Celebrating with friends

It wouldn’t have been a celebration without friends.

Mummy had arranged an Afternoon Tea Party for some of my friends at the ever so dog-friendly Egerton House Hotel.We had our own private roomWe pooches had to wear the party hatsMe and Jaffa
Maisy and MacGeorge, Coco, Freddie and JesseBarnaby Jesseand Rusty Lyra needed cuddlesAnd so did Coco and FreddieStanley and GeorgeAnd in the black corner LOL! – Mac, Maisy and LolaThe food for the hoomans arrived on pretty stands And so did oursWe watched with great anticipation when Charlie served us our food – There were home-baked biscuits and Billy & Margot ice-creamAnd there was a chicken and beef meatloaf cake topped with peanut butter –Mummy didn’t seem to realise how hard it was to pose with the cake.Finally the birthday cake was brought to the table –Ceremoniously!

As it was my birthday, I was allowed to lick it first! LOL!

Others ate the cake in a more dignified mannerBut when it came to the ice-cream – we slurped

And slurpedAnd slurped

Before long, all the food was goneAs we all looked longingly at the one last tub of ice-cream!  Who do you think will get it?And George said – Me! Me! Me! I have been ignored, left under the table and without my Mummy all afternoon. I deserved at least that one last tub of ice-cream!

It was all in all a lovely afternoon – and I really appreciate all those hooman chaperones who brought my doggy friends to tea at the Egerton House Hotel.Back row: Linda & Coco, Lisa with Maisy & Mac, Julie & Barnaby, Sam & Lola, Annie with George, Me and Darcy, Sandra & Jesse, Katherine & Lyra

Front row: Belinda with Freddie, Camilla and Jaffa, Martine & Rusty, Andrew with Stanley

May’s comment: Such good sports! Friends taking time out of their day to do celebrate Darcy’s birthday. Can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

Thank you Egerton House Hotel (a Red Carnation Hotel) – for accommodating our need to do something crazy! You were fab and made us all feel very welcome.

In the last years, Darcy’s birthdays used to feel bittersweet.  Unlike celebrating children’s birthdays and count each one as a milestone towards their life experiences, I used to think that every birthday felt like a countdown – for their lives are undeniably short.  Even then, it’s not a given either.  Sometimes it is not always about age. Things happen – illnesses, accidents, whatever they maybe, we should, as I was reminded just in the last year, that we never know what may befall us.

So for this year, I celebrated all that she is – her life, her being with me, her funny ways … just giving thanks. At the party, I looked around the room filled with lovely people whom I got to know because of Darcy. There are those who live close by, whom I would never have known but for our  dogs. Those whom I “met” through our blog and other social media – who became more than just our readers or followers, they became friends over time.   Darcy opened up my world – and many people have come and gone, and as always, time and circumstance were a test of friendship.

It’s been seven years of learning about a whole new world of dogs and animals, of meeting so many people from different walks of life but came together for the love of dogs, particularly those of us who own that funny breed called cockapoos!

Photo contributors – Katherine, Julie, Belinda, Martine, Sandra and the staff from Egerton House Hotel.