You all posted so many wonderful pictures of your pups that we have decided that everyone wins!! In order to claim your prize, email us at fetch@zukes.com. You MUST attach the picture you submitted and include your mailing address where we can send your free treats. Congrats to all and thanks again for loving Zuke’s!!

On Tuesday evening, February 21^st, we received news that a family in our community…our friends The Kelleys…had been badly injured when their home had been leveled in a gas explosion. Since then, husband, wife, daughter and family dog have all been receiving medical treatment for their injuries and are healing well.

“The family’s house exploded Tuesday night at 6415 County Road 243, a couple of miles north of Lemon Reservoir, northeast of Durango,” reported the Durango Herald. “A propane leak caused the explosion, but the source of the leak and the ignition source remained under investigation Thursday, sand Randy Larson, deputy chief with Upper Pine River Fire Protection District.”

Cameron Kelley, 9, was the first to be rescued, with parents Tim and Karen pulled free from under 5 feet of debris within two hours of the explosion. Rocko, the family’s 6-year-old chocolate Labrador, was found alive nearly 17 hours later buried under the collapsed house.

In order to support the family in this time of crisis, Riverview Animal Hospital in Durango is providing care for Rocko free of charge. They, along with two other Kelley Family Assistance Funds, are collecting donations to help the Kelley family recover.

Zuke’s will be donating to help Rocko and his family. If you are interested in helping them, you can find more information at www.kelleyfamilydurango.com.

If anyone had ever told us that we would fall in love with someone with an inordinate amount of body hair, bad breath, excessive saliva, horrible table manners, poor communication skills and no job prospects, we would have scoffed. Our standards are much too high to fall for someone like that! And yet…

We live every day with hairy little beasts that have stolen our hearts and evidently our minds as well since we have thrown our standards out the window and given in to loving them wholeheartedly, with abandon, whimsy and great joy. We give them the best we have to offer, doing anything for their health and happiness. We share our home, our life, our couches, our yard and our car. We give them more than their fair share of the bed, log unbelievable hours walking in the rain and snow, and forgive any trespass. We celebrate their accomplishments and brag about them to our friends. All of this and more.

And in return, they show us a love like no other.

Happy Valentine’s Day!