Our Weimaraner and Doberman Mascots - Introductions

When we designed our current website, and for fun, we added a page about our then Doberman mascots, Ida & Stetson. I supposed mascots can be living or passed on. After each traveled across the rainbow bridge, I didn't have the heart to update our website. I feel as if by keeping them on our website, a little piece of my sweet dober-dogs stay with me. I miss them so much.

Since then, I've adopted two other dogs. As team players, they carry on the duties that Ida and Stetson had. They often model our jewelry when I want to create a fun social post. Probably the most important thing they do is announcing when they hear the postal truck drive up for deliveries and pickups. Yeh yeh! The UPS driver receives the same greeting. He just doesn't come around as often.

Let me tell you about our current mascots. They've been around for a bit. I've just never officially introduced them.

 

Bella' Shelter Pic

During COVID lock-down, I adopted Bella from the LA Shelter in San Pedro, CA.  I confess, I had been looking for another doberman and it just wasn't happening as I had imagined it would. One day I was randomly looking at available dogs at the LA Shelters and spotted Bella's photo. It was as if she was posing. My first thought was wow, she's a beauty. Since my first dog (and first mascot) was a mix of Vizsla and Weimaraner, I wasn't afraid of the breed and the energy that comes with it. I called the shelter and they said come get her. The next morning I drove down to Harbor Shelter and do you know what? I completed paperwork and adopted her without even meeting her. Talk about a leap of faith. Out came a VERY strong girl, pulling me like you couldn't believe. My first reaction was "she's so short, she's so tiny, what's wrong with her?" She's just a bit of a runt for a Weim. I'm actually named for my great-aunt Bella. Adopting Bella the dog seemed like kismet. Bella was an owner surrender and came with the name. Since she was already 5 years old, how could I change her name?

 

Two Toys are better than 1

As it turns out, I describe Bella as comatose in comparison to my first dog, Byron. He was over the charts active and his exercise needs were enormous. I'm blessed that Bella is not remotely as demanding. Her favorite activity is lounging around and chewing on toys. Actually I'm not sure if eating things she shouldn't eat in the garden is more fulfilling than chewing toys. This pic was snapped a few days ago when she had decided 2 toys was better than 1.  That definitely is the case, when... our current mascot #2 is anywhere near us.

Bella had the job of mascot for more than 3 years when I decided she needed an assistant. 

I religiously follow Southern California's Doberman rescues on social. Dobies & Little Paws, Bella & Sunshine Rescue and Doberman Rescue Network. It was only a matter of time before a post piqued my interest enough to get me on board. I was quite close to adopting a young-ish boy that had been dumped and rescued with injuries from the side of the road. He'd had surgery and had healed and through the Doberman Rescue Network, a meet and greet was scheduled. Two days before that meeting, I was informed that this dog had healed so well, he was jumping 6 feet concrete block walls. Oy. Our meeting was canceled since I knew my home would not be safe for him. (And as it turned out, his foster had fallen in love with him, and adopted him.)

Timing is everything. Dobie & Little Paws posted info about a female dobie-mix in need of a home. The post appealed to me. I've always been told that it's easier to marry a girl dog with a boy dog than a girl with a girl, or a boy with a boy. Bella and I made an appointment and headed out to Fillmore, CA to meet this girl. It didn't click. And there I was, at the rescue where they have over a 100 dogs in their care needing to be placed. Ardis and Colleen who run the rescue (this is the same rescue from where I adopted Ida. Yes, you can still see that cutie on our website if you didn't click the link in the first paragraph above.) have such a good sense of what dog might go with what dog and person. I think they thought I was a bit high-maintenance when I said, I'd like a smaller boy (Nancy, doberman boys are typically quite large), a dog that isn't crazy active, been there-done that, (Nancy, dobermans are working dogs), yada yada yada. I was okay with a dog that was slightly older. No problem. Turns out they brought out 2 younger adult dogs for us to meet, both 2-3 years old. And one of them came home with us!

First Photo Together!

Meet Winston. He didn't come with a name he knew, so I named him. He hadn't been at the rescue for long, and I was told if they didn't know he was there, no one would have known. He just hid in the back of an igloo in a kennel with a few other dogs. He was a bit emaciated and he was healing from all-over bite marks. Evidently he was dumped by his owner at a shelter after the other dog or dogs in the house attacked him. From here Dobies & Little Paws saved him. He seemed sweet to me. And the interaction between Bella and him seemed okay. It's so random. Just like that I said "we'll take him home!" It seemed as if Ardis and Colleen were almost surprised by my choice. Now at a healthy weight, Winston weighs 62 or so, and he is fairly calm. He is and was the perfect choice!

Winston on Alert

You know I could go on and on and on about every detail of my sweet mascots. I will tell you that Bella has relinquished most of her barking duties. Winston is now the primary announcer of delivery trucks. Thy family dynamic is so funny. Bella adores me. Winston adores Bella. And me, I adore them both. (Winston loves me too, but he is crazy for Bella.) These two are the light of my life.

 

And for the heck of it. Today's attempt at a team selfie! - ND

Reminiscing About Our First Mascot, Byron

Byron and Me

Dunitz & Company has had several mascots since we first started our business. Byron was our first. My sweet Vizla - Weimaraner Mix was the light of my life for over 15 years. Can you believe it? Byron was not a rescue. My mom purchased him for me for $100.00 from a "backyard breeder" who was a friend of a friend. The year was 1995. We knew the dog parents. It was before I was aware of dog overpopulation and overcrowded shelters having to regularly euthanize them. What I do remember is my mom's voice when I thought I might not be able to care for a dog, "JUST PICK ONE OUT!" She was right. Byron brought me so much joy.

