How Do You Celebrate A Dog's Birthday?

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How do you celebrate a dog's birthday?

A companion who would do anything for you, who longs to be in your company at all times, and who has brought so much joy into your home?

Hopefully it's a day like any other day; full of belly scratches, attention, healthy food, and lots and lots of love. But if you are like us, you will want to kind of spoil him too.

Dogs bring out the best in us. It's crazy to hear me talk about them in this way when just a few years ago I had no desire to ever let one into my home.

This is Toby. He turned 3 years old two days ago! It's hard to believe that he was ever this little. He doesn't understand what a birthday is, but he has found a good and loving home with us, and we try to make every day one where he feels like he's a member of the family. He didn't choose to come to our family, we chose him, so it's our responsibility to give him a good life.

Before Toby, I wanted to immediately wash my hands if I ever had to touch a dog. They shed, they drooled, they jumped, they barked, they pooped, and I just did not want one, but a certain 10-year-old boy wanted a puppy. So much so that he would cry just thinking about it. And so because we love our children more than we love ourselves, we began to look for a dog.

Toby kind of fell into our laps. Our friends let us know of a puppy that was available, the last of his litter, and was a family friendly breed; a lab.

I remember another friend telling me, when she heard my reservations, "I could seriously cry!!!!! Soooo happy for him....and you guys too...you will fall in love with Toby soon enough!!!!"

I still had my reservations.

When I picked him up for the first time he was so small and scared. His whole body was shaking and he just sat on my lap all the way home. I couldn’t believe how mellow he was. The kids had no idea that we were bringing home a puppy. Their faces were absolutely priceless when we walked into the house. Sheer shock. That night we had plans to go see Christmas lights so we put him in his crate and started to leave the house. As we were getting into the truck, my husband walked out of the house holding Toby. He said he was whimpering in his cage. He wanted to be with his family!  So we put him in the double stroller with Ruby and he enjoyed the Christmas lights with us as he peered out of the stroller in-between naps.

He was already a member of the family.

We take him camping, on road trips, on walks, and outside to play fetch every night. He's pretty low maintenance. Give him a tennis ball, a cozy bed, belly scratches, and an occasional treat and he's pretty content! He's extremely obedient, mellow, and loves children. The perfect dog.

We do sometimes like to spoil him, though. Kaylee hand stitched this little heart for him and it was one of the few toys that he didn't chew up. He'd just carry it around in his mouth from room to room. Honestly, I think it was too small for him to really get a good grasp on for chewing, but Kaylee thinks he kept it in one piece because he liked it so much.

We also keep the pantry stocked with treats. He is a chewer so PEDIGREE® DENTASTIX™ are perfect for him. They keep his teeth clean and are a tasty treat at the same time. He ran out a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to getting him another box while at Sam's Club last week.

It just so happened to be two days before his birthday, and the kids wanted to give him a present, so I put a bow on the top of the box and called it good.

When your owner teases you by putting your treats on the floor for a photo...

During the month of October purchases of Pedigree® products will give a dog in need a bowl of food, which will be donated from the Pedigree® brand.

"Dogs Bring Out The Good In Us™ and we’re bringing out the good in them™". I love this. It makes me so upset to see the number of dogs without a good home, and the number of puppies in shelters. It is our responsibility if we decide to bring a dog into our home, to take care of him, to neuter him if we have no interest in breeding, and to create a safe environment so that he can live a good life. Like I said before, he didn't choose to come to our family, we chose him. Let's bring out the good in him!