Apple's 1st Birthday Cake!

Today is Apple's "presumed" first birthday, chosen because he was estimated to have been born at the end of January, and we found him on May 29. In honor of the day that he came into our lives, we chose his birthday to be today, January 29!

Because I am a very committed Dog Mom, I wanted to do something special for his birthday. A few months ago, I attended Austin's Dogtoberfest with my husband and Apple, and I learned about many Austin dog bakeries that offer birthday cakes for dogs.

I instantly thought that having a birthday cake sounded like a great idea! So, when I got home, I Googled "dog cake recipes" and found many different versions. I wanted the cake to be for all of us to share, so I didn't want anything that sounded too disgusting or was made with meat (I'm a vegetarian!)

I eventually settled on this applesauce cake recipe, because of Apple's name, and the fact that it seemed to be the most healthy recipe I could find. Dog cakes are low in baking soda because it is bad for dogs, but this one didn't have any, so I figured it was a good bet. It also came with a very easy recipe for cream cheese icing.

Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 
 2/3 cup hot water
1 cup whole rolled oats
3 eggs (I only used two and it worked.  Lower in cholesterol!)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup granola 

The un-baked cake posing with its ingredients

 I also added a bit of sugar because upon tasting it I realized it was not sweet at all! Sugar isn't great for dogs, but it won't hurt them like chocolate, and I added a very small amount, just to make it taste a little better for the humans!

The icing was literally just 2 packages of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of shortening. I decided to add food coloring (I checked to make sure it was safe) to make the cake decorating festive and to save money (the original recipe called for carob to make decorative icing). I also added a little sugar and a bit of applesauce to the icing because it was just plain cream cheese and it needed to be a little sweeter!

The cake is baked and is surrounded by 3 colors of cream cheese icing

Apple LOVED his cake, and my husband and I both ate it and it wasn't bad. It tasted VERY healthy and would make a great breakfast. Apple ate 4 pieces, but he would have eaten the whole cake if we would have let him. We ate half of it between the three of us, and I saved the leftovers for tomorrow!

Ta-Da!

He likes it!

It was fun to bake a cake from scratch and decorate it for my dog! I think he had a great birthday. I know it was great for me!

To My Dog's Mother, on His Birthday

To My Dog's (Biological) Mother, on His Birthday,

I don't know very much about you, but I think about you all the time. I often wonder about the circumstances of Apple's birth, and those mysterious 4 months that he lived before he found his new human "parents." I wanted to dedicate a special post to you today, on Apple's "birthday;" although I don't know the exact date, I know he was born a year ago on a day very close to this one.

I know you are half-lab because of the DNA test. I always picture you as the Labradoodle for some reason...I don't really know why. I also don't know what color you are; Labs can give birth to yellow, chocolate, and black puppies regardless of the parents' colors, so you could be any color, but I always picture you as a yellow, creamy Labradoodle.

Like this, but with a multi-colored litter

Like this one!

I know that Apple probably didn't get to stay with you very long. The vets think that he was taken away from his mother before 12 weeks of age, because he didn't properly learn bite inhibition and some of the other things that puppies learn from playing with their siblings and mothers. Were you sad when your puppies were given away? Most websites agree that dog mothers don't miss their puppies when they go, but I have read stories of dog mothers who became depressed when their puppies were taken away. It makes me sad to think about it!

I wish you could tell me what happened to lead up to having Apple's litter. I hope you had a family who took care of you and that you weren't pregnant on the streets. I don't think you were. Was Apple's father a street dog?  Where did he come from? 

My best guess is that you got out one day and got pregnant and your family found you and continued to take care of you. I think they gave the puppies away for free at 8 weeks, the soonest age they can be separated from the mother. I think that your owners were well-intentioned, but they didn't take much care to make sure the puppies ended up in a good home. 

I think Apple's owners took him in, and when he got too big and "messy," they left him to fend for himself. Did you ever think any of your puppies would become homeless? I hope the rest of his siblings ended up in good homes. I wonder where they are and what their lives are like. Was Apple the only unlucky one to be abandoned? Being that Apple was alone, I think that he was with a family separated from you and his siblings.

As sad as it is to think about him being abandoned and to wonder about his early months of life. I am thankful that it happened the way that it did, because had anything been different, Apple would have never been my dog. Just know that I am thankful to you for bringing him into this world so that I could eventually have him, and I hope you are having a good life.

Happy Birthday to all your puppies, wherever they may be.