I know have written about my dog before, and frankly, there are endless topics and stories related to her that I could exhaust here, and I won’t stop now. Over the last weekend, I threw Piper a birthday party. A puppy party was something I always dreamed of, and as her birthday approached, I began to plot: Would this make me look even more insane than I already do? Should I make her a cake? Would it be absolutely ridiculous if she opened presents?

To answer the above, yes, yes, and not at all!

It was obvious that every girl must look her best for a celebration, so Piper took a trip to the salon (the groomers) and got a fresh & clean new look that also involved a little pink bow.

To make things even better, my mom and grandma drove down from Omaha for the weekend, coming with gifts, party food, and tons of cleaning supplies. In addition to the party, spring cleaning was on the agenda, as we couldn’t have guests over when things weren’t spotless and shiny!

As my grandma began to deep clean the kitchen area, my mom and I drove to the grocery store and went off. Pink balloons? Check. Pink flowers? Check. Hot pink cupcakes with glitter sprinkles? Done. Peanut/Tree Nut free sugar cookies? Yep. No chocolate was allowed at the party, obviously, and other party/snack food was added to the list as we went through the aisles.

Of course, Piper had to have a birthday cake for herself, so I found a dog-friendly recipe on Pinterest, so the princess could have a proper birthday celebration.

With her bow still in and presents lining the table, Piper welcomed her guests with more joy each time a new one arrived. An attention/people lover, her tail didn’t stop wagging all night. One of my friends has a wiener dog named Ace around the same age, and we like to say that he is Piper’s “boyfriend”. Which according to this picture, appears to be true!

Finally, the time came for us to light the candle and sing happy birthday, and Piper could barely wait to dig into her cake. Her and Ace split it, and then proceeded to open her gifts. Numerous squeaky toys (a Chewy Vuitton purse and Sniffiny & Co. box) later, Piper laid on the couch and fell asleep, even before saying goodbye to the guests!

Overall, writing this makes me feel even more laughable and absurd than I felt before/during the party. However, since becoming a dog mom, I’ve realized how much this six-pound ball of happiness means to me. I want to take every opportunity I get to show Piper how much joy she brings us every day, but even throwing her the most extravagant and over the top of parties could never measure up.

So yes, if you’re the type of person who throws dog birthday parties, we (and our pups) should be friends.

Sincerely,

Madeleine Rheinheimer