Yes, that's right, I celebrate my pup's birthdays every bit that I celebrate my friends and family. Minus the candles only, because...well...fur and fire don't mix well.
A few days ago, on January 21st, my sweet, crazy, seizure-prone, perfect, Border Collies turned 7. 7! I remember the day we bought them so well. Oh, you want to hear the story? Don't mind if I do...
My then boyfriend and I had only been dating for a few months when we went to check out an add I'd seen in the News and Observer for a couple tricolor border collies. This pup was for Steven because I always wanted a mastiff: big, dumb, lovable, huggable. However, Steven wanted a trail dog like our friend's dog, Bodhi (also a border collie). We drove all the way to Hillsborough from Raleigh to the Greene farm. The house was a typical farm house, quaint. We got out of the truck and was immediately welcomed by the owner, Mrs. Greene. She let loose her pups, a female tri color rough coated border collie that was super, super sweet, a HUGE male black and white smooth coated dog who was also super, super sweet. We learned that the sire is used for herding their goats and the dam mostly stays in the house as a pet. They were both so well behaved. And then came the puppies. Gunnar went immediately to Steven and Rhea came right over to me. And then it happened...I picked her up and she just laid her head on my arm. That was it, game over, she won my heart immediately.
Gunnar:
Rhea:
Look at that face. I mean...look at that face! How can you not love every ounce of fuzz on her head. We negotiated a price for the last two, trying to get a deal. Since I hadn't planned on bringing a dog home that day, I called my roommate and left her a message hoping to god she wouldn't mind. With two adorable crazy puppies climbing all over the cab, we drove directly to PetSmart to buy all the supplies.
Then a few days ago, they turned 7.
I couldn't make them just any birthday cake of course. So they got a meat cake! It's essentially meat loaf cupcakes made with oatmeal and carrots. Recipe.
They were mesmerized. I don't think they realized yet that the awesome smelling thing baking in the kitchen had actually been for them.
(Side note: it's not Masi's birthday yet but how could I deprive her of birthday cake?!)
I didn't get any pictures of then eating it but I can tell you that they were devoured with glee. I've never seen Gunnar so happy after a treat. However for some reason as soon as I grabbed the camera he got all pouty so his birthday photo isn't the best.
Never the less... Happy 7th Birthday Rhea and Gunnar!! Here's to many more years.
Border Collies are not for everyone. But they're sure as hell for me.
Liz
