Do you c
elebrate your dog or cat’s birthday with a party for them? I have to admit that I don’t—though my pets get their favorite treat meal, maybe a new toy, and extra cuddles and hugs on their “special day”.Lots of people take pet parties to the next step, though. When I Googled “dog party” I was amazed to see more than 66 million results. That’s a heck of a lot of doggy party favors; doggy party treats; and doggy party venues.
What really surprised me were the more than 47 million results for “cat party”. Kitty parties? Not for the cats in our family! Miss Tabitha endured being dressed in doll’s clothes and wheeled around in the dolly stroller when both she an
d my daughter were little. But would she or our other two cats put up with the indignity of party hats and fancy dress? I don't think so.
Dogs are more obliging and also, perhaps, more sociable. The pictures I’ve posted on this page are from the day when my friend Kyle kindly had her dogs Cobber and Kaylee, with their friend Sampson, test the pup cakes from the recipe on my website. (The heroine of my first novel LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a chef and she creates baked goods for dogs. ) The doggy guests started off on their best behavior until greed took over and Samson snuffled more than his fair share. These cute photos really sold me on the idea of puppy parties.
d my daughter were little. But would she or our other two cats put up with the indignity of party hats and fancy dress? I don't think so.Dogs are more obliging and also, perhaps, more sociable. The pictures I’ve posted on this page are from the day when my friend Kyle kindly had her dogs Cobber and Kaylee, with their friend Sampson, test the pup cakes from the recipe on my website. (The heroine of my first novel LOVE IS A FOUR-LEGGED WORD is a chef and she creates baked goods for dogs. ) The doggy guests started off on their best behavior until greed took over and Samson snuffled more than his fair share. These cute photos really sold me on the idea of puppy parties.
So I had a lot of fun with a doggy birthday party in my July release novel from Berkley Sensation, HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Heroine Serena Oakley runs an upscale doggy day-care where posh puppy parties are a regular event. PI hero, Nick Whalen, thinks dogs should be fed on table scraps and kept outside. Working undercover, he finds himself setting up a party for a pack of pampered pooches. Poor Nick—they say authors should torture the characters in their books and taking part in the puppy party is definitely torture for him.
Do we always know the actual date of our animals’ birthdays? If they’re rescues, we might have to hazard a guess or celebrate on the day we found them or brought them home from the shelter. It’s easier with horses. They have an official birthday: January 1st in the northern hemisphere and August 1st in the southern hemisphere.
Of course the very best thing about the birthdays of dogs, cats or horses is that they are very forgiving if their birthday happens to slip your mind!
Do you ha
ve a pet birthday story to share? I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Please include your email address.
Do we always know the actual date of our animals’ birthdays? If they’re rescues, we might have to hazard a guess or celebrate on the day we found them or brought them home from the shelter. It’s easier with horses. They have an official birthday: January 1st in the northern hemisphere and August 1st in the southern hemisphere.
Of course the very best thing about the birthdays of dogs, cats or horses is that they are very forgiving if their birthday happens to slip your mind!
Do you ha
ve a pet birthday story to share? I'd love to hear it. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BARK IS. Please include your email address. http://www.kandyshepherd.com
Thanks to Sampson’s owner Chris for the photos.
