In theory, I’m aware that dogs are not people. I have yet to put clothes on my dogs, or have dog birthday parties.
Okay, that was someone else’s birthday. A human person’s birthday.
(I confess that I have been invited to a dog birthday party next week. And I am probably going. But I will not wear a party hat.)
Also, I do not treat my dogs like my children.
I treat them better than my children.
Oh, I jest. I love my kids and my dogs equally.
Just joking, kids. You know I love you more than the dogs.
But I am a dog person. I love dogs. And, now that I have kids, I love dogs even more.
This time I’m not kidding. I really do love dogs more now than before I had kids.
And it’s not because dogs are obedient and go to bed when they are told, it’s because having dogs makes my kids better.
By better, I don’t mean that now they are more responsible, do their homework on time, treat their siblings kindly, and keep their rooms neat and tidy. No, I mean that they are better now because when they are sad or lonely they have a dog who makes them feel better.
There have been many times when one or another of my kids have come home depressed or upset about something that has happened at school or at a friend’s house. But add a hearty serving of wet, sloppy, germ-laden dog kisses, and some excited tail wagging, and voila–a recipe for instant mood improvement. Suddenly, life isn’t quite so icky. Although, the kid’s face now is.
With a dog, a child always has a friend who loves unconditionally. A friend who doesn’t care whether she is short, tall, wears designer clothes, or has a cell phone. A friend who never blabs her secrets or gossips about her behind her back. A friend who doesn’t intentionally neglect to invite her to his birthday party.
If he were going to have a birthday party. Which he is not. Because he is a dog.
It doesn’t matter if the kids are 8 or 18 years old, dogs have the ability to make them feel better. I love them for that.
The dogs. I love the dogs for that. I already loved the kids.
So, go ahead and celebrate the dogs in your life. But, please, wear only one party hat at a time.
Otherwise, you’d look a little silly. (Good thing that dog loves us, no matter what.)
Yes, I do like your party hat. And wearing it in triplicate–genius!
That puppie’s so cute with all of the party hats on! Who’s idea was that
So please tell me you got the title of this post from “Go, Dog! Go!”, my favorite of all children’s books (well, sight-word books, anyway!)
To this day day, any time I want a compliment on what I’m wearing, I’ll say to my husband, “Do you like this hat?” and he knows his line is, “Yes! Yes! I like that that! I like that party hat!”
HAT! I meant to say, “I like that HAT!” Blast these typos!
And I love dogs, too. We’ve spent most of Valentine’s Day in negotiations for a puppy from over the back wall. I will lose this battle, but I knew I had to try. They’re so cute!
C-Star it wasn’t your idea it was mine. Yes the pup is cute!
@Louise: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
@C-Star: I can’t reveal my secrets.
@DaNae: Correct! It’s from “Go, Dog, Go.” You win 10,000 bonus points.
@Katsdogblog: You are right that the pup is cute–and we’ve got lots and lots and lots of pictures to prove it.
Very cute. Our dog gets treated as well as the kids, too. But he does sometimes wear clothes and he looks adorable in them. When he was a puppy the kids would put Build-a-bear stuff on him. The only thing that saved him was that he grew. Oh, and I’ve never been to a dog birthday party either, but I did go to a dog BBQ. No, we were not barbecuing dogs.
@ Scraplady: Good thing you weren’t barbecuing dogs, because that would be bad. Unless they were hot dogs, and that would be better, but who would want to eat those, either? (People who like to eat disgusting things, that’s who.)
Are you saying that I take to many pictures. Thats kinda rude…
Katsdogblog: I’m saying that you take lots of pictures. (That’s completely different than too many.) It was a compliment.
Oh yeah sure….