Happy Birthday, Katie

One Wednesday a month is Library Day for Katie. That's the day she joins a reading group at the library in Madera Ranchos and the kids read to her. Since November is her birthday month, the kids threw her a birthday party.
the kids took turns reading to her as they do every visit and then the cake came out and the birthday hats and her presents.


The kids took turns taking a piece of a treat, rubbing it in their hands for the smell and then getting her to follow while they hid the treat and encouraged her while she looked for it. They'd give her the command, "take it" when she found it and she munched it down and was set to play this game again.

It was a fun visit for the kids, their moms, the library staff, and visitors in the library who looked at us like we'd completely lost it. I mean, a birthday party for a dog in a library? But I noticed no one walked away from the cake empty handed. I guess if you're going to hang out with crazy people with cake, you might as well enjoy the cake.

As part of her birthday month, she had her annual check up at the vet's. Because she has a number in her blood count that has always been off kilter, we do a panel every year and every year it's still off but it's consistently off. Therefore, I'm happy to announce I have a happy, healthy, if slightly overweight, 10 year old Katie dog. But then that just means that we're now right around the same age, a couple of senior citizens, both slowing down, and slightly overweight. I have AARP and she has Aarf. Just two pups in a pod, still good for a few more years and birthday cakes together!