Party Animals!
People who are crazy for their pets often do a lot of over-the-top, silly things for them and to them.
But most hard-core pet people will buy Christmas presents for their animals and have birthday celebrations for them, Right? Tell us about what you do for pet parties!
I grew up in a family full of dog lovers, and one of my fondest memories is a birthday party we had for Misty, our family beagle/terrier mix. My teenage boyfriend came with his beagle, Hunter, the only other canine guest. Misty sat in a baby’s highchair and wore a snazzy party hat. Mom made “pupcakes,” and the one for Misty was decorated with candles which were lit as we all sang “Happy Birthday.” We all enjoyed the pupcakes, especially Misty who gobbled hers right off the highchair tray.
When The Boss and I settled here we adopted Tramp, a spaniel mix, from the Humane Society. On her first anniversary with us—which became her birthday—I threw a birthday party for her and invited my in-laws.
The Boss’s dad, J.C., thought I was a crazy Polish Yankee from the day he met me, and the fact that I threw a real birthday party for a dog proved just how crazy and foreign I was. Imagine how the festivities looked to my in-laws, simple country folk from the old school who believed dogs belonged anywhere but inside a house.
I made a chocolate sheet cake cut I cut into the shape of a bone. It was topped with chocolate icing and big yellow icing letters that read, “Happy Birthday Tramp!”
I worked at a sign shop at the time, so I also had made a banner with the same message that I hung on the kitchen wall. Birthday presents were wrapped with pretty pet-themed paper and tied with bows.
After dinner and our weekly card game of Rook, I dimmed the lights, got out the cake, sat Tramp on a spare chair AT the table, lit the candle and led everyone in the singing of “Happy birthday dear Tramp-E, happy birthday to you.” I helped Tramp blow out the candle.
I’m good at reading body language, and the in-law’s bodies were screaming, “I can’t believe I’m sitting at a dinner table next to a dang mutt singing happy birthday to it!” The Boss’s family wasn’t big on birthday celebrations for humans, so such a spectacle over a dog must have shocked them senseless.
Above is Pearl's birthday celebration. As most of you know, Pearl wasn’t supposed to live long, but she had a miraculous turn around. On the first anniversary of her arrival, Jeremy and Brett celebrated with a party, complete with party hats, treats and a big birthday candle in the shape of a “1.” Jeremy is the guy standing up with Pearl, Brett is on the floor keeping Lucy and Charlie from feeling left out. Pearl sure looks like she's enjoying her meal!
Why do we do these things for our pets? The truth is, we don’t do it for them, we do it for ourselves. We love our pets and want to celebrate our gratefulness for the joy they bring into our lives. Studies show pets do a world of good for us, keeping us healthier and happier than people without pets.
And even though our pets could do without the extravagances we lavish on them, they go along because they live to please us. And that’s what love is all about.
I probably won't get to post tomorrow, but this topic should lend itself to a few days worth of conversation, as we can expand from pet party discussions to just partying!
posted by Sandy at 6/12/2007 10:57:00 AM
Pet People
29 Comments:
Ok-now aren't all FOUR of my babies beautiful. We acted so silly throwing Pearl her party, but we had so much fun. It was just great day of thanking God for a whole year of love, play, and no sickness on Pearls part. One day when we're having a get together, I will bring the baby albums and show you guys their baby pictures and birthday party pictures. We also have home movies of them playing in the snow, training to sit and lay down, and other misc. junk. My mother thinks I have lost my mind, but even she softens up when Lucy sits down next to her on the couch and kisses her or brings her the ball to play catch
We buy all our babies presents at christmas and on their birthdays. I wrap them and put bows on them. Then we help them unwrap them and I stick the bows on there heads. I know it's more for us than them, but they seem to enjoy it too. We stick their christmas presents under the tree even and everyone has their own stocking.
I have a picture of Lucy with the rain deer antlers on (I have a pair on too)--Last Christmas, I bought a set of jingle bells (like Santa's reindeer wear) and put them on Charlie---he was so proud, trotting around making them jingle--we tried to make Pearls first Christmas a bang, but she just couldn't be bothered with it.
Oh yes, we do the big Christmas thing also. The puppies and kitties get their stockings first thing on Christmas morning. Kitties first, as the puppies have gone out to potty. We spend 30 minutes or so playing with the latest toys and having lots of treats, then the puppies get their turn. Oh, I have some cute pictures of MY Lucy helping Daddy get treats out of the package. He is too slow!!! We don't do presents under the tree anymore. No matter what packaging they are in that is factory sealed, they KNOW what is in that pretty Christmas present and it ends up torn all over the floor. They don't bother any other presents, just theirs. So, no more under the tree. We have to let Santa bring all their stuff now. But, we do exchange presents from our pets to family member's pets. My niece's dog Dutchess that recently passed--we always had presents for her from our puppies and vice versa. My best friend's cat gets presents from my cats every year. Okay, maybe we are a LITTLE strange.... Gotta love us pet people.
But, I don't do birthday parties. Just Christmas. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Oh, and my mom always sent Christmas cards to the children and had presents for them as well. The first year after I moved here, my ex and I went to Yankee land to visit his family. My parents drove 8 hours from Louisiana to stay with my babies for a week while we were gone. She told folks back home she was "going to Tennessee to babysit the grandchildren". Really. She sure loved them.
We get presents from Jeremy's Mom from "Max" her little dog. And every pet has their own stocking also. We were so excited to add Pearls this year. My mother tried to be all tough and all that crap, but she gets buttered up pretty well when the dogs are trying to kiss her and the cat is coming in and out between her legs, purring. We get cards from his cousins dogs to ours and every one that we know always puts their names under ours to wish us all a very merry Christmas. I have a first pet Christmas story that I will tell one day when we're all at a get together. It was just Lucy then. It was one Christmas that I will remember forthe rest fo my life.
We give the girls Christmas presents but most of the time they could care less. They like the treats better usually. I ususally wrap them but they just aren't interested but we try. Well I try, Fly Boy says they're cats, they don't know what Christmas is.
Brett your party was so cute and it's so sweet that you guys do all that. I would too if my babies liked it but since they don't care we don't do birthdays.
Yoy do have wonderful kids B! You have a lovely fambly!
We don't do much for any of us for holidays or birthdays. We human types go out for dinner and I send something to hubby's workplace so he can get birthday wishes from eveyone there. We just don't have many real life friends here. His work hours are weird and the dogs are not good with strangers. So, we don't invite anyone here. Plus, we don't have much in the way of furniture since I tend to be either in bed or in my desk chair.
Anyway, thanks to all for sharing how you celebrate with you families! It's nice to see such love!
Love Pearls party pictures Brett! Love the party hat on your head too! Looks like y’all had tons of fun at the party. I just love how the princess Pearl is high above eating her treat while the pheasant dogs are on the ground... LOL
My Christmas with animals started with the family Welsh terrier Molly. She had her gifts under the Christmas tree every year and could sniff them out every time! She also sported jingle bells around her neck and was dubbed “Jingle Dog” during the holidays. To this day those bells are hanging around a rocking chair in my parent’s living room and she has been to the Rainbow Bridge for over 10 years! Mom and dad just don’t have the heart to remove them. They are a reminder of the most special dog in the whole world!
Skeeter always had gifts under the tree and at times he would send as well as receive cards in the mail for this or that occasion. My bubble was busted with animal gift giving a while back. The Saints parents had never made any comments about Skeeter giving gifts to grandma and grandpa then one day mom B and I had an ugly argument and the topic arose of how they resented being referred to as grandparents by an animal was upsetting and an insult. Well, they do not have grandchildren and want them badly so I guess I was not sensitive enough to them and this hurt them. So from that day on, the animal gifts to them stopped. We mended our fences and I love them dearly but am still not sure where things stand with them and us not having those grandchildren. They love animals dearly but wanted the human ones so bad that I think they took me wrong. But oh well, all water under the bridge now. I stopped with Skeeter toys under the tree at Christmas then but started buying a special animal ornament instead for our tree. Each year as I take out the ornaments for the animal theme tree, he is on my mind with each special ornament.
My family on the other hand, loves the animal gift giving thing. Our cats have traded gifts with other family member’s animals and so on. We have slacked off over the years as we don’t see their animals as much as we once did but we still love them each and every one!
Oh Alice, I wished I lived there! I would have you to my house no matter what strange hours you have! You are such a wonderful person to love animals the way you do so I am sure we would have some fun together!
Oh, I must share what just happened. My office window faces my flower garden. I am on the second floor so I get a good view from above. I spotted Skeeter the Jack Russell in the garden. I holler down to the Saint to go get our little friend for some treats. He went into the yard and when she saw him, she ran to him and he lay on the grass and she jumped on him and smothered the Saint with kisses! It just made me smile, to see this from above! She is the only girl I let kiss on the Saint! Ha-ha. She just came in and got into my lap and gave me some kisses but she was too busy to stay with me. She has to go down stairs and snoop for the cats food! She will stay to visit with us for a while and get her milk bone then she will take off back home. We would like to have a dog just like her but not practical with our traveling often so she and Zip-Zip the Rat terrier (another neighbor’s dog) keep us satisfied with their frequent visits.
