Pet retailers have capitalized on the trend of treating dogs as family members, and almost all of them offer special branded or birthday-cake-favored treats to celebrate the dog’s big day. Of course, the pooches themselves have no sense of their birthday; this is strictly a marketing ploy to get their humans to spend more. And, I’d venture to say, it works.
My Zoe will turn one-year-old next week, and I received an early birthday card from Chewy to commemorate the occasion. It just happened to offer me 20% their “Birthday Shop” items if I “scanned (or sniffed)” their QR code on the card. Clever!
While I did not purchase from Chewy, I did get a can of wet dog food (a delicacy in my house) and a birthday-cake-flavored treat for her and her sister. Can’t celebrate alone, can we?
Think about whether there are occasions you can turn into an opportunity, even if they are silly, arbitrary, or pretend. We can all use an excuse to infuse some joy into our lives, even if it takes a pet’s birthday to do it.
