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To Love and Be Loved
By Heather Gaghan
Reading through the product brochure for C.L. Wright &
Company is like skimming a chapter of a Thoreau novel. There are beautiful
pictures of nature’s majestic plains and mountains with quotes interspersed
proclaiming the greatness of our four legged friends.
“A dog is like an eternal Peter Pan, a child who never grows old and who therefore is always available to love and be loved” - Aaron Katcher
It is this kind of love that Cari refers to in her opening
statement of her catalogue. “C.L. Wright & Company was developed out of a love for
our pets, Dallas and Kindred, two Labs that impacted the lives of my husband
and I unlike anything we had ever experienced. They were companions to the end,
always loving and always there. In an ongoing attempt to provide for them all
the comforts in life, our quest led us to the creation of an exciting line of
products that offer pets the comfort, security, and support they deserve. We
look at it as our reward to them for all the love that they have given us.”
It was during the spring of 2001 Cari commissioned a local
Indiana hickory furniture manufacturer to build two beds for their Labs. Cari remembers, “Dallas
was having a hard time getting on the bed and couch and sleeping on the
hardwood floors was causing her to be stiff and her paws were slipping from
underneath her as she stood.” Cari found that
the pillow style bed was not giving Dallas the back and hip support that she
desperately needed so she designed the beds to be made at a height the girls
could walk out of. Cari also discovered that the elevated sides of the bed helped
to decrease spinal and hip strain.
Realizing
that elevating the plastic food and water bowls for the girls with the help of
phone books was not only unhealthy but not exactly aesthetically pleasing
either, Cari was once again inspired, this time to create feeding stations both
she and the dogs could be proud of.
Unfortunately, later that year during the fall, both of
their Labs passed away within three weeks of each other from unrelated
causes. Cari recalls, “The company was
on the ground level at that point and after the girls’ passing it became a
labor of love to remember them always. The logo of our company is of the girls,
so daily I am reminded of their love.”
After seeing how Kindred and Dallas loved their beds and
matching feeding stations, then having friends and family comment on how much
they liked them, C.L. Wright & Company was on its way.
It is a family owned business that supports its local
vendors with 90% of their products manufactured in the state of Indiana by
small, locally owned companies. Their rustic products are hand made in a small
town just northwest of Indianapolis from native hickory saplings that are
harvested in the fall of each year when the sap returns to the roots. Once harvested the hickory is seasoned and
then is ready to be turned into a bed or feeder.
Both
the bed and feeder collections reflect Cari’s and her husband, Mike’s travels
out West. Mike lived out west and has fished in all of the rivers—Yellowstone,
Missouri, Madison, and Big Horn. It became obvious that they should name the
feeding stations after them. As Cari says, “What a perfect collection of names
for what feeds your best friend and pet, the "salt" of the earth!”
Each
bed and feeder offers a special "one-of-a-kind feel” because of the unique
character of the hickory that it is made from. Mike, the company’s Vice
President of Operations along with Marketing and P.R. from time to time, says, “A
special twist here, an interesting color and shade there, generate great
comments from our customers when they see their C.L. Wright product for the
first time.”
The
beds are made to accommodate dogs ranging in size from a Mastiff to a small
Lab. Each bed is designed to provide a
protected feel by having side rails, and is elevated above drafty floors to
keep dogs comfortable. A cedar/cotton filled cushion is included that has a very
smart, removable, washable cotton duvet cover in either navy or hunter green. Their
yellow Lab, Kindred was the tester of all beds from design to color choice!
There are four series of rustic pet beds and feeding
stations offered by C.L. Wright & Company, each of them inspired by various
western landscapes from Montana to Arizona. The hickory hardwood frame stands
up to even the most hungry and thirsty pets.The powder coat painted, wrought
iron insert provides a secure and stable fit for the two stainless steel bowls
that come with each feeding station.
In 2004 the company introduced the Hand Painted Feeding
Stations. Just like the rustic feeders, each hand painted feeder is a unique
piece of artwork for your pet and home. The Hand Painted Collection includes
the Seaside, Star, Classic, Southwest, Branches and Butterflies, Mayan,
Mountain, Sunburst, and Picnic Styles. The feeders are manufactured by a local
carpenter and then commissioned to be painted by two artists.
The smart elevated feeding station design helps to reduce
digestive problems and provides comfort for arthritic and older pets while
eating. Every detail of the feeding stations were thought of, especially what
kind of bowls to use. After researching the subject, Mike found that plastic
absorbs the saliva and allows bacteria to grow more easily, and ceramic bowls
are fragile, so it became clear that stainless steel bowls was the only way to
go.
Cari commented that her inspiration for the Handpainted
series “came from the fact that not every home's style worked with our rustic
line and she wanted to open up their market to a broader audience. Working with
a few artist friends, I told them to let their creative thoughts come out, and
let them go to work. We had no idea what styles they would come back with, and
when we saw them we liked every one.”
All Labs is sure you will like them too! Check out all
the unique styles from the CL Wright & Company at www.clwright.com and let us know if there
is one style just right for you.
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