Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me. It transpires that there are both good and bad things about gaining a year in age. Being a happy Chapi I focus on the good things, but I do have to ask why to party hats? What is it about rolling up some colourful paper and balancing it upon your head that you humans find enjoyable? I made it abundantly clear that this dog wasn’t going to be wearing a hat! Only for senior staff member to disappear, returning with some string to hold said piece of headwear upon my head. She almost dropped off her favourite staff member perch for that bit of behaviour.

A few days ago things sounded very positive as I was taken to Pure Bakery in Croy to collect my birthday cake. The wonderful people there make cake and I do like cake. Normally I have to find wild cake when we are out for walks; I watch for when staff members are not paying full attention, grab whatever cake I have spotted on the ground (muffins are a particular favourite) and swallow it hole. The drawback tp wild cake is that staff members then try to pry my mouth open and get the cake back out, presumably so they can eat it themselves.

Anyway, I see the cake, I smell the cake, I want the cake. I get told I can’t have my cake and eat it as it is not yet my birthday. Sometimes my staff really don’t get living-in-the-moment. So, they take my cake, stick it in a bag and tell me that I have to wait a few days. What is the point in getting the cake if I can’t eat it now? Harrumph! The other odd thing was that there was only one cake for me, yet senior staff member got lots of cakes and was apparently allowed to eat hers whenever she wanted. Another black mark against her name.

Today I got my cake, it was very good for the 0.2 seconds that it lasted, I almost tasted it as it went down. Along with my cake I received a present from Auntie Linda, who chooses good toys. A squishy doughnut with a squeaker in it that I can chew upon without having to exert too much effort, just my kind of toy. I wish staff would learn from her and provide the low effort, high gratification stimulation that I appreciate, rather than toys that require thinking or effort, yuck.

We also visited extended pack members, which I’ll cover in a later post, from the one that senior staff member calls “mum” I received another squishy toy with a squeaker, I have enjoyed chewing that one too. Staff have been particularly complimentary in their remarks today, setting a precedent for every day going forward. All-in-all I’ve enjoyed my first birthday with my new pack and look forward to many more. My gift to you on this happy day is not one picture, but two. Enjoy…