Celebrating your favorite furry friend
Call me crazy, but when my husband and I adopted our first dog together, we threw her a birthday party complete with cake, streamers, guests, appetizers, games, and more. Was it a little over the top? Yes. Was it filled will obnoxious dog puns? Also yes.
But who says dogs can’t have elaborate birthday parties, too? While we did this in our pre-kid era, I think it would be even more fun to get your kids involved in the planning and decorating process as well.
Here are some ideas to on how to throw a paw-some birthday party for your family pet:
Throw a birthday party at a local pet boutique. Several local pet organizations have party packages specifically designed for your pet. Check out these two party packages for pups:
- Fur Babies Resort in Paradise Valley offers a party package that includes 10 dogs, 2 hours of playtime, bubble play, pup photos and doggie “goodie” bags provided to each pup.
- Dogs of Tucson offers a package that includes a reserved table in the indoor lounge for 2 hours, birthday decorations, a “pawty” hat, customized birthday card, customized birthday banner with a picture of your pup, their name, and age, and a custom dog cake, and goodie bags.
Grab your pet’s favorite treats from a local dog bakery. Find a local dog bakery and order your furry friend a special treat to celebrate. Here are a few bakeries to check out:
- Happy Tails Barkery, 743 S Lindsay Rd #105, Gilbert • happytailsbarkery.co
Dog cakes, cupcakes treats and more made with high quality, all-natural, human grade ingredients. - Three Dog Bakery, 1085 W Queen Creek Rd #5, Chandler • threedogstores.com
Specialty cakes, treats, cookies, pupcakes and more. - Peyton & Daisy Rey’s Bakery, 505 S Chandler Village Dr Ste 36, Chandler • peytonanddaisybakery.com. Pet treat bakery specializing in dog biscuits, cakes for dogs, cat treats, horse treats and more!
- Dogs N Donuts, 7743 E Broadway Blvd, Tucson • dogsndonutstucson.com. Offering custom dog cakes, cookies, donuts, and more.
- Cones for Bones, 6121 E Broadway Blvd Ste 138, Tucson • conesforbones.com. Tucson’s first doggy ice cream bar!
Bake a cake for your pup at home. My sister-in-law is notorious for baking at home with her pup. There are all kinds of at-home baking mixes you can buy, or simply look up some pet-friendly recipes online. Most only use a few simple ingredients such as peanut butter, yogurt, and applesauce.
Plan a “punny” birthday celebration. When we threw a birthday party for our dog, I used all the puns to create the ultimate dog celebration. We even had little “doggie bags” for guests to take on their way out. Here are a few of the food puns I used:
- “Pup” corn – bowls of popcorn
- “Pup”eroni pizza – slices of pepperoni pizza
- “Puppy chow” – a sweet chex mix
- “Pup” cakes – cupcakes
- “Paw”sta salad – a cold pasta salad
- Fruit Kibble – a fruit salad
Buy some special birthday attire for your pet to wear. The birthday celebration isn’t complete without some festive attire! There are lots of fun options both online or at your local pet store for your furry friend to wear including shirts, dresses, bandanas, party hats, and more!
