.

photo 1 (4)

We stopped in for some buffalo scallops and some cocktails…and they are super dog friendly! Cello quickly made friends with the bartender!

photo 2 (1)

photo 3 (2)

We chose to sit at their outdoor bar, and had a great time as we enjoyed our meal and drinks!

photo 2 (3)

photo 4 (2)

Lager visited The Pic on February 21, 2016!

Lager enjoyed this beautiful day at the Pic-A-Lilli, one of Brian and Jenny’s favorite places to stop for wings and drinks.

File Mar 10, 9 53 13 AM

Lager enjoyed himself, and watched all the motorcycles coming and going on this gorgeous day!

File Mar 10, 9 52 42 AM

Margarita visited The Pic on July 23, 2016!

File Jul 25, 8 08 31 PM

File Jul 25, 8 08 10 PM

So stop by and try the wings at The Pic-A-Lilli in ..betcha you’ll be back for more!