Its spring and I officially have puppy fever.
Meet Churchill. Churchill is a seven year old English Bulldog who, in his spare time, loves romping around in the vineyards, chasing ducks and having his back scratched. I love him. I want him. Dexter says please, please!
Anyways. Today I stole the boy away from corporate America and we picnicked at Chateau Felice.
This place has it all—delicious wine, a beautiful atmosphere and…..puppies!
BIG puppies!
I don’t know about you, but any place that has killer Cab Franc AND puppies that look like bears is a winner in my book.
He’s just a friendly 6 month year old! Check out those paws!
I brought a salad from the local grocery store but was too preoccupied petting the bear cubs to thoroughly enjoy it.
In my salad were chickpeas, beets, kidney beans, mozzarella, carrots and dried cranberries. Felt great to eat some greens!
Churchill says no to lettuce.
But yes to coming to live with Dexter and I in our hole. I whispered in his ear of my plans for us to run away together….
He gave me a nuzzle and a wet nose to the knee. It was love….love!
Next thing I know a piece of dark chocolate is being stuffed in my mouth and I’m being dragged to the car.
I’ll be back, Churchill. I’ll be back.
Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run]
April 26, 2010 at 3:41 pmAwww…adorable. I miss my pup!
Kelly @ Healthy Living With Kelly
April 26, 2010 at 3:45 pmChurchill is adorable!!! Now you are giving me puppy fever! haha!
Lauren
April 26, 2010 at 4:04 pmI want one!!
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg
April 26, 2010 at 4:05 pmYou need a dog!!!!!
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
April 26, 2010 at 4:06 pmI love Churchill! How cute. 🙂
Marissa
April 26, 2010 at 4:11 pmWhat a cutie!
Your posts have been extra awesome lately 🙂
Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun)
April 26, 2010 at 4:13 pmAwww, English Bulldogs remind me of my Grandfather. He was a collector of both the dog and trinkets of the dog. They’re such a sweet, special breed!
Errign
April 26, 2010 at 4:14 pmI always had Newfoundlands (the bear cub) growing up (well, actually we had Landseers – black and white one) – makes me miss my newfies!
Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin
April 26, 2010 at 4:18 pmawww he’s so cute!! i love that you had to have dark chocolate shoved in your mouth to be torn away.. sounds like me!
lola
April 26, 2010 at 4:18 pmHhaha I want a puppy so bad!!! But I still live with my parents and they don’t want to even HEAR about getting a puppy! Wait until I move out, I’ll have a dozen! hhaha
swimsutra
April 26, 2010 at 4:22 pmAlthough I love kittycats, I have such mad love for English bulldogs. But certain man in my life is diehard GTech, so no bulldogs, haha. 🙂
Jil
April 26, 2010 at 4:24 pmAwwwwwwwwww – so cute!! Puppies and wine are a winning combo!! 🙂
MMiller
April 26, 2010 at 4:24 pmYou can go to the vinyard and visit the puppies whenever you wish! It isn’t necessary to bring one home! Puppy fever will pass…you have Dexter! I personally would wait until your life is a little more settled before making such a big leap! Love that you got to steal the boy for a lunch picnic! And he is also quite the photographer! Glad you had a great start to your week!
Morgan @ Life After Bagels
April 26, 2010 at 4:24 pmDo you know of any good wine and puppy places in Toronto hahaha 🙂
amethyst
April 26, 2010 at 4:26 pmFunny! (and cute…) xo
Cynthia (It All Changes)
April 26, 2010 at 4:30 pmPuppy fever is hard to break. Once I got it I had to get a dog and ended up with two 🙂
Lisa
April 26, 2010 at 4:31 pmPUPPIES!!!!! Oh my gosh, cuteness!
Lauren @ Eater not a runner
April 26, 2010 at 4:35 pmAhhh I want a dog SO bad!
Rebecca @ How the Cookies Crumble
April 26, 2010 at 4:38 pmI have puppy fever right now, and BAD! As soon as I have a job where I don’t travel I am getting a job ASAP!!! I want puppies like most people want babies!
Andrea (TastebudApproved)
April 26, 2010 at 4:39 pmAww, you should get a puppy! 🙂
Kait
April 26, 2010 at 4:46 pmawww what an adorable puppy! My parents just got a new dog…I love going home to visit him!
Julie
April 26, 2010 at 4:47 pmI like the way you’ve been composing your pictures lately- especially the very first and second-to-last. They are both really well cropped.
