Summary

Ginger Rogers II, a dog with a past as a street dog in the Philippines, celebrates her 10th birthday with a special day of activities and reflection on the importance of recognizing pets' birthdays.

Abstract

Ginger Rogers II, a dog now living in Devon, reflects on the concept of birthdays, a foreign idea during her time as a street dog in the Philippines. Despite not remembering her birth, she acknowledges the significance of the day she was adopted as her birthday. Ginger's current owner has been preparing for her birthday, making the day special with a long lie-in, a sunny walk with her favorite coat, a car ride to a nearby town for a walk on Vire Island, and the highlight—a bag of bones from the butcher. Ginger emphasizes the joy these celebrations bring and admonishes pet owners who do not remember their pets' birthdays, advocating for spoiling pets on their special day.

Opinions

Ginger Rogers II believes that pets' birthdays should be celebrated and remembered by their owners.
She finds it amusing that her owner talks about her birthday for days and goes out of her way to make it special.
Ginger humorously notes the irony of being the youngest among her feline housemates despite reaching a "grown-up" age of 10.
She expresses a playful frustration with cats having advantages in age and agility.
Ginger enjoys the attention and gifts received on her birthday, particularly the bag of bones from the butcher.
She teases her owner for taking "arty-farty" photos and enjoying the illusion of height in the resulting images.
Ginger is proud and feels alive and spritely at the age of 10, asserting that she is not to be messed with.
She suggests that photos of her enjoying her birthday bone would have been appreciated by readers, hinting at the owner's decision to not share them due to perceived grossness.
Ginger uses her birthday narrative to encourage pet owners to spoil their pets on their birthdays and to remember these important dates.
She expresses a sense of camaraderie with other pets who might not have their birthdays acknowledged, playfully shaming owners who forget.

Pets’ Birthdays are so Underrated — Says Ginger Rogers II

C’mon Hooman. Get it together!

Ginger out in the sunshine on her birthday. Author’s photo.

Happy New Year, Humans!

But, more importantly…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! 🎉

Yes, today is my birthday…apparently. According to my papers, anyway.

I mean, how would I know? I don’t remember being born. And I don’t believe birthdays were a thing in my days as a street dog in the Philippines. Or in the dog pound that took me in.

But, I do believe that the day that my last mum picked me up from the pound was somewhere around my birthday. That was when I turned 3.

🐕💭 Perhaps that was my birthday present? 🤔

Although, after that, I don’t remember any of my birthdays being celebrated since then, so I have no idea how I am suddenly 10! That makes no sense at all.

And yes, I can count! At least to 10.

10! Doesn’t that sound grown-up? Except, it turns out that those pesky cats that I lodge with are already double figures, so I am still the baby of the three of us.

How do they have the advantage with everything? I mean, I don’t stand a chance against those claws, and I am still too scared to pass them on the stairs. Now it’s age as well!

Anyway, back to what I was saying…

Today is my BIRTHDAY!!!

I know because my current mum has been talking about it for days. She thinks she’s a bit weird for remembering all of her pets’ birthdays, but I think that’s the least she can do.

So, this morning, I celebrated by having an extra-long and cosy lie-in in my mum’s bed.

When, at 9 am, she asked me if I wanted to go for a walk, I pretended not to hear. It was far too early.

So, she got on with some writing and editing, and then we went out at 10.30, just as the world became sunny.

That’s right! The sun came out for my birthday; the sun knows what’s good for it!

I chose my special coat for today’s outings since it is a special day.

(You do realise I have quite a few, don’t you?)

And it was a special walk.

Ginger near Buckfast, Devon. Author’s photo.

But, soon after we came back from our walk, my mum took me out again. This time in the car.

We went to a nearby town where she buys fish for those hissy, scratchy creatures and me. She even took me for another of my favourite walks, and to the island in the river where I can run off the lead.

Ginger on Vire Island, Totnes, Devon. Author’s photo.

That’s also where the photo at the top was taken.

And then my mum thought she would take a few arty-farty photos too.

Author’s photo of her dark side and Ginger’s rear end.

She thought it was funny taking photos of her shadow, and she also thought it made her look tall, which she likes because she’s actually really short.

Well, she’s taller than me, but she is a human.

But, the best part of all came later…My Present!

Yes, my mum was so nice that she bought a bag of bones from the butcher and only made me wait until we got home to give one to me.

Now I am in heaven. Not literally. I am very much alive. Ten years old and very alive and spritely. Do not mess with this grown-up dog.

Anyway, although I have been in heaven with my bone, my mum thought that photos of bones were a bit gross, despite how beautiful I look gnawing lovingly on it. So sorry, humans. You missed out there.

Anyway, I wanted to share my birthday shenanigans with you to remind you all to spoil your pets on their birthdays. And to those who don’t even remember when their birthdays are…

Shame on you!

And now it’s time to sing;

Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday dear Ginger, Happy birthday to me!

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like a little more from the furry creatures, here’s something for you:

Dear Cat-Owner, We Have a Few Bones to Pick

Besides those annoying fish bones in the off-cuts you give us

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