There ain’t no party like a doggy birthday party

I have been desperate to write this post ever since the weekend that (you heard it right) Sheri and I threw a joint first birthday party for Bronson and Olive! That’s me just settled in to my new home in Shetland for the next month as we’re filming a part of the show up here, so I’ve finally got time to sit down and share the pups fun filled day at Vet Creche. I’m missing my furry babies and Pete tonnes already, but the photos from the party put the BIGGEST smile on my face. You’ll see exactly why…

Sheri and I had spoken for a few months about having a joint get together for Bronson and Olive, but found it difficult to work out the logistics. Both of us live in tenement flats with shared gardens, so where could we invite all of their doggy friends which would be fine whatever the weather, along with being suitable and secure for dogs both on and off the lead? It was a lightbulb moment when a Vet Creche advert popped up on facebook! For £160, you get a 3 hour venue hire and dog handler, custom party invites, doggy party games, a professional photographer, Pawfectionary birthday cake, doggy party bags, cake smash photoshoot, a pre party pamper/groom, and a bottle of dog beer or pawsecco. Within a few hours of seeing the facebook post, the party was booked and invites winging their way to Olive and Bronson’s pupper pals (along with an extra special guest)

That’s a funny looking pupper Pete is holding, huh? She’s actually Clary – the lamb! I met the lovely Kathryn at a recent Lush event, and she brought along her two dogs Nova and Khal along with Clary who she had been fostering for a friend. Olive and Bronson were super chuffed to see some old friends along with making a few new ones too, and they all had a great time together running around the creche, playing in the ball pit and trying their paws at some agility games.

Vet Creche is led by Dr Adele Fitzpatrick, and the centre combines Vet services, doggy day care, training and classes, grooming (c/o Penelopes) and raw feeding. So really, the dog birthday parties are already the cherry on top of an already very well iced cake. They’re based in Thornliebank which is around a 15 minute drive from where I live in the south of Glasgow, and as much as I love Bronson’s current vet I’m thinking of changing him over to Vet Creche. They’ve got so much to offer under the one roof, and after meeting Adele it’s crystal clear how much of a wealth of knowledge she has (especially for the bulldog breed) along with genuine compassion and care. I love the fact that she promotes a holistic approach to looking after pets, which is treatment of the whole pet taking into account behavioural, environmental and nutritional factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease – and also being open to using both conventional and alternative therapies to treat them.

I can’t talk about the icing on the cake, without showing you the literal icing on the cake which Bronson got stuck right into! Our Olive was more of a sponge girl, so the two of them were a wee match made in heaven. After a couple hours of playing it was time for their photoshoot and cake smash. The first and final three pictures in this post were captured by the fantastic Jeni at Gracefully Taken Photography (that gal has got the patience of a saint) and the dog friendly cake was baked by Pawfectionery. Daytona makes them with a sweet potato and apple base, along with natural peanut butter and yogurt or coconut oil for the topping. I can’t get over Olive’s face in the last picture, me and Sheri were in stitches and agreed it pretty much summed up the whole day! So what do you think about a dog birthday party – barking mad or woofin’ brilliant?