Where has Puff the magic Dragon been????
Well, Skeeter, I'm afraid Dragon is "tied up" in the middle of the floor at the moment, and I just don't know when he will be free. I suppose that is his payback for keeping me in the dungeon, oh, I mean in the kitchen, all this time.
Tsk, tsk, tsk......
We buy ornaments every year--anything with a black or tan lab or a white cat. My mother rages when I call her grandma and call the animals my babies and refer to myself as Daddy. I just tell her "look lady, it's the best your getting out of me, so you better suck it up!" I talked to her the other night, and she said that the Friday morning she and Daddy came to the hospital, I kept telling her over and over to take care of my babies (I was high as a kite). I think that did something to her--she has asked me how the babies are since then, and I was like , Excuse me? Is there a pod under this womans bed or what?
oh I had posted on one of the topics about a new cleaner I have been using. It's called PROFORCE disenfectant cleaner. Its is yellow and lemon scented and I get ti by the fgallon at SAMS--I use it on the floors and counter tops and I put a cup or two in the lanudry. It has made a WONDERFUL difference in the clothing, especially the dogs bedding and our comforters that they sleep on with us. Great product!
"Tied up" in the middle of the floor! Guinevere, what are you doing to that poor helpless Dragon??? Don’t break the whip while smacking that tail!!! YOU GO GIRL… tee hee
Hi Sandy, great coverage. You've been included in the armchair safari at http://www.blessingoftheanimals.com please come take a look and leave a comment! Let me know if you want to preview the new book, too.
We buy animal Christmas ornaments too, B! We get all kinds of animals, my faorite is a little hedgehog. Last year we didn't have a Christmas tree, we had a Christmas wreath that I hung all the ornaments from. I have a couple of ornaments from when I was a child and then all the rest are those hubby and I have collected over the years. There are more cats than other animals, but we have a rhino, lion, birds and an otter, among many others. I think one of the things that I learned from my father was that love does not have a time of year to give presents... when I see something that I want to give to hubby or the kids, I give it right then. So, I guess we have Christmas all year round!
Would love to see that collection! Bet you could leave them out year round , setting them around an ark or hanging them on a ark type wreath--there's a cool craft idea. You are so right about love not needing a time of year to give--if it did-I wouldn't have anything!
Need assistance pet people...My hubby and I are going out of town for a trip and we are not able to take our dogs with us. I called and reserved them a place at the Animal Inn on Warfield, but they won't let 4 dogs in the same luxury suite, so I am having to get 2 suites. It is costing us more to board the dogs than for our own lodging on our trip. I am trying to look at other options. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Does your vet house animals cheaper? Ours does.
Jennifer, have you considered a pet sitter that comes into your home? My pet sitters are fantastic. I'll send you an email with some details and you can call me if you want.
Back to the subject of pet parties--SANDY, my parents are exactly how you quoted it "a dog should be anywhere except in the house--or the car!" We had mostly hunting dogs growing up--and they stayed in a big pen out in the field. We were'nt allowed to play with them or even pet them as they were to keep hunting on their mind. We had the family Dog "KING" --he came in as a pup in 72 and went over the rainbow bridge October 11, 1981. Ok- I know i'm crazy- i'm already tearing up and that ole dog has been gone 20 some odd years now. He , of course was an outside dog, who later ended up on a chain because he almost bit a kid that was wandering around in our yard. King was VERY protective of us. That dog was snake bit, shot, run over about 8 or 9 times (we lived on state highway 70)-he was the King as far as we were concerned. But old age took him to his reward, and the whole family mourned--even my father. I think thats why my mom is so stone hearted--we had a dog named Sissy that they got for my nephew about a year after King died. She was my mothers close companion who followed her everywhere she went. But she passed away too a few years later.But the way they freak out over the dogs being in the house--geeez! Give me a break.
We take our dogs to the Guesthouse in Woodlawn. It is about $26 a night for the dogs to share a kennel, but the owner is great and I think that is cheaper than the Animal Inn (from our research, that place was the most expensive in Clarksville last time we checked around). The guesthouse have a huge fenced in back area for the dogs to play and then they give you pictures of them enjoying the play yard when you pick them up. Usually the vet's places are cheaper, but they are not usually staffed as fully on the weekends, so this place gives our dogs 4 outside playtimes per day. $26/night is expensive, but I wouldn't take my dogs anywhere else, I really like that place. They are in the phone book as Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast for Animals.
