Oops, we did it again!

But only because of YOU. For the third consecutive year, Murphy’s Paw was voted Best Pet Store in Pleasanton Weekly’s annual Reader’s Choice awards! This comes on the heals of winning Diablo Magazine’s “Best of the East Bay” contest. We hate to sound like a broken record, but accolades like this would not be “pawssible” without our amazing customers and supporters.

To celebrate, we’re offering a blawg-exclusive discount: print this entry for 25% off any single item, through August 15th. Have you been eyeing that new dog bed, wool sweater, or spiked collar? You have two weeks to take advantage of our biggest discount of 2010!

Finally, please be sure to drop by Murphy’s Paw during the next “First Wednesday” street fair and pooch parade. On August 4th, we’ll have $1 frozen yogurt for dogs to benefit Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Bumblebee Ceramic Handprints will be on-site to peddle their wares. Who let the dogs in?!?!?

As always, we thank you for your pawtronage!

–The Team at Murphy’s Paw

In August of last year, Murphy’s Paw was lucky enough to be featured twice in Diablo Magazine’s Pets Guide A-Z (Check letters D & Y!)  “The Magazine of the San Francisco East Bay” is a must-read every month, covering topics from travel, culture, recreation, food, shopping, and entertainment. Every July, Diablo conducts a “Best of the East Bay” readers poll. This year, after 134,442 votes, the results are in!

We are proud to announce that Murphy’s Paw was selected as the East Bay’s BEST PET SHOP! This is a tremendous honor; winning Diablo Magazine’s prestigious award has always been a goal for us. However, this would not have been possible without our customers. You spoke up, and this award is as much yours as it is ours. If “Best Customers” was a category, our loyal patrons would win in a landslide. We share this recognition with YOU.

As many of you know, there are numerous ways to connect with Murphy’s Paw in a virtual or mobile environment. We have almost a thousand dog and cat lovers following us on Facebook and Twitter. Did you miss the latest Bark & Brew? Watch highlights on YouTube! Want to hear what other customers are saying? Read our stellar reviews on Yelp. You can even view our 3000+ canine customers on Flickr!

But what if you want free prizes, special offers, and exclusive discounts sent directly to your mobile phone? Simple! Just text the word paw to 91904. It’s that easy!

Every couple of weeks, we’ll send you a text message “coupon.” To redeem, simply drop by Murphy’s Paw and show us your message. Since rolling out this text marketing campaign, we’ve given away $250 in gift cards, dozens of pounds of free dog cookies, and even a Barry Zito autographed baseball! Who knows what we’ll offer next?!?

Please note: we do not spam and you can opt-out at any time. It’s pawsitively a no-brainer!

Episode Three. Bailey is a Murphy’s Paw MVP! Here’s the scoop:

Name: Bailey Powell
Age: 21 (3 in dog years)
Dogs: George, a three-year old Cockapoo, and Maggie, a two-year old Britany Spaniel.
College: San Jose State University, currently studying history with a minor in business.
Interests: Travel, movies, painting, 20th century American history, antique shopping, A’s baseball, weddings, the American Cancer Society, and of course, her boyfriend Pat!
Trivia: In Bailey’s extended family, she is the oldest of 16 children! SHE LOVES KIDS! In fact, she’s such an excellent nanny and caretaker, she splits time between Murphy’s Paw and the Sadek house!

Needless to say, Bailey is a valuable asset to us. Drop by THE PAW and say hello!

Long time, no blawg! To be honest, we’ve been spending so much time connecting with our friends and customers on Facebook and Twitter that our blawg has been a bit neglected as of late. That being said, we will try to be more active here!

A quick item of note: Our next Bark & Brew is on Friday, February 19th from 6pm to 10pm. For those of you who have never attended a Yappy Hour or Bark & Brew at Murphy’s Paw, we host them once a month and they are BY FAR our most “pawpular” event. It’s a great opportunity for dogs and dog lovers to socialize with their own kind. We crank up the music, serve wine and snacks and even have beer on tap. We were lucky enough to make an arrangement with Concord’s own Ale Industries, the newest addition to the list of great Northern California breweries. Ale Industries strives to introduce new and amazing beers on a seasonal basis! 

We will also be giving away a $100 Murphy’s Paw gift card at this event! Using your mobile phone, simply text “PAW” to 91904 to enter the drawing. In doing so, you will also be eligible for future prizes, special promotions and exclusive discounts! WOOF!!

That’s all for now. Until next time…may the paw be with you!

The Team at Murphy’s Paw

Episode Two. Andrea has been with “The Paw” since Day One. In her own words, we have Andrea’s player “pawfile!”

