Let's Eat Cake!

I have seen so many different wedding cakes. From extremely formal, to a fake cake (one slice was real, and there was sheet cake in the back that was served – this saved the couple a small fortune, and no one knew the “wedding cake” was faux), cupcakes, ice cream sundaes, and every traditional tiered cake you can think of in between.

Cakes are a great way to include your love of animals in your wedding. I love the wire crafted cake toppers found on Etsy, and they can be personalized with your dog’s breed, and all sorts of activities. While I’ve never attended a wedding that used the dog cake topper, I have attended a wedding with a wire cake topper signifying a different activity the couple enjoyed.

Has the bride been a bridezilla leading up to the ceremony? While it might lead to a cake in the face, the groom can show how he has felt about wedding planning by surprising her and guests with this cake topper! I’m sure many men feel more like the dog on a short leash, than the groom in the middle of wedding planning!

Cake topper possibilities are endless! There are those with sculpted dogs, like these.

Or, if you compete with your dog, why not use one of your silver bowls or trophies as the wedding cake topper? You could fill it with flowers. I have seen this with antique silver bowls. Many trophies I have been awarded through showing horses are Mint Julep cups, and wouldn't one displayed on top of the cake look very nice? I know many dog shows also award Mint Julep cups as trophies!

A grooms cake would be another great way to display a love for dogs. Of course, if you want to get graphic you could have a dog shaped red-velvet cake, much like the armadillo cake in Steel Magnolias!

Wedding Favors Have Gone to the Dogs!

Wedding favors are sometimes big hits, and sometimes big misses. Right now, Koozies are really in with the 20-something crowd as a wedding favor. Also in are wine and or champagne glasses. The beauty of koozies and wine glasses is they can be personalized with any logo or artwork the couple wants used to commemorate their special day. It would be very easy to have a sketch of the couple and their dog printed or etched on the koozie or glass.

The drawback to stemware as a wedding favor is out-of-town guests may have a hard time flying home with it. As a result, some guests may take more than their share of favors, while others, who may have really enjoyed the wine glasses if they were not flying, must leave them behind. An alternative would be a wine charm. These are great because they can be used during the reception, and then simply removed from the glass and taken home as a memento. While companies do make them, finding dog charms in bulk is easy, and this could be a great do-it-yourself project to save money!

When I attended Annie’s wedding they gave guests hand-painted wooden coasters. They are absolutely beautiful, and I use mine daily. While hers were not dog related, if you have an artist in the family, something similar would be easy to make! I saw these coasters in a dog boutique recently, and thought they just looked so happy!

Dog breed gourmet lollipops are also a neat and fun favor.

Wedding Bells

Love is in the air right now! With the Royal Wedding having just taken place, girls (and even some guys) are chatting about what they want, what’s in, what works, and what really doesn’t. It’s wedding season! I'm 26, and will admit a large portion of my savings and nearly all of my vacation time goes to weddings and events related to weddings, I've become a bridesmaid guru! I must admit, I was really hoping to see the Queen with her corgis at some wedding related event, obviously not the wedding or reception, but perhaps even a stroll with the happy couple and her pack of corgis would've just made my heart melt!

Source: Google Images

This scene from “You’ve Got Mail” is one of the sweetest dog romance scenes (Embedding is disabled on it, so use the link). Of course, being a romantic comedy, would this ever really happen? No. Brinkley would probably be stopped, and Tom Hanks reprimanded or ticketed, for disobeying leash laws.

Source: AllMoviePhoto.com

And of course, who doesn’t immediately think of Meet the Parents and Jinxy the cat when it comes to pets and weddings? But, the odds of me marrying Prince Harry are pretty slim, too, so here’s to our romantic dreams.

Image source: Google Images

I’ve been asked a lot about including your favorite pets in your wedding. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it goes terribly wrong. Ultimately, whenever you add a new element to your wedding that is one more thing to plan and coordinate, so keep that in mind!

Phoenix Bride and Groom did a blog post in January on pets and weddings, and anyone considering it should read this post. In the post, the author speaks with Heidi Ganahl, CEO and Founder of Camp Bow Wow and Home Buddies by Camp Bow Wow. Animal expert Heidi had this to say about the pros and cons of including your canine in your wedding:

The image of Fido walking down the aisle as a ring bearer is a memorable occasion for pet lovers. Before proceeding, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of having your pet at your wedding. Unfortunately, very few religious and indoor venues will allow dogs on location other than service animals. If you are open to an outdoor wedding, including your pet is more realistic.

Additionally, it is important to consider your pet’s personality. If you have a free-spirited animal, he may not abide to walk down the aisle on his own. Also, be cautious of guests with pet allergies; warn them in advance that your dog will be attending.

However, the benefits are endless. Since proud pet owners consider their dog as part of the family, Fido’s attendance will add a special touch to your day.

With lots of training, socialization, practice, coordination and planning, and rehearsals a pet can be a part of your wedding. Carrie Underwood used her dog as her ring bearer! Some tips to make it run smoothly: make sure there is a safe quiet place for your pet to go should he or she get stage fright. As we know from holidays, people food is not usually good for dogs to eat, so make sure there is some dog-friendly cuisine at the wedding, and plenty of water. Also, instruct guests not to feed Fido if he will be off-leash at the reception. As for allergies, a well groomed dog groomed dog is rarely a problem for allergy sufferers. With most breeds (there are exceptions) it is completely safe, and actually healthy for the coat, to be bathed and blown dry 1-2 times a week – if you bathe this frequently, make sure to use a high quality dog shampoo. This, paired with daily brushing will drastically cut back on allergens.