Cutest Puppy EVER!

Byron was only 7-1/2 weeks when I brought him home. And he was a little terror. I caught this photo of him (my favorite puppy pic) when he jumped up into this planter. Not long after that he shredded the entire plant to smithereens. My neighbors teased that his name must be "Bad Dog, NO!"  He was so adventurous and super high energy. Most dog people said he was lucky to have me because most people would not have put up with his activity needs. We spent a lot of time at dog parks, hiking and running stairs at the Hollywood Bowl. He was the best kisser. One kiss meant a face wash because that dog had the largest tongue ever.

But, alas, this is a post attached to my fair trade jewelry business. For that reason, I'm going to share a bunch of photos of him wearing beaded jewelry.  It had been a good year and I decided to hire an amazing photographer, Amy Cantrell to take an amazing collection of photos I enlarged and shared in my trade show booths for a few years. (I remember when I stopped showing them, my customers would sheepishly as if he was OK and still living.) For the purpose of this blog, I actually took snapshots of the posters. That means they're not quite as crisp as if they were 1st generation.  Just the same, I know you'll love seeing them. I sure have enjoyed reminiscing. This pic with the glasses is one of the funniest. And I'm surprised we ever "got it" because he kept tossing them off his face.

 

The 'blue necklace' photo showed off Byron's absolute beauty and those enviable ears the best. I liked the photo so much, I 'pissed away' $$ on pins I gave out to my customers. It was good for a few laughs.

Here are the other photos I hung up in the trade show booth. Byron in "rainbow", Byron in "turquoise", Byron in Swarovski crystal necklaces. My boy looked so stunning in all of our jewelry designs.

 

 

A HUGE kiss for Nancy

Amy sneaked in this one on photo shoot day!

 

 

 

 

The Color Answer Book

In the early 2000's, I collaborated with artisans in South India to bring beautiful beaded dog collars to doting dog parents in the USA. Sadly, the project didn't last. However, Byron the model is featured in perpetuity in "The Color Answer Book" by renowned color specialist, Leatrice Eiseman. Eiseman is the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. She saw this photo in our New York trade show booth and asked if she could use in her then upcoming book. The book was released in 2003. The photograph was taken by me.

Byron life ended before the Facebook and Instagram craze. Toward the end of his years, Facebook was catching on. Digital cameras were the norm. And print film was a thing of the past. We actually mailed out paper holiday cards with Byron's image several times. With Photoshop artistry we offered up some fun ones. And later on, we posted a few to Facebook when social media was gaining traction and we didn't want to purchase sooooo many stamps.  How can we not share some of those fun images?

 

A Big Kiss for UPS man

My parting thought is to speak to Byron's loving disposition. That dog wouldn't have hurt a flea. (Although sometimes the fleas would bug him.) He's the only dog, so I was told, that our vet would allow near his infant son. Byron wanted to play with every dog or human he met. And if allowed, he had a kiss for everyone. At Dunitz & Company, that happened daily with our UPS driver. -ND

Holiday Card Greetings, Always with Dogs

It dawned on me that the holidays crept up on me and I hadn't designed a new holiday card. What's a girl to do? Who would remember my terrific card from last year?  I decided to give my two doberman mascots new necklaces. Dunitz & Company fair trade necklaces, of course.  I also thought it would be fun to go through my computer and find my images from past years. In earlier times, we printed our greetings on paper and mailed them. In recent times, my masterpieces have been shared by email and social media. Here's my stroll down memory lane. I think this may be the first time I'm posting pics in "medium" size on my blog. It's either so you can see them easily without double clicking or to let you know just how much I love my dogs!


2007. Byron and the Snowman. Yes, he is wearing Dunitz & Company necklaces in appropriate colors

2008. Our mascot, Byron thinking about one of his favorite things. Yup. We made him wear reindeer antlers again.

2009. Byron was greeted by Santa that winter season.

2010. Byron was a bit more reserved with a Dunitz & Company bracelet featured as a collar.

2011. Return of the Antlers. And Byron was not too pleased.  I'm afraid at this point in the job, he had gotten quite old. I think the greeting reflected that.











2012. Stetson took over with a Chanukah Greeting.

2012. Simple, but our warm wishes are always the same.

2016. Don't ask. I haven't a clue what happened to 2013, 2014 or 2015 greetings. I can't seem to locate them.  By 2016, Ida had joined our crew.  Along with Stetson, they decided to don some Dunitz & Company fair trade kippot. Silly? Yes. Fun? Definitely.

2016. For Christmas, the mascots proudly wore Dunitz & Company necklaces. Me? I put on a Santa's helper outfit. Shall I saw I borrowed the outfit and body. Ah, the magic of Photoshop.















Seems 2017 was an oversight as well. Can't find a card in my files. Certainly our best wishes were in tow. They always are. Hey, go back to the top of this blog. And there you'll find our updated 2018 group shot. An updated version from 2016. But, heck, the dogs got new necklaces.  Happy Holidays and Best Wishes from Dunitz & Company for a healthy, happy, prosperous and fun New Year. See you in 2019! -ND