It’s our second annual Bark Week! To celebrate all things dogs and restaurants, we invited industry professionals to send in photos and information about their beloved pets. Want to see more? Check out last year’s line up.
Loretta Tubbs
Human: Jake Norris, master curator of the Curated Barrel Project and former founder of Stranahan’s and Laws Whiskey
Breed: Chihuahua mixed with Shiba Inu, aka, a street survivor
How long have you been together? About a year
Tell us something about your dog: Loretta is the best distillery dog, always curled up at my feet in the office or patrolling the still house while I work. She cares only about snuggles, snacks and of course, rabbits.
Viva
Human: Taylor, a server at Carne RiNo
How long have you been together? Viva & I have been together 9 years. I met Viva before she even opened her eyes. I anxiously awaited the 8 week point to pick up my fur baby. I named her Viva because she is like sunshine and radiates life & love.
Tell us something about your dog: Viva is such a lady! She loves to lay on the back of the couch with her paws crossed. She is shy and reserved but also expects pets and attention from anyone that walks by. She’s cute and she knows it. She is a master manipulator at getting her way & is the best companion you could ever hope for.
Penny
Human: Bryan Graef, server at Mountain Pass Sports Bar at the Gaylord Rockies
How long have you been together? 10 years
Tell us something about your dog: She loves long walks and treats
Toby, Bruce, and Theo
Human: Michael Kurowski, executive pastry chef and social media manager at Ace Eat Serve and Steuben’s (Secret Sauce Food & Beverage)
Breeds: Toby is a Bichon Poodle, Bruce is a Black Labrador Retriever, and Theo is a German Shepherd-husky Mix
How long have you been together? We, meaning my husband and I, have had Toby since 2015, Bruce since 2016 and Theo since 2019.
Tell us something about your dogs: All three are rescues from the Dumb Friends League Animal Shelter, all three have very different personalities. Theo has proudly claimed the title of resident troublemaker. I’m also 100% the person who will ask to hold your puppy before I ask to hold your baby. Follow the chaos, cuddles, and questionable decisions on Instagram.
Bentley
Human: Ty Leon
Breed: Golden retriever
How long have you been together? We got him when he was 9 years old; he is 14 now.
Tell us something about your dog: His hobbies include, but are not limited to: Begging for pizza crust and French fries, napping, peeing on something approximately every five steps, only half-committing to fetching the ball, being afraid of the dark, unsuccessfully trying to play with the cat, refusing to go outside on hot days in favor of lying directly in front of the A/C unit, and sneaking forbidden ground snacks (only to keep me up all night because said ground snacks have him needing to go to the bathroom every hour).
Julep and Lorenzo
Humans: Alex Jump and Stuart Jensen, owners of The Peach Crease Club
Breeds: Julep is a mixed Boston Terrier and English Bulldog, Lorenzo is a Boerboel
How long you’ve been together: I’ve had Julep since February of 2014, and we adopted Lorenzo August of 2022.
Tell us something about your dogs: While Lorenzo may weigh 150 pounds, Julep, 42 pounds, is really the boss of the house. Plus: Julep and Lorenzo are both featured in the artwork on The Peach Crease Club’s menu.
Ruby
Human: Kinga Mackowiak, beverage director and sommelier at Apple Blossom
Breed: French Bulldog
How long you’ve been together: For 5.5 years; I got Ruby when she was just 12 weeks old.
Fun fact: Ruby is actually from Poland. I went to visit my parents and, during what was supposed to be a short three-week trip, decided I wanted to get a puppy and bring her back to the U.S. It wasn’t quite that easy, though.
Because it was during COVID, I couldn’t return directly to the U.S., so Ruby and I had to quarantine in Mexico for two weeks first. My family still says that experience fully confirmed there is never a dull moment with me—I somehow come up with the craziest ideas and always find a way to make them work.
Also, Ruby basically grew up in a winery. When I worked there as a GM, I brought her to work with me, and one of her favorite “toys” became wine corks. To this day, she gets extremely excited whenever I open a bottle of wine because she knows a cork might be coming her way. She takes it, breaks it into the tiniest pieces, and thankfully never eats them.
Juniper
Human: Rob Masters, co-founder and head distiller at The Family Jones Distillery
Breed: Hound and American Bulldog mix
How long you’ve been together: 6 years
Fun fact: She’s the perfect distillery dog. She’s the right mix of chill, obedient, and stubborn (but mostly stubborn). We named our Juniper Jones Gin after her!
