Friday, July 8, 2011

My Return to Humanity: Doggie Beer Bones, the Mercato, and Another Giveaway



Bear, another customer of Doggie Beer Bones, and Flash, the Nermal to Bear's Garfield.
Ahem.

So... for the latter half of June, breathing was overrated.

At least, according to my body. Remember I mentioned catching Dan's cold?

After a variety of over-the-counter cold medications, a round of antibiotics, multiple rounds of steroids, and a chest x-ray later, it wasn't just a cold, but a bad bout of asthmatic bronchitis. Oddly enough, I'm not an asthmatic. It happens only when I am hit with severe respiratory infections. Terrible congestion was first, then laryngitis so bad that I was literally mute for a few days, and then the hacking cough that kept me up all hours. Couldn't lie down because my airway would fully constrict, couldn't sleep, couldn't breathe. Unlike most asthmatics, I don't wheeze when my airway closes up, I cough.

Gah. Cue violin.

Nights were particularly bad and it was two weeks before I slept through the night. Through it all, the boys (affectionately known as Biped and Quadruped) were always there. Dan kept me fed and kept the house from turning into a squalid den of ill. Bear would sit with me all day as I hacked away and watched reruns of old science-fiction TV series. Every time a coughing fit started, he'd watch me intently. At night, he'd walk with me as I paced the house restlessly.


They say herding dogs form intense bonds with their people and intuitively respond to cues and moods. I say he's the best puppy-wuppy ever. When I was finally able to go out without scaring people with visions of tuberculosis, I headed to Little Italy Mercato to buy Bear some treats at Doggie Beer Bones.

(Lest anyone accuse me of favoring Quadruped over Biped, there will be a post about Dan's treat: homemade chocolate pudding. -Ed.)

Dan, D.B., D.D., and Flash joined us for the outing. Flash, the only dog Bear will tolerate sharing his space, is an adorable younger girl that manages to evade Bear's attempts to mail her to Abu Dhabi.


Maggie from Loaded Kitchen, who introduced me to PubCakes, sent me a tweet about Doggie Beer Bones. David, who home-brews beer, started making dog treats out of the spent grain from the brewing process. Friends and family encouraged him to market the treats and now they're available at San Diego locations such as the Home Brew Mart, Best Damn Beer Shop, and the Mercato. He also makes Stone Bones for Stone Brewing Company using their spent grain.

Depending on the type of beer he's brewing, the bones will be lighter or darker in color because the grains will be different. I picked up two bags, one with darker treats made from a batch of stout, the other with lighter treats made from a batch of IPA. Other ingredients include oats, flour, peanut butter, egg, and water. They're fine for human consumption and I prefer to feed Bear things that I can eat, too. Locally made and uses recycled materials. Can't get better than that. I should note that the treats do not contain alcohol, although you should have a beer when your buddy is enjoying the treats.

David with Bear. He's such a ham... Bear, not David.
Doggie Beer Bones shares a stand with Handmade Green, which features the cutest eco-friendly dog accessories. I'm thinking something in paisley for Bear. Perhaps a bowtie to wear when he does his therapy dog rounds.


Not only did David let us bug him in the middle of a hot day at the Mercato, he gave me three six-piece packs of Doggie Beer Bones. One is going to Maggie and Layla (see her adorable mug in this post). The other two will go to two lucky Meandering Eats readers! Thanks, David!


How to Enter:
  • Leave a comment on this post telling me about the dog in your life.
  • Follow me (@moowiesqrd) and Doggie Beer Bones (@DoggieBeerBones) on Twitter and tweet the following (don't forget the @moowiesqrd): @moowiesqrd Yo! My dog wants some @DoggieBeerBones!

The Fine Print:
  • Giveaway will run until 11:59 PDT on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.
  • Entrants will be assigned a number in the order their comment or tweet was received. Two winners will be selected using Random.org and announced on Thursday, July 14, 2011.
  • Winners have 48 hours to respond to the announcement. If your email was included in your comment, you will be emailed. If I have no way to reach you, then it is up to you to contact me to retrieve your prize.
  • Prizes will be mailed to US addresses only.

10 bites:

Lisa @ the gonzo gourmet said...

We've got two labs. Libby is perfect ... Sweet with our kid, eats when told, cleans up the floor when we make messes. Max, while adorable, is what you'd call a lemon. Deaf, chews feet until they bleed, we think there was more cross breeding than the AKC would allow. Sigh. But he loves beer and I'm sure would love these treats!

Jennifurla said...

These are so cool, I don't have a dog myself - but great products.

IndiSciGirl said...

I am allergic to dogs but pop pills to dog sit my two favorite furry friends. The joy of being around them makes up for the sniffling.

Lilmssueshine said...

My 6 year old lil girl is Eponine (named after a Les Mis character). She's 100% beagle....goes where her nose takes her, buries underwear, has giant floppy ears which seem to have selective hearing. She's loyal but gives love equally to her parents by giving plenty of puppy besos. She's also kinda scared of beer bottles...she doesn't like when you blow and make the "wooo" sound. It's nice to see pups having fun and enjoying the Mercato. Thanks for the post :D

Mary said...

Maya told me to enter. She said, "Mary, I love those things and you never buy them for me. Whhhhhy?" and then she promptly went to sleep on my bed.

Leanne A said...

My favorite dog is Cassie - she's a mini American Eskimo. She's still fluffy and soft and puppy-ish, she's the sweetest dog ever, and she's always smiling (seriously!)  She's also the middle "child", so I give her lots of extra love.  

Jun Belen said...

My one and only dog in my life is my dear Stanford! I honestly don't know what I will do without my boy.

Snehal said...

Glad to know you are back to normal!
 
My mother said it was either her or a dog in the house - so we never got a pet though my dad loved dogs. But I remember a puppy (lots of street dogs in India) that stayed with us for a little while. My dad fed him once and the doggy stayed around for a month or so until we went out of town only to come back to find out he met with an accident and died :(. It was shattering and we haven't had any dog around since.

kellypea said...

So fun seeing you and others at the meetup this past Saturday.  Looking forward to the next :)  Your description of being ill reminds me of how miserable having bronchitis is.  Now that I'm no longer in schools, my yearly bout has disappeared.  Yay!  Glad you're recovered :)  Love the Mercado and don't go enough.  Your doggos and all the cute doggie things make me miss ours.

Nancy Buchanan said...

OMG... I think I am in love... with Bear!!! Don't have a dog (although after seeing these pics I may have to seriously reconsider this!) but the dog treats sound wonderful and the perfect gift for my friends with dogs!
So glad that you are feeling better - being sick with that kind of a cough is the worst!!!

Hopefully, this means you paid your "sick dues" for like the next decade!!

10 bites