Every Dog Has Their Day…

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)

… And on May 4th, that was my beloved dog’s day- Or to be more precise, her birthday! I can hardly believe it myself that this little puppy who’s been the love of my life since I was in elementary school is now 11 years old. Since I’ve been getting a lot of questions about her lately, I thought I would take this opportunity to give her the spot light and give you guys some answers.

As you may have already gathered by now, she is a she, even if the majority of people simply assumed the opposite. Her name is Isis, pronounced “eye-sis,” something that it seems is difficult to decipher just from the spelling. Don’t worry, we still have family members that can’t spell it correctly anyways! What many readers picked up was that yes, she is indeed a Basenji; an African-Egyptian breed that hates getting wet and simply adores warm weather. That’s why you’re likely to find her doing this in the summer:

Sunbathing. You know it’s nice and hot out there when she’s willing to spread herself across the pavement!

While many guides will tell you that Basenjis are barkless dogs, they won’t tell you that they can still be quite noisy, just in different ways.  She doesn’t exactly “yodel” as they say, but she does whimper, grumble, whine, yip, and otherwise make her presence very well known.  Barkless does not equal silent by any means!

If you have more questions, shout them out, because I honestly can’t think of too much else to tell you. She’s just a simple, sweet little pup.

So to celebrate her birthday, as per usual, I baked her a small cake made with peanut butter and oats. To give it some extra “flair,” I frosted the top with some leftover tofu cream cheese. A treat fit for a human, even!

She started off by cautiously licking off the frosting, much like any other excited child… But it wasn’t long before the teeth came out! From there, it was pretty much all over.

Happy birthday, Isis!!

43 thoughts on “Every Dog Has Their Day…”

  1. My Kiwi is 11 years old too – my oh my, how are furry friends are aging!! I’ve already planned on trying that Canine Cake recipe in MSV, for Kiwi’s special day (in June) :0)

  2. She’s so cute!! My fido is 11, and he’s just as much of a baby as he was the day we got him.

    Aww you made her a cupcake!! That’s so sweet.

  5. My neighbor got one thinking they didn’t bark. He was so mad because he said his dog made more noise than his last ones.
    What a sweetheart…happy birthday to her!

  8. lucky girl, to get such a tasty cake. She’s really beautiful! Looks a lot like our Dani, who passed on a few years ago. Do you know about Basenji Companions? Its a pet basenji club or “support group” as we like to call it. My mom is actually the VP and I’ve been active off an on in the club since the beginning, even though I don’t have any B’s now. http://www.basenjicompanions.org.

  9. Well, she is just GORGEOUS! And seems like a real sweetheart, too (is she always that calm??–Lucky you!). Love the cake! I’ve been keeping your “canine cake” from My Sweet Vegan in mind for my own 2 babies’ birthdays!

  10. What a cutie! Love the cake. My Greyhound baby is turning four in July, and I’ve been thinking about making him cupcakes (he is a fiend for baked goods) — what recipe did you use for your cake?

  11. Very cute, I have a Maine Coon “kitten” who’ll be 17 this month and she is VERY vocal. They have their own vocabulary of sounds and I definitely know what she’s telling me. Happy Birthday Isis!

  12. I thought Isis looked familiar to me. After you mentioned her being a Basenji, I remembered that is the type of dog my cousin has and she has also mentioned that although her dog doesn’t bark, she does make a heck of a lot of other noises. LOL. Anyway, it’s easy to become attached to our beloved pets. I had one favorite cat for about 25 years and she was my baby. I would have baked for her too! :)

  15. can we please trade lives???? please?? no, just kidding, but I love your sweet dog and am sending her big birthday wishes!

  16. Happy belated birthday to her! She’s so beautiful, I love that ‘sunbathing’ picture. And I love that you made her a birthday cake, that’s the cutest thing. My cat who I’ve known for a looong time (and almost her entire life) is turning 13 soon now, it is hard to believe…

  18. What a cutie! Happy Birthday Isis ^-^

    My Diamond is 13 and I still can’t believe its been that long since I picked her up for the first time.

  27. Hannah,
    Isis is gorgeous. Don’t let her give Vee word about the cake, though. He just turned one on St. Patrick’s day and he got JACK! He’ll probably win out next year and may even get a bark mitzvah. We’ll have to see how it goes…

    xo
    kittee

  28. Yay! Happy Birthday Isis!!

    Tuesday was our 1-year anniversary of adopting our 3rd dog Snoopy. Dogs are really the best. I’m glad you still get to see Isis even though you’re in college. I missed my dog so much in college. My parents would bring him to see me (I was about 1 hour from home), and I would tell everyone “My dog is coming to visit!!” They would ask how he was getting there, and I’d say “oh, my parents are bringing him.” Ha ha!

  29. Wow- 11 years old! It’s amazing how quickly they grow up. Well, I hope Isis (beautiful name, by the way) had a great birthday, and I can certainly tell she enjoyed her cake!

  31. Happy belated birthday, Isis!! What a lucky girl to get such a delicious-looking cake. I saw that cake in your cookbook & thought it was the sweetest idea. Alas, my dog has no teeth, so I’d have to douse hers in water/juice to soften it up. :) Which might not be a bad thing, actually… I’m sure she’d love it!

    Anyway, I’m so glad to learn more about your gorgeous dog. She seems so sweet, and I love your pictures, too!

  32. Happy Birthday to your sweet pup!

    My Grandmother had a Basenji. He was such a hoot. Thunderstorms would really get him going and he would yodel like a wolf at the moon.

    He was a fabulous and fearless hunter too. He would get rid of all the field rats that tried to move in on her crops of fruit trees.

    I’ll have to try making a little cake like this for our Sheltie when her birthday comes back around. She got some homemade dog biscuits for her birthday.

    Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go

  34. Wow, Isis sure is a beautiful dog. Your photographs of her are amazing! And, how kind of you to bake her a special treat on her special day!!!!

  35. What a sweet looking dog!
    That WAS so sweet of you to treat her to her own cake..and how cute the way she was cautious at first..lol.
    Happy Birthday ,albeit belatedly, Isis!
    Love the name,( really suits her breed etc…neat!)

  39. She is really beautiful – definitely my kind of dog. She reminds me of my Scout, with those great ears. Thanks for telling us about her; I’m a sucker for all-things-dog.

  40. Gorgeous Isis! It’s funny mine is a he and people often say “she….” well, he is a “it” really but still..!
    The cake is great and I love the pictures of Isis eating it!!

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