Posts tagged "dog-birthday-party"

No longer as kooky as it once seemed, more people are unabashedly throwing birthday parties for their dogs -- especially those who don't have small, human offspring to dote on.

"I have been to so many friends' baby showers and kids birthday parties," says Rachel Passeretti, who is engaged to fiancé Robert Wu, but as yet childless. "I thought, 'Why not throw a birthday party for our dog Coco?'"

For Coco's first birthday -- Passeretti doubts they'll do it every year -- they threw a party, complete with written invitations, decorations, food, drinks, a doggy birthday cake and singing. Thirty-odd humans (and their dogs) grouped around Coco and sang a rousing rendition of the entire birthday song, while the Papillon lapped up the attention.

Jennifer-Jo Moyer and her husband Daniel Moyer have thrown their toy poodle Meteor a birthday party for the past two years. The childless couple jokingly refer to Meteor and his sister, their younger dog FiFiGiGi, as their kids. "We are not confused," says Jennifer-Jo. "But after 23 years of marriage we realize they're all we're going to get." This year, Meteor's birthday party raised $300 for the Rabies Challenge Fund.

In fact, that may be the latest trend: doggy birthday party as fundraiser. Laurie C. Williams, who refers to her dogs as her "empty nest furbabies," got her first Maltese in 2002 when her son's departure for college left a huge void in her and her husband's lives. Williams, who appeared on CBS' Greatest American Dog challenge with her Maltese Andrew, threw a birthday/fundraiser for Andrew's sixth birthday party this year that raised $2,000 for the United Maltese Rescue. "We plan to make it an annual event," says Williams.

All this begs an obvious question. Do the dogs know the party's for them?

"I don't think the dog knows it is his or her birthday," says Williams, a professional dog trainer and owner of Pup 'n Iron Canine Fitness and Learning Center in Virginia. "But I think it gives the pet parents time to celebrate what their dogs mean to them and also to spend time with other pet parents who 'get it.' Suddenly you don't feel so weird anymore because you are with others who feel the same way about their dogs as you do."

What should you know about throwing a doggy birthday party?