Image source: Google Images

But, if you don’t feel up to the planning and coordinating including pets in a wedding takes here are some great ideas. Include your beloved pets in your bridal portraits or engagement photos. You can display these at the ceremony. Is your dog a major part of your relationship? Why not showcase this with a customized cake topper? Your save the dates or invitations could even include your love of animals. If you have a send-off brunch the morning after the wedding, and it is at someone’s house, this would be a great time to bring the dogs! Look for more ways of incorporating your dog into your big day in my upcoming posts!

Don't Kill Your Dog With Antifreeze!!!

With a cold front hitting much of the country, and snow blanketing many cities, it’s a great time to be outside with your favorite fur friends for play time in the fluffy white stuff! But, with the cold weather, one potentially lethal substance seems to be everywhere: antifreeze.

It’s in windshield wiper fluid and coolant, which I know I personally seem to be buying in droves these days. If your car is leaking coolant, it can be dripping on your sidewalk, or you may store your extra bottles in a corner in your garage. Please, be extremely careful. Do not let your dog lick your driveway, or anywhere antifreeze may have leaked from a car, and make sure to keep products containing antifreeze far from reach of pets (and children), and your garage locked. Should any spill, clean up every last drop.

Antifreeze has a very sweet taste, which makes it particularly attractive to dogs, who do not realize the substance is toxic. Ethylene Glycol is added to antifreeze to lower freezing points, and is the sweet smelling and tasting chemical making antifreeze lethal. Just a teaspoon of antifreeze can quickly cause a small dog to go into kidney failure and be lethal, and not much more is needed to kill a large dog.

I know when I think antifreeze, I automatically think of its uses in automobiles, but we can’t forget our holiday decorations that may contain it, too. Snow globes are very popular this time of year, and these tend to be manufactured in China. Like many products from China, snow globes are transported to this country on large cargo ships. To prevent the liquid inside of the globes from freezing (which would cause the glass globes to break), antifreeze is added during manufacturing. Keep your snow globes out of your pet’s reach this holiday season, and should one break, make sure to thoroughly clean up not just the broken glass, but the liquid as well.

Remember, with all of our decorations and holiday treats, dogs are tempted to counter surf or jump on tables this time of year. Because of this, it is extra important to never leave a dog unattended in a room, or within reach of a surface holding a snow globe. The sweet scent and flavor of antifreeze is just too good for many pets to pass up, and the results are almost always lethal.

Should your dog show signs like staggering and vomiting, immediately check out your veterinarian. For extra precaution, companies like Sierra produce less toxic propelyne-glycol-based antifreeze.

Functional Furniture for You, and a Den for Your Dog!

When I first adopted Milly I was living in a small apartment and had a roommate. I kept Milly’s crate beside the sofa in our living room, and used the top of it as a place to store books and magazines. What I really needed were end tables, but there just wasn’t room for Milly’s crate and end tables, so I made do. As you can see, it was cramped living.

That living situation only lasted a few months, before I realized that I was not compatible with my roommate, and decided to break the lease and move out. I ended up moving to an even smaller apartment with just Milly and I, and found I really needed to use the top of Milly’s crate for storage. At the time, I couldn’t afford to buy a fancy wooden coffee table crate, so I stained a piece of wood and placed it on top of her crate. Voila! More storage! Soon after moving, I adopted a Munchkin Cat. I kept his litter box in the bathroom, and I really wish I'd had this cat washroom at the time!

These days there are so many options available to pet owners that double as human furniture, and make having dogs in small apartments an easy reality. Whether you need a crate that doubles as a TV stand, or want a traditional side table, there is something for you! By buying pet pieces that double as furniture for humans, you will be able to maximize space, especially in a small apartment.

This looks like a trunk, until you remove the front and see that it is a crate! This more traditional crate will keep your dog happy with so much room to see out!


Or, you could get this, which actually is a trunk and perfect for storing dog food or toys! I would love to purchase a nice wooden trunk to store all of Milly's toys in!

I love entertaining, and this wooden den could easily double as a fashionable bar for cocktail hour! These are little details that you need to think about when living in a small space.

Don’t want to have large bulky baby gates separating off-limit areas from pet friendly rooms? Invest in an easy to move, sturdy, folding wooden gate that is not only fashionable, but functional, too! They are made in all wood, or if your dog is a chewer, this wood and metal one would be ideal.

I have a very classic meets contemporary style. I adore antiques, but like to pair them with more modern accessories. For me, this wooden crate would be ideal. Dogs naturally like to den and the walls with smaller slats make this crate ideal for that purpose, and will make your pet feel very secure. The beautiful oak looks great, and you can use it just like any other table!

Small dogs and big dogs can use wooden crates, as they come in a variety of sizes! If I’d had one of these crates in my first apartment I could have kept Milly’s crate in my room, and would not have needed a bedside table!

If you have a modern or retro sense of style, you can easily find great pieces that will suit your décor! I love the silver pet den!

Even with all of this furniture for dogs, there are still times when I want to let Milly on the sofa to cuddle. But, she sheds, and sheds a lot! Milly knows she is only allowed on furniture if invited, and this machine washable dog quilt from Orvis would be perfect to lie down before she hops up. Plus, it is so cute! I’d happily keep that out all the time!