– I’ve been with Murphy’s Paw since we opened in November 2007.

– Not that I don’t love my human clients, but my favorite part of the job: meeting and greeting the dogs that visit us every day!

– I graduated from California State University Sacramento (too long ago) with a degree in Government Journalism.

– I’ve been married 24 years to Rich, former owner of Decision Technologies, a software consulting firm. Rich is now retired, coaches football, and is an amateur vintner and wine maker specializing in Italian varietals.

– I’m a mother of three teenagers…yikes! Gabrielle, age 19, is attending her second year at Las Positas College. Ed, age 17, is a senior at Foothill High School. And Lexie, age 14, is a freshman at Bishop O’Dowd high school.

– I share my home with four dogs: Shadow, is a 13 year-old Australian Shepard. Niner (yes–Go Niners!!) is a 10 year-old Golden Retriever. Grizzly, age eight, is a handsome Havanese. Finally, we have Maybelle, a two year-old pug who has worked the Murphy’s Paw booth at San Jose’s “Bark in the Park!”

– My passion is horses. I currently own two: Lena is a six year-old paint mare and Winnie is a yearling Quarter horse filly. I have raised, trained, and shown horses all my life!

– Other interests: dance, theatre, football (watching, not performing!) politics, history, and volunteering in the schools and for philanthropies in the Pleasanton community.

Wow–could Murphy’s Paw have a better representative in Downtown Pleasanton?!? Find out for yourself and visit “Coco” soon!

Another festive Bark and Brew is in the books, and we had a record turnout! We hope everyone had as much fun as we did; our regulars joined us for a fun evening of drinks and snacks, and we met some great new customers as well. Thanks for your support!

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the results of our Howl-o-ween costume contest! We had 51 registrants and needless to say, this competition was OFF THE LEASH, DAWG!! The votes have been tallied and the following five winners will receive $25 Murphy’s Paw gift cards. Envelopes please…

BEST DRESSED
Lola the West Highland White Terrier
Costume: Vegas Showgirl
Owner: Sarah

BEST DUO
Hilda the French Bulldog
Costume: The Tortoise and the Hare
Owner: Melissa (the hare!)

CUTEST
Max the Chihuahua
Costume: Taco
Owner: Jo

MOST CREATIVE
Bentley the English Mastiff
Costume: Biker Gang
Owners: Terry and Sharon

BEST NAKED
Savannah Brie the Basset Hound
Costume: Au Naturale
Owner: Anny
(photo coming soon!)

A big thank you to all contestants for participating. Every dog was pawsitively fabulous! Please visit our Facebook group or Flickr site for more photos from this event. Until next time, bark at the moon!!

Those of you who shop at Murphy’s Paw have more than likely met Perri Gutteridge, one of our pawsitively fabulous employees! Perri joined the Murphy’s Paw team in August of 2008, and she quickly ramped-up to become a very valuable customer service asset. In the first “employee profile” installment on Murphy’s Blawg, we’d like to share Perri’s mini-bio:

Name: Perri Gutteridge
Twitter Name: peardoll
Age: 3 (in dog years)
Pets: Dogs- Dweezle & Angelina Jolie. Cats- Tigerlily & Gwendolyn the Duchess. Mouse- Henry Hart.
College: San Francisco State, currently studying Neurotherapy.
Interests: People’s brains, English tea, nice denim, comedian Russell Brand, and reality TV.
Trivia: Perri is a prominent fixture in downtown Pleasanton! She occasionally fills in at Me and Emmi, an upscale women’s boutique on Main Street, and she also models for Thriving Ink, an artistic and fashionable T-shirt shop located around the corner from Murphy’s Paw. If Main Street ever institutes a Walk of Fame, our own Perri will surely be immortalized!

Stop by Murphy’s Paw sometime and say hello to Perri!

We’ve procrastinated this blawg entry because it’s still difficult to fathom: Murphy’s cousin, Molly, has made her way to Rainbow Bridge. Molly was a huge inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of meeting her and she will be dearly missed. Here’s her story.

As many of you know, Murphy’s Paw is inspired by our very own Murphy. It’s hard to believe our first-born son will be turning eight-years-old this November! This got me thinking about his “metamurphosis” since becoming a member of our family. Below you’ll find a photographic timeline/tribute to “Masters Sunset Warrior,” a.k.a. Murphy Sadek. (Click to enlarge.)

In the words of Kenny Rogers:

“Through the years, you’ve never let me down
You turned my life around, the sweetest days I’ve found
I’ve found with you, through the years.”