Carolyn @ lovinlosing
April 26, 2010 at 4:47 pmYou made me LOL with Churchill’s reaction to salad! 😆
Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat)
April 26, 2010 at 4:51 pmWhat a cutie! One of the things I’m most looking forward to about moving is getting a pet.
Darcie
April 26, 2010 at 4:51 pmChurchill is such a perfect name for an English bulldog.
Carter
April 26, 2010 at 4:54 pmI swear I’m not stalking you today, but when I saw that Cab Franc, I had to comment (again). I’m sure they’re easier to come across in Northen CA, but here in NC, they are a rarity. A divine rarity that I must scoop up whenever I come across one (that’s reasonably priced). One of my very favorites. Yum.
Lisa (bakebikeblog)
April 26, 2010 at 4:56 pmaww that puppy is too cute 🙂
Staceyhttp://stacey-healthylife.blogspot.com/
April 26, 2010 at 4:56 pmWhat cute dogs and a fun lunch with the puppies. Is it time to get a dog?
Kristin (Cook, Bake and Nibble)
April 26, 2010 at 5:01 pmAhhh I love bulldogs!!
xo
K
theemptynutjar
April 26, 2010 at 5:02 pmWhat a cute little pug pup…that newfoundlander dog ( I assume that is the breed) is also gorgeous…that pic of Dexter ought to be sent to “Ellen”.
Caitie
April 26, 2010 at 5:02 pmChurchill is so cute!! My ex bf has an english bulldog named Winston, and he lived on a hill called Churchill!! Weird! 🙂 They are probably the cutest puppies alive!!! I wish I could add a picture to the comment!!
Jessie
April 26, 2010 at 5:03 pmChurchill – what a noble name for a noble pup! Come visit me!!!!
Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down)
April 26, 2010 at 5:06 pmHaha…love him! Too cute!
Paige
April 26, 2010 at 5:11 pmFirst of all, do yourself a favor: http://www.dailypuppy.com
Secondly, I plan to have a bulldog one day, but his name will be Winston…perhaps he and Churchill can be friends. 🙂
Laura
April 26, 2010 at 5:15 pmWhat a cute post! I would want to run away with Churchill too 🙂
jb
April 26, 2010 at 5:15 pmaw, love the puppy pix! i have a ten year old english bulldog and she’s the little dog love of my life. not the most active dog anymore, but an awesome cuddler. 🙂
Mastering Public Health
April 26, 2010 at 5:25 pmCute! That black, furry dog looks like a gorilla-meets-bear. But, somehow… adorable! Dexter’s pretty funny, too.
Terri
April 26, 2010 at 5:31 pmI LOVE dogs. They are actually very comforting and healing. They are always happy to see you and they are non-judgemental. Honestly, everyone should own a dog.
Christine
April 26, 2010 at 5:34 pmLove, love, love this post. It was so fun to read like a story with the pictures. And I agree that your life would be enriched with a dog. My world be incomplete without one. I have a dog to my left and a cat to my right while I’m on the couch. Heaven 🙂
K
April 26, 2010 at 5:34 pmJenna, Sounds like it’s time for a new furry friend? Dogs are amazing.
Kasey
April 26, 2010 at 5:43 pmI totally have puppy fever too!!!
Heather (Heather's Dish)
April 26, 2010 at 5:49 pmit’s so ridiculous how puppy fever effects me! i have 2 and just started begging my hubby for another 🙂 i don’t think i could handle it, but a girl can dream right?
Picnics and Peonies
April 26, 2010 at 5:55 pmIf you want to see the cutest puppy ever, check out my link 😉 Those doggies are adorable. Such fun to have a puppy in the spring and summer!
http://picnicsandpeonies.blogspot.com/2010/03/moby-not-whale-or-singer.html
eatmovelove
April 26, 2010 at 6:01 pmThis is such a good post! LOVE it girl 🙂
Oh my God – too funny that he can lick his nose! And I love that pic of your cat…lifts my heart.
Becky
April 26, 2010 at 6:08 pmAwww! Puppies! Churchill looks like the most perfect English Bulldog. I neeeed one. Thanks for the smiles.
Lauren @ louisianagrown
April 26, 2010 at 6:45 pmForget Churchill, I’m a pretty big fan of the bear!
Nora@LiveLifeEatRight
April 26, 2010 at 6:46 pmhahaha I think it’s official…DEXTER NEEDS A PUPPY!!! (aka YOU need a puppy) no more stealing furry friends for the day! UGH you have me craving a glass of Cab Franc…and ‘m in the library doing “work”. All I can think about is a wonderful Hermann J. Weimer that I had a while back. It would be the perfect study aid *sigh*.
