MARYANNA MAKENZIE
So, I have concluded I am not the best dog mom, and here is why.
Monday, I celebrated my Isabella dachshund’s 10th birthday, and, well, it was as expected. I always plan out this grand birthday shindig with puppy cake and decorations. But sadly, it always ends with a pre-made human cupcake and a T.J. Maxx squeaky.
Thank goodness I remembered it this year. In prior years I would blow past her birthday and play it off for the day I remembered. I know I am an awful dog mom.
But when your dog celebrates a decade, you have to do something. So, Monday came rolling around, and I had no present and no puppy cake. I decided the only right thing to do was pick up the sweetest, most glorious cupcake in Shreveport, from Julie Anne’s, of course. And, yes, I know that my truly adored pup should not eat a sweet cupcake, but what can I say? She was turning 10.
So, I picked the prettiest one I could find, which happened to be purple. Which I thought was a score because her favorite color is pink. Or, that’s what I want to believe. I mean, she looks so good in pink because she’s gray, and there is just something about that contrast.
Once the cupcake was secured, I had to find a birthday present. I’m going to be honest. I am a little cheap when it comes to dog toys. I mean, I can’t rationalize spending $10 on a toy she’s going to destroy in 0.1 second. So, my go-to stores for toys are Home Goods, Tuesday Morning and T.J. Maxx
And on this particular day, I was feeling a little selfish and wanted to treat myself. So, I made a little happy pit stop at T.J. Maxx, blaming it all on the fact that it was Moxie’s birthday.
Once I got there, I had to check out all the usuals, like the soaps, and, of course, the shoes. But when I remembered that my 12-pound pup doesn’t have any use for shoes, I made a beeline to the toys.
Upon arrival, I was greeted with the fact that my selfish ways left me with slim pickings on toys. Nonetheless, I scavenged through those toys and reappeared with three. One that was a purple rope squeaky, another that was duck squeaky, and lastly a purple-roped monkey.
See, I had a theme. At least I had that.
Happy with my finds, I went to check out with nothing in hand for myself but a small, fall candle. I mean, that should give me some redeeming points. Yes, I was buying dog toys from T.J. Maxx, but at least I wasn’t leaving with a heap load of things for myself.
I wrapped her presents in a purple-flowered bag and placed her purple cupcake on a plate. And that was it. That was Moxie’s birthday. It was far from great, but at least I can say I tried. Maybe I won’t win the best dog mom, but I know for a fact that I love that dog.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE October 2 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.