We have also used Cumberland Petsitting Service too, they are fantastic, but we only used them when we were on day trips (we don't trust our dogs alone that long due to separation anxiety and chewing issues). They will come up to 3 times a day and will water plants, bring in mail, etc. I do not know how much their rates are, since we only had them come in one time per day. but they were fantastic too.
Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to tour the GuestHouse for Animals tomorrow and I have left a message to talk to the Cumberland Pet Sitting Service. I am feeling much better now about our decision to go out of town.
Skeeter, I'm glad someone missed me. Just want to let you know that I will be around more often. The floor is 98.75% complete now. Guinevere has unshackled me from the grueling labor and allowed me to spread my wings again. Of course, at times, it really wasn't that bad being tied up. And, who told you about the whip?!?!?!?!?!
Anyway, the floor is much better than it used to be. The puppies and the cats just can't get no traction now. I laugh my butt off when those feet get to skittering and they end up on their a$$. I reckon you could call it officially done now. After all, it has been christened.
Parties for pets. Hmmm... I think there is a new movie coming out about that. I think it's called "Sicko". Okay, I must admit, my varmits do party every day. They wake up just happy to be here and they celebrate, just in case they aren't here tomorrow.
If you want to see that slipping and sliding all the time, dust mop with a little bit of furniture polish--but watch YOUR step or the animals may get their own bit to laugh at
Dragon, your varmits have the right idea! Live life like there is no tomorrow... hey, that would make a good song!
Pearcehart, there is a song about such a thing. "Live like you were dying" by Tim Mcgraw... He goes sky diving, rocky mounting climbing, bull riding etc. After he finds out he is dying…
Well of course I missed the Big Fire Spitting Dragon. And I will not tell you how I know about the whip! Mums the word.... tee hee
It is great when the girls take off on a game of tag with each other. The best part is when they turn in the hallway to go up the stairs and those feet try to get traction on the tile floor! Priceless! Plus when Sheba chases the laser light on the wood floor, she is a hoot! I am sure they are destroying the wood floors but they are just floors right???
I remember as children spraying furniture polish on the wood floors at our grandparents house. It made the best skating rink with sock feet! I also recall the tongue lashing we got from that one! I was in charge of dusting at our house growing up as a child. I decided the wood steps needed to shine so out came the furniture polish! Ops, those stairs only shined once from me! Wohoa I was yelled at big time for that one….
We did the skidding across the hard wood floor at my grandmothers house too---colored socks that we had on after church--they slid the best--as for the song about skating on hardwood floors--How about a Little Richard song "Slippin and Slidin"
Now talking about skidding across the wood floor, what perfect timing to tell today’s funny on our clown Sheba...
I was on the phone talking to my dad, did I say talking? I mean listening to my dad ranting on his typical political matters, (some times I wish I were a teenager again then I would not care a bit about what goes on in the world) anyway, dad was ranting away in my ear and the Saint came running in laughing so hard and motioning to me. I had dad on one ear screaming about health care, taxes, senior citizens being screwed, etc, and the Saint on the other ear laughing his booty off trying to get my attention. What’s a girl to do? Well being a good girl, I motioned for the Saint to get away and I continued to take the punishment that dad was bombing in my ear…. Ah, sometimes being the good kid sucks! After I was off the phone the Saint was bursting at the seams to tell me his funny. He had just come into the house and he caught Sheba scooting her butt across the wood floor in the hallway! He said she was so into it that she scooted into the wall and had her face pressed up against the wall and seem to not know what to do next. She just kind of sat there with her face up against the wall! Then he went to her and that is when he got a snoot full. She had a dingle on her butt and was getting it off by scooting on the floor! All I have to say is Thank you Sheba for not going to the carpet in the sunroom! Yesterday I blamed poor Monkey girl Cheetah for a lost dingle on the floor and now I think it was Sheba. Sheba is the independent girl that does not need anyone so she can get her own dingle off. Cheetah the needy baby needs her mommy (that would be me) to get her dingles off her butt!!! Oh, how these cats keep us on our toes!!! Oh and the real kicker, the Saint left her poopy skid marks on the floor for me to see! Like I want to see poop skid marks! Needless to say, he got up the mess!
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