Buddy and Bella
Human, role, place of work: Adam and Natalie Moore, owners of Fortezza Ristorante in Niwot
Breed: Buddy is a collie and Bella is an Aussie cattle dog
How long have you been together? Bella for eight years and Buddy for 5.5 years
Tell us something about your dogs: They are both extremely active and kind of needy, in a good way. They love to play hard with each other, but love each other to death. They are both herding dogs to help wangle our children. Buddy is the sweet, loving boy, while Bella is the scamp who is – for some reason – scared of wind.
Huckleberry
Human: Jeremy Wolgamott, chef and owner of The Grandview
Breed: Rottweiler-Shepherd mix
How long have you been together? 8 years
Tell us something about your dog: Huckleberry technically belongs to Jeremy’s son and was named after a line from Tombstone spoken by Doc Holliday. He loves waiting for Jeremy to get home and staying close by while he cooks. Huckleberry never turns down a slice of pepperoni pizza or a late-night ham and cheese sandwich!
Charlie aka Charleston Chew
Human: Sam, and expo at Carne
Breed: Australian Cobberdog
How long have you been together? 2.5 years, We got the Charleston Chew as a puppy.
Tell us something about your dog: Charlie’s best friend is her toy we call “Guy” and they are inseparable.
Kipper, Chewy, and Ravioli
Human: Keenan Pyden, general manager of Cherry Cricket Littleton
Breeds: Kipper a chihuahua, Chewy a pomeranian, and Ravioli a chiweenie
How long have you been together? Kipper for three years, Chewy for one year, and Ravioli for eight years.
Tell us something about your dog: Kipper is the ultimate cuddle bug and has no concept of personal space. Chewy lives up to his name and can never seem to sit still long enough for a photo. Ravioli takes their job of protecting the neighborhood seriously, making sure to keep all the suspicious sidewalk characters at bay with plenty of barking and for that, everyone is very grateful.
Pepe
Humans: Eduardo Valle Lobo and Kelly Jeun, chefs and owners of Casa Juani in Boulder
Breeds: Australian shepherd and corgi
How long have you been together? Since he was 8 weeks old and now he is 5 years old
Tell us something about your dog: He is America´s next top model of dogs. Majestic with blue eyes. He’s kind of the Paul Newman of the dogs.
Lala
Human: Kevin Grossi, culinary director for Big Red F of The Post and West End Tavern
Breed: Staffordshire-terrier mix, with dalmation and shepard
How long have you been together? 4 years
Tell us something about your dog: She’s a mother dog that we rescued from a puppy shelter. She was taught how to do Lala hugs, loves to be in your face and cuddling. Will wait for you to sit down and place one hand on you to check in. We spend lots of time running together and chasing after prairie dogs.
Stanley Guzinski
Human: Kathryn Guzinski, area director of sales and marketing of Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek and Clayton Hotel & Members Club
Breed: Shiba Inu
How long have you been together? 2 years
Tell us something about your dog: Stanley was named after the Stanley Cup and he and his sister were born the same day as their mom. Lord Stanley loves to hike in the summer or Nordic ski with his parents in the winter. He loves to give his sister Stella a hard time. There is something about a kitchen towel that he can’t leave alone either. The towel magically finds its way on the floor on a daily basis. He’s just a happy boy all around.
Stanley Guzinski, owned by Kathryn Guzinski, area director of sales and marketing of Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek. | Photo courtesy of Halcyon, a hotel in Cherry Creek
Lambeau
Breed: Golden retriever
Human: David Brill, assistant general manager at The Golden Mill
How long have you been together? We’ve had him since March, so six months.
Tell us something about your dog: Meet our Golden Retriever Lambeau! Named after Curly Lambeau, the famous Green Bay Packers player and also the stadium name—not the Lamborghini car! My wife and I discovered him at a puppies and yoga class, although I’m pretty sure my wife had other plans than just doing yoga that day. Lambeau spent the entire class curled up in her lap, so clearly, he had already chosen us. He’s now 8 months old and weighs a whopping 72 pounds.
Taco
Human: Dani Champagne, a server and shift lead at Carne
Breed: Shepherd mix
How long have you been together? A year and a half!
Tell us something about your dog: Taco is an adventure dog. He visited seven national parks in our first year together.
