Birthday Girl

There was a time, during my pre-teens, when I became very awkward. I got really into acting, didn't shower as much and donned big plastic glasses and head gear. I didn't date, omitted a pungent odor and was extremely, extremely skinny. So, it was no surprise when my dogs' birthdays rolled around, that I decided to throw them a party.

Tali (our lab-springer mix)'s birthday was Sept 25th and Leo (our lab-keeshond)'s was Oct 7th. Since there was only 12 days in between the special events, it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate. So, I picked a date and sent out about 15 invitations to the local dogs in the neighborhood. When most kids my age were experimenting with drugs or losing their virginity, I was creating individualized bandanas for each of my dogs' "friends".

Not to be outdone, I spent a lot of time on the details of the party. There were party bags, complete with pet trinkets and treats. I made a birthday cake by layering wet and dry dog food in an aluminum tin pan (and spelling out "Tali and Leo" in chicklet-shaped kibbles on top). And, of course, no party would be complete without the "guess how many pieces of dog food" jar.

The shindig was held at a local park two blocks away from my house and the turnout was wonderful (probably 20 people and 10 dogs). It seemed that everyone had a good time; The dogs got to run around with each other and eat the rice and lamb flavored bday cake, my dad videotaped from the sidelines and Tali and Leo seemed really happy.

The party almost became an annual event until Year Two, when a dog got pregnant. So, sadly, after that, we scrapped the idea. Without the structure of Tali and Leo's birthday patries, I was quickly lost. I spent the following years trying to perfect the dance scene from "Cant Buy me Love" and eventually decided to go through puberty.

Growing up, Ive always been a fan of the "dog birthday party". On May 10th each year, I used to come downstairs to Honey (our loyal Husky-Beagle-Poodle) sitting at the kitchen table, eating dog food out of a carved out grapefruit. Normally she wasnt allowed to sit at the table.. in fact, she probably would have been scolded. But on that day, her birthday, my mom would find a comfortable chair (with arms that stretched out touching the table) and place Honey in it, so that she could have a celebratory birthday breakfast.

No, we weren't obsessed with our dogs. We werent those owners who speak to their dog in a baby voice, lavish their fur with ridiculous bows and carry around pictures of them to show friends. We just loved our dogs...and looked at them as a member of the family.

So, when my client Billy (the "sexer") had his birthday this past Friday, I was more than excited to wrap up a bag of dog treats and a rope bone, slap on a bow and wish him a happy birthday. If nothing else, to show I care.

Today is the anniversary of Tali's birthday. She would have been 16 years old. Tali is one of the main reasons I was inspired to create my own dog walking company. I miss her every day.