Birthdays! Does your Animal have a special day that is just their day? The day is all about them? Like celebrating their birthday? We humans celebrate our birthday each year. It’s a day we spend with family and friends. A reason for us to go for supper, receive presents or do something we have been wanting.
If you know when your animal was born or pick a date you feel would be close. Start each year making this their special day. They will appreciate knowing each year a day is set aside for just them. This is the day that they will be spoiled, do what they love to do, eat what they love to eat for the most part.
For Clifford’s birthday, I always made his favorite meals. Breakfast was Cheese whiz on toast. Lunch was Hot Dogs with or without the wrapper on them. This depended whether I could get the wrapper off fast enough. Evening was ice cream. Clifford enjoyed presents except when he received a Jack Russell stuffed animal. Clifford would put it behind the house. I would go get it and put it on the steps. Clifford would take it and put behind the house again. This went on for quite a while. Finally Clifford put it somewhere; I could not find it. Pretty sure he did not like that present! This brought lots of laughs and a memory that will stay with me forever.
Now I spend my birthday with Sam, my horse and CJ, my cat. Every year Sam would do something special just for me. I told him I would love for him to wish me a Happy Birthday. He was running free in the arena. He ran to the middle, turned and looked at me and started wishing me a Happy Birthday in horse talk (whinny). Made my day! Another time, I told him I would like a kiss for my birthday. He was again running free and turned to me, walked over and stretched his neck out and put is nose right beside mine. What a guy! The best was when I was finished riding him and I was in the tack room. Sam moved over so that he was blocking the door of the tack room with his butt. I couldn’t get out. He proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to me through his butt. I couldn’t stop laughing!
Sam asked one day why do we celebrate my birthday and not his? He was getting treats and birthday wishes but nothing really out of the ordinary. I thought about this and decided at that time Sam was going to be coming 20 years old soon. My friends had heard about him and many were saying they would like to meet him. So why not have a party for him?
On Sam’s birthday May 22, 2019 there was a party with 35 humans and 5 horses attending. For the humans there was carrot cake shaped like a Horseshoe with rope around it. Sam competed as a roping horse in his younger years. There were carrots and horse cookies for the horses. There was an obstacle course for the horses and their riders while others were entertained watching.
As Sam and I came around the corner to where everyone was it was so amazing, Sam stood tall and loved all the attention. He was perfect letting everyone touch him and posed for pictures. It was very evident that Sam was soaking in all this attention and praise. He even untied himself at one point and had his whole head in the horse cookie bowl. On top of that, the horses in the pasture across the road decided to crawl under the fence to see what was going on. It was a good day for all.
CJ is more relaxed. For his birthday, he likes treats, belly rubs and being told he is a wild child. He likes to show off his jumping skills. Loves to play hide and seek, if you find him then run as he is going to try and catch you. It’s a given there needs to be lots of praise when he does catch you. He is a happy fellow.
Never underestimate the animals. They have feelings just like us. They have wishes just like us. They deserve to feel special. They will also appreciate what is done for them. The bond you have will continue to grow and in ways you would never imagine. For them it is all about using and thinking with the heart.