Post by Jessica
In the Schwind house, it is now tradition to throw a birthday party for the first birthday that our adopted shelter dogs spend with us. It's really sad to think about the lives that they had to live before we found them, so we want to celebrate their birth and homecoming with a doggy birthday party! We happened to adopt Rudi when he was around 5 months old, so we we said his 1st birthday was on July 15th. So the July before last, we threw him a party you can see
here. When we adopted Daisy, the shelter knew even less about her. They guessed that she was around 3 years old so we said that her birthday was October 15th (since we adopted her in October). Therefore, she had a big birthday party on her 4th birthday! After talking it over with some of my friends, it was decided that she would have a 'Princess'-themed party :) She is quite the diva, so it was only fitting! I made the cutest invitations and sent them to her friends: Potatoes and Ruby (her cousins), Dodger (her sister-n-law, aka Rudi's girlfriend), and Baxter (her new boyfriend). The grandparents also got them for good measure.

Prototype Invitation (Front)

Prototype Invitation (Back)
Before all of the dogs arrive, John and I like to try and take pictures of the dogs before the house turns crazy. It's not the easiest thing to do, but luckily they are pretty much food-motivated. All we have to do is hold some treats by the camera and I usually get some good shots.

Brother and Sister on her big day!
The dogs usually don't mind dressing up either, but for some reason Rudi was not in the mood. So I tried a new shirt to see if he liked it better...

Wardrobe Change
...but he didn't once I got this picture he went underneath the bed. He did not want to wear clothes today! Daisy, on the other hand, loved her new dress! I found it a couple of weeks ago and felt it matched the them of the party quite well.

Miss Princess.
Of course I had to decorate the house for the big party. I took the banner from Rudi's birthday party and modified it so the dogs were all wearing princess crowns. I also took the leftover party hats from Rudi's party and turned one into a special princess hat with glitter and string. Since its fall, I was able to find little pumpkins so I painted all the dogs name on them. I made treat bags filled with goodies and a toy and, of course, there was the cake! I got the cake shipped from a dog bakery in San Diego. They do such a great job decorating and they pack it so well, it never is damaged in the mail. It's always a big hit with the dogs!

Happy Birthday!

Decor.

Treat bag.

Posing with the cake...

The cake.

...and ready to eat it!
Around 3:00pm, all of her friends started to arrive. It was a mad house, but luckily we all love dogs! Dodger's parents, Jarrod and Bronwyn, came. Potatoes and Ruby's family, Dave, Julie and the newest edition, Eddie, also came. And boyfriend Baxter's mom Tara came too! We say that Baxter is Daisy's boyfriend because he is the only dog that she allows near her at the dogpark. She usually likes to play by herself ;)

From the bottom: Baxter, Ruby, Potatoes are ready to play!

Rudi and Dodger and their violently passionate relationship!
Unfortunately, Daisy's birthday was held at the same time as the Georgia Tech homecoming game against Virginia Tech. So instead of having all the usual fun activities, we all just watched the game while the dogs played. The yellow jackets were the underdogs but we ended up dominating that game which made it hard to turn it off! Luckily, there was a lot of good food and conversation anyway.

Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech!

Tara and Baxter.

The boys.

The girls.
After awhile, I felt really bad about the whole party turning into a Georgia Tech football game watching party so we decided to go bobbing for hotdogs again! Last time, Dodger completely blew away the competition, so it was important that she defends her title. And true to form, she definitely won. It takes all the other dogs a couple of minutes to figure out that there are hotdogs in the water and that they have to get wet to get them. With Dodger, she knows exactly what she's doing and she wastes no time getting the food. Rudi loves a woman who knows what she wants :)

The Champion Hotdog Bobber.

Eddie's 1st Dog Birthday Party!
After the dogs had fun outside, we brought them back in to eat cake and open presents! Daisy is such a lucky dog to have so many people who care for her. And I am lucky too to have friends that play along with this insanity!! Dodger and her family got her some awesome stuffed toys and even a gift card to buy more toys with!!! Daisy is the best part chihuahua/part jack russell terrier retriever in California. She loves when her Dad throws the ball and she can chase after it. Knowing this, Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave bought her the best gift just for her: pink tennis balls! Her boyfriend Baxter bought her some greenies treats. She loves those and uses them to make sure her teeth are clean for when he comes around ;) Even her grandparents all the way from Georgia sent her some birthday gifts... pup-eroni and chicken treats. John, Rudi and myself got her a stuffed frog, a couple of balls, and some more treats. She was in heaven!

To Princess Daisy, From Dodger.

A hilarious doggy-themed card.

Daisy's most favorite thing: Pink Tennis Balls!

A gift from her boyfriend, Baxter.

Rudi had enough. He wanted to show Daisy what his parents and gradnparents got her.
It's also tradition that we try to take a group shot with all the people and the dogs. This year's shot turned out great! John and I are so lucky to have such great friends who also love their dogs as much as we do! Daisy had such a wonderful birthday party and we are so happy she is in our family!

An excellent group shot!

The Schwind Family.