Today is Bosco’s birthday! I wanted to make something special for him so I made him a birthday cake. I also made a Vlog about it that you can watch down below to see how to bake your own dog-friendly birthday cake. I have also detailed below some substitutions that can be made in the recipe and the recipe is written below. The fact that I would go so far as to bake my dog a birthday cake clearly shows just how important our pets are in our household, but do you feel the same way?
How important and special are pets in our lives? Some people have “non-typical” pets like rats, chickens, and pigs, and some people have “typical” pets like dogs and cats, but I think anyone who has a pet can agree how quickly they become part of the family! Their unconditional love for us is a great example of how we should treat each other as human beings. Animals just want love and affection from us and if you get down to it, isn’t that what we all want?
I have mainly owned dogs and cats in my life. Dogs are amazing examples of just how we should love each other without expecting anything in return. Of course we should show them affection back, but even if they aren’t shown affection in return, a dog is usually always just trying to show love and please it’s owner. Cats are hilarious creatures! They have such an “I don’t give a hoot” attitude and it’s amazing. Cats are great examples of how we should just live our best life and unapologetically be ourselves. They ask for love when they want it, and when they are over it, they leave. They don’t come when they’re called if they’re enjoying laying in the sun too much, and I can definitely respect that. I also had a couple of runs with some hamsters, but that was not the best experience! My first hamster was so aggressive that he would bite you even if you were just grabbing the food bowl to give him food. It is definitely fun buying all of the attachments so they can run through the tunnels and stuff. The thing that blows my mind though is that even though Scamp, my angry, aggressive hamster was so mean to me, it broke my heart when he died!
Then there are those special pets. The ones that we have such a strong bond and connection with that it leaves a lifetime impression on us. I have been lucky enough to experience this once in my life. It was with my first Corgi, Phoebe. She was supposed to be a show dog and was shown once, but the owner realized her front legs were a little crooked and she would never be a champion because of that. She also bossed her sister around too much! I thank God every day for that imperfection because it was what lead her to me. We had such a special bond that I swear she just understood what I was thinking! She protected me when we went for walks in the neighbourhood. She had such a commanding bark that dogs literally moved aside when she used it. She knew when my brother upset me because she would go and pee on his bed, until Winnie, my Step-Mom, asked her to stop because she was the one that had to clean the sheets every time. This one experience is the one that solidified that fact that she understood what I was saying to her. She used to run down the stairs too quickly and would end up stumbling down the stairs, so this time I said to her, “I want to hear you hit every single step.” I kid you not, this girl stomped slowly down the stairs, pronouncing each step as hard as she could! It was incredible! When she passed away, it shattered my heart. It affected me so much that I almost shut my heart completely to that kind of love. It has taken time and awareness to open it again, and I don’t know why it happened, but when I lost Phoebe, I felt like I lost my whole world.
I saw this connection between Josh and his dog Brutus. He had Brutus when we started dating, and the love that Brutus had for Josh was profound. He protected Josh, and eventually our family, to the point that he decided whether you were allowed in the house or not. If you had bad vibes, you weren’t coming into our house. When Josh would leave for a weekend for a conference, Brutus would be so sad that he would barely eat, wouldn’t play, and just laid waiting by the door waiting for Josh to come back. He was always at Josh’s side and they loved each other unconditionally. When Brutus died, suddenly, that was the first time I ever truly saw Josh cry. We had experienced lots of pain and loss before this point, but this was the first time I saw him actually cry. In that moment I saw just how much Brutus really meant to him.
When we have pets, they’re not just pets, they are members of our family. We are willing to pay thousands of dollars to keep them healthy, to save them from medical emergencies, and to give them the best we can, and when you get that connection with an animal, there is nothing that can compare to that experience. The love that our animals have for us, their human, when that connection exists, it is just profound! I really hope that the kids can have that connection with Bosco.
Please let me know what your thoughts are on pets being family members. Do you consider them family or are they just a pet for you? Have you ever had that deep connection with an animal? Please share your experiences!
If you want to do something special for your dog, whether it is their birthday or not, I encourage you to bake this simple and easy cake for them! The ingredients are dog-friendly and I have listed some substitutions below as well. This cake was so quick and easy to make! The boys and I had a blast making and decorating it!
Dog-Friendly Birthday Cake
Ingredients for Cake:
1 carrot, grated
1 banana, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Ingredients for the Frosting:
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
Dog treats for decoration
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with oil, butter, or bacon grease; whichever you have on hand.
Step 2: In a large bowl, add the wet ingredients; everything except for the flour and baking powder. Whisk the wet ingredients together until smooth.
Then add the dry ingredients; add the flour and baking powder now. You can mix with a spoon at this point but I just kept using my whisk. It is harder to mix at this point but the whisk still works.
Step 3: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle, or at the tallest part of the cake.
Step 4: Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire cooling rack to allow it to come to room temperature and be completely cooled.
*If you frost a cake before it is completely cooled, the frosting will melt off the cake.*
Step 5: Make the frosting by mixing the plain yogurt with the peanut butter.
Step 6: To assemble the cake, cut the cake in half and place one half on a tray or whatever you are serving the cake on; we used a BBQ tray. Add a layer of icing to the top of the cake that is on the tray. Then, place the other half of the cake on the first half. The icing acts as glue to hold the layers together. Use the rest of the icing to cover the top and sides of the cake. You can decorate the top with dog treats to add visual appeal, but that is totally optional.
Notes:
* I would suggest using natural peanut butter, or another nut butter that is friendly for dogs. There is no sugar added to the natural peanut butter usually, but always check the ingredients to be sure.
* You can used pureed sweet potatoes or pumpkin in place of apple sauce. You can also add in any other dog friendly vegetables.
* You can freeze the cake if it is too much for your dog. You can cut the cake into quarters and freeze in an air-tight container or plastic bags for up to 3 months. Just take them out when you want another cake and let them thaw on the counter. Then make a fresh batch of icing and you have yourself another cake!
* You refrigerate the cake in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
**This recipe was modified from the original recipe which can be found here.**
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