New Year's Update

Happy New Year!
This has been a busy winter so far, and the holidays just flew past. Here's a bit of an update on some of what we've been up to.

Things have settled down quite a bit with our foster dog, Vela, and she's learning some new vocabulary to help her be a good canine member of the Tasting Team.

MINE, LEAVE IT, and DOWN are all new commands for her, but she's offering to lay down for treats without being asked now. Unfortunately, we're still working on COME, which she just doesn't have any reason to listen to yet.



She's gained some much-needed weight and adapted very well to her new diet of Charley Chow, whole chunks of raw meat and kitchen scraps. She's especially happy about the fresh raw beef and pork neck bones, which are in plentiful supply here. Vela is a very intelligent puppy, with a lot of personality, and it's been quite entertaining getting to know her.

Vela is a foster from the National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network, which works to find homes for Anatolians, Akbas, Kangal, Great Pyrenees and other Livestock Guardian Dog breeds.

These types of dogs are of special interest here at the Lounge, and this video on Spanish Mastiffs used as flock guardians explains part of what makes them so uniquely helpful.

The big farmers markets of the summer months dwindle down as colder temperatures limit crops and egg output, but there are a few that go all winter, offering shorter hours and a smaller pool of vendors. Saturday mornings, you'll find us at the Winter Market on Forest Hill ave from 10am - noon. On Tuesdays the Byrd House market continues all winter from 3 - 6pm, even in bad weather. Globehopper Coffee House does keep Dried Chicken Fingers behind the counter, and they can also be found at Crossroads Coffee on Forest Hill.

Very pleased to say that you can now find Charley Chow & Spike's Chicken Salad at the Little House Green Grocery, on Bellevue Ave. If you have not yet checked out this charming, extremely local grocery store, stop by soon; meanwhile, here's a nice writeup from Richmond Magazine.

The turn of the year always brings some time for reflection and consideration, and this year is no different. One of the projects for this spring is to find a more securely lidded container for our 32 oz size of Charley Chow. This has also brought to light the availability of better 16 oz compostable containers than were available a few years ago. The current Spike's Chicken Salad container is 20 oz, so I'm seeking feedback about this. Would you prefer a 16 oz container for Spike's?  How about a 16 oz size for Charley Chow? I'd love to hear your opinion on this, please send an email if you have a preference. You can also comment on the DogTown Lounge Facebook page if you'd prefer.
Thanks, and see you at the market!