2016 April PASO Magazine

ROUND TOWN
The 8 th Wine4Paws set for April 9 and 10
By Chuck Desmond
In Paso and our neighboring
pueblos, it’s no secret that we love
our furry friends. There are a fair
number of private facilities plus
North County Animal Shelter and
County Animal Services in SLO.
And then, there is Woods Humane
Society – also in SLO and
right next to Animal Services. Our
county is huge (it’s three times the
size of the entire State of Rhode
Island!) and with a gazillion acres
of open land and residents who
love their dogs and cats – most of
us have multiple critters – animal
control is a monstrous undertaking.
50% of stray and surrendered
pets in the entire county come from
North County.
Local private shelters are always
strapped for money. Fundraisers are
a primary source of curing those
financial ills. Wine 4 Paws is definitely
a fun and easy helping-hand
for Woods which in turn works
with the other organizations.
Woods got a great boost 8 years
ago when Sarah Tomasetti, her
husband, Steve and some friends
were enjoying wine in the back yard
Spirit and Grace
with their Jack Russells leaping
around. The conversation morphed
into one of, “Hey, let’s buy wine and
help animals.”
With Sarah’s heart-felt pitch to
Woods’ management, the idea of
tying wineries to raising needed
funds that help support the cause
became a reality. In 2009 Woods
was of course thrilled to have the
fledgling group do what they could.
Tasting rooms have cats curled up
in window baskets with maybe
one eye open and a tail moving
just enough to let us know they are
real; all breeds of hounds have their
tails-a-waggin’. Tasting room visitors
love them.
With Sarah’s and Steve’s proposals,
the wineries were all-in to
help out! Under their dedicated
leadership and fewer than a dozen
other volunteers, the April weekend
event has gained both notoriety
and fund raising awareness.
On average, about $40,000 is
raised each year! Funds are used for
food, bedding, vet services, adoption
marketing, spay/ neuter services
and keepin’ the electricity on.
This year, 82 wineries (90% in
North County) and 2 Olive Oil
Tasting Rooms have signed on to
be involved. This support makes
Wine 4 Paws, the largest Springtime
fundraiser for Woods.
During the Wine 4 Paws weekend
event, participating wineries
and olive oil makers donate a portion
of their sales revenue to the
cause. The more you buy, the bigger
the portion! Tip jars are on the
counters for ad-hoc donations.
My fellow leash and corkscrew
users – for the weekend of April
9 & 10, all information is at www.
WINE4PAWS.com. There you will
find the list of participating wineries
and olive oil tasting rooms. It’s
also where you can print out your
passport that qualifies your eligibility
for prizes issued from draw-
ings. Prizes include a cottage stay
at Wine Country RV, lunch for 2
and tasting at Villa San Juliette,
private tasting at Eberle, VIP tasting
at Dunning and barrel tasting
for 8 at August Ridge. Passports are
also available at the wineries; pick
one up at your first stop and have it
stamped as you move from one to
another over the 2 days.
To contact Sarah to help, donate
or ask a question, she may be
reached at Info@Wine4Paws.com.
Thank you to the Tomasettis and
their crew for their tireless work to
help those who can’t help themselves!
Let’s drink and bark to them!
42
Paso Robles Magazine, April 2016