The shadows deepen on this November afternoon in Spanish Valley. There’s a slice of autumn in the air and a chill developing. We dressed warm and got there early to scope out the nonprofit story, loosely based on a partnering of wine tastings, foster puppies looking for a “forever” home, and the music of the Butch Cassidies, one of Moab’s local bands. These elements join to occupy a commodious outdoor back yard venue adjoining the vineyard.

A sizeable clutch of hardcore fans have found seats strategically located around the trifecta of a glowing firepit, the wine bar and the stage. The band is late getting started so I mosey over to the dogs resting sweetly in their little caged bed and talk to Jennifer Parkinson, a foster parent from La Sal, who is offering the puppies, part of a project of the Underdog Animal Rescue and Rehab, up for adoption (see our July 2023 article on this nonprofit, which takes in stray dogs, mostly from the nearby native reservations and communities in the Four Corners, hoping to find homes for them).

She tells me it was Emily Cox, the Butch Cassidies’ lead singer, who suggested bringing the “rez dogs” here. “We love the exposure,” Parkinson says.

By now the band has started up. They’re short one member tonight; guitar, bass, mandolin and three voices keep a tight rhythm. In the audience a drummer from another band claps in time to the music. It’s a nice local crowd, you and me and everyone you know; soon the joint will be packed and they’re still centered around the firepit, many now brandishing wine glasses. There is original music as well as covers, and halfway through the band sings a couple of “dog” songs, one featuring an actual pet in the audience named Frankie.

Today’s full supermoon illuminates the vineyard and the lights strung behind the stage have turned on. The wine bar to the left of the stage is hosted by Russ Reali and a vivacious blond named Eli Hollibaugh. Russ tells me he is the winery’s manager and winemaker, and yes, he says, they are happy to be supporting Moab nonprofits by featuring local bands and holding events like this one. Last month they teamed up with local nonprofit Seekhaven to celebrate Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a wine and cheese party.

It’s getting to be dinner time and the band takes a break. The crowd begins to trickle out. A lovely young woman cradles a caramel-colored puppy in her arms, soft fur and eyes to match. We wonder if she will carry him home – But when she leaves it is without the puppy. She vows to “sleep on it.” Her friend says she thinks she will …it’s a mystery, something not to know yet, only the supermoon, shining down and even he/she doesn’t know how it will all turn out. So there you have it, a party, for this is a simple thing, nothing but a story, a tale about a party; there are music, wine, and puppies, a transcendent full moon presiding. There is light in the shadows that lurk around us and a community that cares.

Nonprofit Happenings promises more stories in the coming year. Watch this space.

To adopt a puppy or find out more about how to support the Underdog, call 435-260-8033.

Spanish Valley Vineyard & Winery is a short drive south of town on Zimmerman Lane. 435-634-1010. moabwinery.com.