Matilda’s 2! Why Dog Birthdays Are The Best Birthdays

Cinco De Mayo marks Matilda’s second birthday. Matilda marks everything. 

Today, Matilda got a dish of eggs and bacon in lieu of a cake. There’s plenty of dog birthday cake recipes and special meals to prepare, but a simple arrangement of her favorite foods was just as good.

Matilda’s birthday toys are from the Sagoskatt collection from IKEA – they’re based on real children’s drawings. It’s so hard to find dog toys that are lightweight and tiny enough for Matilda to enjoy. She’s in love with these little things. They have little legs that she loves to tug on, and they’re all standing up to her raptor-like jaws.

Today is my second birthday so I got my own bacon and eggs, all for me! ??2⃣?

A video posted by Matilda The Meep Meep (@matildawoofwoof) on May 5, 2016 at 3:52pm PDT

Dogs Don’t Care About Birthdays

If you’re anything like me, you can’t help but remember that dogs don’t know it’s their birthday. They don’t notice whether or not their families celebrate their special day. They have no idea why they’re getting yummy food and lots of attention.

This seems kind of sad, at first, but really, it makes dog birthdays even better.

Dogs still enjoy the food, toys and attention. They just don’t know the reasoning behind it.

And that reason is the saddest part of all – the fact that another year of her short life has elapsed.

I realized I’m glad my dog doesn’t know that. I’m glad she’s able to enjoy her birthday spoils with no understanding of how she’s aged, or how she’s just another year closer to leaving us.

So, while it might seem that a dog can’t properly enjoy a birthday, the truth is, a dog is the best birthday boy or girl there is. All she knows is, once in a while, out of the blue, she’s going to get a best day ever. She doesn’t anticipate it, look forward to it, or have expectations – she just enjoys it.

Every Dog Deserves A Birthday

If you don’t know when your dog was born, celebrate the day you brought her home – her Gotcha! day – or any day at all.

For just one day a year, make your dog an extra tasty meal. Something that won’t give her a tummyache.

Your dog’s birthday is a time to celebrate with whatever brings her the most joy.

For Matilda, that’s a greasy breakfast and some tiny toys. She also gets to play with her best friend Cow and go on a fun walkies, but those are everyday occurrences.

How do you celebrate your dog’s birthday?

Lindsay Pevny

Lindsay Pevny lives to help pet parents make the very best choices for their pets by providing actionable, science-based training and care tips and insightful pet product reviews.

She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.

As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.

You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.