Brinkley Turns One

I had been planning Brinkley’s 1^st Birthday since the day I got him. Probably before that. There was a blog post about it. He was going to have a Star Wars themed birthday and him and his friends would dress up as characters. He, of course, would be Han Solo. There would be Star Wars themed food. It was going to be great.

Well, that didn’t work out.

It turns out that dogs probably don’t want to wear costumes when it’s Texas Summer. It also turns out that coming up with an elaborate themed menu for lots of people probably wouldn’t work with a girl on a very tight budget. So that plan was scratched.

Instead, Brinkley had a Luau. My mom and I came up with this plan when digging through my dress up stash I had while growing up. While going through it, we put the dogs in ensembles. Beau was more into it than Brinkley.

Proof:

Both Brinkley and Beau seemed to enjoy the Leis so the Luau it was. We didn’t roast a pig but we DID have hot dogs. I headed to the dollar store to pick up some more leis for all the dogs. They only had packs that had leis for the neck, ankles and head. That actually worked out since Roxie’s neck is the size of an ankle. While there, I grabbed a pack of party hats with the hope to get some hilarious pictures.

The party was at my parents house. They have a pool and Brinkley’s absolute most favorite thing to do is swim. He doesn’t even have to be fetching anything. He will just swim in circles. He does love to play fetch with pool noodles though, even if that’s not your intention. You can just be relaxing on one and he will immediately take it from you. It’s probably best for you to not look relaxed at all in the pool. If you looked relax it’s probably because you are floating. There is no floating when Brinkley’s in the pool. He thinks floating is drowning and he will swim after you, grab your wrist and drag you back to the steps. In fact, it’s probably just best if you just stand in waist deep. That’s your only guarantee that you won’t get “saved”.

Brinkley swam for hours on his birthday. The party started at 5 but just like a little kid, he wanted it to start early so he grabbed his Lady and they began swimming. His 4 doggie friends joined around 5. None of them particularly enjoyed the pool, but their parentals sure did enjoy making them try.

After swimming, the humans and pups both ate. The dogs enjoyed cupcakes made with yogurt frostings and Brinkley’s favorite food, bacon, as the topping.  The doggy cupcake part of the party lasted a whole 30 seconds.

The last part of the party was presents. My mom and I had picked up a few toys for Brink but I had NO idea that everyone else would have the same plan. At first Brinkley wasn’t so into the whole opening presents thing. He was afraid of the tissue paper. Seriously, I wish I was joking. When he realized that bones, chew toys, and Frisbees were underneath the tissue paper he manned up.

The dog has never had so many toys in his life. And the best part is it seems like he wants them all to be sure that they are equally loved. I will throw the fake branch and he will come back with the cookie Frisbee. I will throw the cookie Frisbee he will bring back the water bottle cow. I’ll throw the water bottle cow and he will bring back the green dog.

It probably seems insane to throw a birthday party for a dog. It might be. But anyone who is a true dog lover knows the happiness a dog can bring to their life. To see something get so excited to see you after a long day can’t help but put a smile on your face. If having a birthday party for your dog to pay them back for being the most loyal living thing in your life is crazy, I’m okay with being crazy. 

More photos of the fun: