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.