Happy Birthday Teddy!

We celebrated Teddy's 10th birthday this past weekend. Since he is a Dog of Mysterious Origin, we don't know his exact date of birth, but the "free dog to good home" ad that led us to him stated that he was twelve weeks old at the time he was offered, so we counted back twelve weeks from the day we brought him home, and designated August 16 to be his big day. Just to be sure we were as close as could be, we stretched the celebration out for the whole weekend. 

(One time I suggested to Art that we have a birthday party for Sophie. He thought about it for a minute, and then said, "How would it be any different from any other day of the year?" I get what he meant, because if you are a dog in our house, you are pretty much the center of the universe at any given time, but other than that, the bandannas clearly make the difference!)

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So, how did we celebrate? Well, celebratory bandannas must be worn, of course. Then, Saturday morning started with a car ride, which resulted in an egg McMuffin (without Canadian bacon--we all go meat-free on the McMuff), which Teddy generously shared with Maggie. Then there was lots of nap time and yard play, until dinner, which involved lots of special tastes in the dinner bowl, followed by a special dessert....followed by the usual rawhide chew....followed by the usual evening walk...(so this is what Art was talking about....)

"Peanut butter and biscuit flavor--my favorite!"

"Yessssss!"

"Num num num num num..." (Don't worry--Maggie has had hers, and finished it already.)

Maggie helps out on drip assistance.

"Every....last....drop..."

Done!

On Sunday afternoon, upon Teddy's request, we took a pile of soft, washable rugs to the Franklin County Dog Shelter so the shelter dogs can have something soft to sleep on. Teddy likes to give on his birthday, and he has always had a soft spot for shelter dogs since he so easily could have become one. He also remembers Sophie so fondly, and she came to us from a shelter. While we were there, we saw our friend Nancy, who was dutifully walking a series of shelter dogs. She's an impressive dog lover--totally putting that love into action. Thanks for that, Nancy.

Before we left the shelter, we stopped by the Friends of the Shelter store in the lobby and bought a toy for Teddy's birthday (of course), and a "Shop for a Cause" pass for Macy's. If you are local (Columbus) and you need/want to shop at Macy's on Aug. 23rd (that's this Saturday), you should stop by the shelter and pick up one of these passes. For a $5 donation, all of which goes to Friends of the Shelter, you get a pass that gives you 25% off all regular, sale and clearance priced items (except electrics, watches, furniture, mattresses, and rugs--those are 10% off) all day, and it even includes designer brands that are not usually included in Macy's coupons. Whether you use the shopping pass or not, you're still giving $5 to Friends of the Shelter. I'm not sure whether I'll use the pass or not, but it's almost fall, and I do start thinking about boots this time of year...

So, I hope you had a nice birthday, Teddy! I can't believe my Little Yellow Puppy, who grew into my Big Yellow Dog, is now 10 years old! Love you love you love you!