Our little guy has gone berserk. Maybe the public should have seen the signs more clearly, arriving late to engagements, bleary-eyed, half-empty? Perhaps it was his disagreement with Tom Wark’s AWBA that sent him over the edge.

Whatever the case, Budo-kun has spiraled out of control in a dramatic fashion worthy of Britney Spears. In fact, the Cobra Snake is credited with taking this photograph of Budo and on-again/off-again sweetheart Britney Spears at last night’s Alcatraz rager.

Sadly, sales at domaine547, the online retailer with whom Budo-kun has been associated with as “mascot” for the past year, have recently plummeted in response to the bottle’s (aka Mr. Grape) bad-boy behavior.

The burgeoning wine e-tailer (whose blog you are currently reading) has issued a press-release stating the following:

“We know Budo has a good heart, and we will do everything to get Budo the help that he needs. In the meantime, we ask for your respect during this difficult time. We pray for Budo’s safe return to domaine547, where we will welcome him back with open arms.”

domaine547 also suggested the possibility that Budo could be innocent, but the target of bitter e-commerce rivals to frame the beloved bottle mascot, in a similar fashion to Wine.com’s sting operations on interstate shipping last year. That move proved a PR nightmare for its instigator, and should Budo be cleared of wrong-doing, the same fate could await whoever may be defaming Budo, a once respected receptacle.

Whatever the case, in order to assuage customers who have cried foul at the e-tailer mascot’s supposed fall from grace, domaine547.com will be offering free shipping on orders of $150 or more throughout the week. Additionally, the e-tailer has pledged that revenue from such sales will help defray the costs of putting Budo-Kun up at famed rehabilitation center Promises, in Malibu, California, should the rumors prove true.

So Budo-Kun would love for you to download this badge and put it on your site, because not all of us can get an American Wine Blog Award, but we can all get a Budo-Kun seal of approval.
We said we’d have some biting commentary on the awards, but that conversation has already been started by Tim over at Winecast, so go there to discuss the ins and outs of awards.

We’d be honored if you wanted Budo’s seal of approval on your site. In fact, he’d be honored to be there. He’s been waiting for his close-up and this could be it. He’s also been waiting to break out into 3-D plushie form, but for now he’s just going to have to be patient with his cartoon 2-D self.

Plus, Gary V. can’t be the only one with badges all over the blogosphere? Can he? Well, maybe he can…

Click here to download the image you see to the left, and insert accordingly onto your blog. We’re all winners, right?!