It's my cake in a box, girrrrl

As mentioned before, Chas and I have what most people call "Dog-human confusion". (see Jax in Chief's jersey). Another common symptom includes: treating your dog to "human-like" treats such as a dog-safe cake made of carob and having a birthday party for them. Yeah, it's somewhat absurd, but he's such a "person" sometimes that it's his fault we are confused.

Jax turned 5 today and since we didn't do a single thing last year except offer a "happy birthday, doggie" and a pat on the head, we decided to get him a cake and gifts at a local pet/grooming store called "Wag N' Wash".

This place is amazing. You can wash your dog in the back with all the luxuries without soiling your bathroom and/or your clothes as you would at home and of course you can have someone do it for you while you shop. This is pretty normal nowadays, but this place was POSH. They have a smorgasbord of doggie "pastries", various upholstered dog beds, doggie fleeces, no-spill dog dishes and frozen dog cuisine, not to mention feline delicacies and toys, but this is not about cats, they have their own fan base.

I've been to Petsmart and Petco but this place has taken a whole new spin on treating your pet well. I felt a bit silly having bought a dog cake, which is more like a brick and hardly "edible" for humans but still a freaking cake from what they called the "doggie deli/bakery".

When we placed it in front of Jax, it actually scared him a bit. At first, he backed away from it. Finally, he looked at us as if to say, "seriously, my own cake?". Once we sawed through this "delicacy" and placed it in his bowl, he just about passed out from ecstasy it seemed.

Problem with getting aforementioned cake? When Chas and I were checking out, the teenage girls at the counter were a little over the top with excitement that we had ordered a cake, leading us to believe we were a minority and some of the more diehard dog lovers haven't caught on yet.

"OOOOh, can I see the cake?" One such salesgirl exclaimed.

"Uh, sure". I was thinking "let's not make a spectacle out of this, shall we?"

Then another girl quickly sprinted over.

"Is that THE cake for Jax...ohhh, sooo cute". (giggle, giggle)

I guess since this was my first official dog-cake buying experience, I should understand the novelty of it.

As we loaded everything into the car and headed home, I began to think: what was once unheard of, the dog birthday cake and thus the celebration, is now a booming business. Dog grooming, dog hotels and the dog birthday party have reached new heights of "humanness", it's almost ridiculous. Another thought about this new "buy everything you can buy" for your pet phenomenon: What once was man's best friend is now man's best accessory. I guess we can thank people like Paris Hilton for that. Minus opposable thumbs and the ability to speak English, dogs are ultimately "humanized" by virtue of these new luxuries present. Man, makes me wish I was a dog....um, wait, nevermind. I like pooping indoors.