Abby
April 26, 2010 at 7:00 pmI’ve always wanted a Newfoundland, and these pictures make me want one even more! But my puppy, Dexter, would probably feel slighted (and small…even though he’s 85 pounds)!
Samantha (Foodedu)
April 26, 2010 at 7:03 pmLove the dogs!! Ahhh, the simple things-that just made my day!
Jess @ MTL Veggie
April 26, 2010 at 7:10 pmLOL I keep begging for a dog, the boy keeps telling me no. One day I’ll wear him down…
kelsey@snackingsquirrel.com
April 26, 2010 at 7:15 pmAWE i wanna take them all and kiss kiss kiss hehe. so cute! great post/pictures girlie. have a super fantastic week <3 xoxo 🙂
Jessica @ Jessica Balances
April 26, 2010 at 7:17 pmAww, get you a dog, Jenna. 🙂 You seem to be a lovely fur-mama to Dexter and all creatures, even cats, love companionship!
Charles
April 26, 2010 at 7:20 pmLOL I keep begging for a dog, the boy keeps telling me no. One day I’ll wear him down…
steph-exercise physiologist and artist!
April 26, 2010 at 7:59 pmThose puppies are so cute.
The bulldog is so adorable!! with his crooked eyes and nose!
that under-bite is just amazing! haha!
He reminds me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that our flaws may actually be what makes us beautiful!
That one huge puppy looks like he is about to pull his owners arm off 🙂 Cant imagine him getting even bigger.
kjchicago
April 26, 2010 at 8:36 pmyou have to move Churchill in, you just have to! He can be your first piece of real furniture, nothing better to snuggle with.
Jeff
April 26, 2010 at 8:37 pmyou have to move Churchill in, you just have to! He can be your first piece of real furniture, nothing better to snuggle with.
Kellie@obsessivelyhealthy
April 26, 2010 at 9:07 pmI love the tongue hanging out. Too cute.
Amy
April 26, 2010 at 9:08 pmI’m slightly ridiculous in my love of dogs – both mine and other people’s. There are so many dogs I want to bring home. 🙂 Your pictures reminded me of a great wine tasting tour we went on in South Africa. One of the vineyards had this huge dog (a lot like the black one in your pics, but yellow). I wanted a good picture with her so I laid on the ground to get it. Everyone who sees it thinks I had way too much wine, but I would have laid on the ground completely sober – I swear. 🙂
Suzanne de Cornelia
April 26, 2010 at 10:31 pmDogs, wine, salad, and chocolate in the same post. Gold Star blogging….lol!
Suzanne de Cornelia
April 26, 2010 at 10:34 pmPS..Am ridiculous about dogs, too. Today on Carmel beach lots of dogs, 3 cool guys I met visiting from Amsterdam, and tonight the calamari fishing tugs are out on the bay all lit up under a full moon. Heaven.
Claire
April 27, 2010 at 4:41 amI have puppy fever these days too! Although my parents have our ten year old dog who I adore, any time I see a puppy or dog out with my boyfriend…I want one! Chocolate might help ease the pain…
rachael
April 27, 2010 at 4:42 amChurchill is so cute. An afternoon of bear dogs and wine sounds glorious!
Yali
April 27, 2010 at 5:10 amHe is adorable! Do a little research before you adopt any dog. I daily read a blig about a couple who have a small aparment and bought an English Bulldog..at one point they even considered taking him back because it was just too much. Loving your blog lately .. Hoping we get to see the boy soon lol.
Kelly
April 27, 2010 at 5:43 amI want to go to this place!!! Churchill and that bear looking dog are adorable. I am the biggest sucker ever for dogs!!
diana@mymarblerye
April 27, 2010 at 5:57 amseriously…your posts are getting cuter by the day!! Maybe your sweetheart can own that dog. 🙂
Ashley
April 27, 2010 at 8:51 amMy bf and I have a 4 yr old English Bulldog…she is such a love. We also have a pug and a pointer/boxer/??? rescue puppy. It gets a little crazy but it works.
Tiffany
April 27, 2010 at 10:52 amall the more reason for me to drive up north for a road trip! English Bulldogs and Newfies are the two breeds I’m considering atm. My pup needs a friend!
Nicky
April 27, 2010 at 12:43 pmHey, here in the UK we have a series of (crappy!) commercials featuring an animated bulldog called Churchill! This is a poor example but you’ll see him at least! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaG4GxuSMdk
So next time you see your Churchill you have to say “ohhhh yes!” in a northern England accent 😉 He’ll love it!