Every Dog Has Their Day…
… And on May 4th, that was my beloved dog’s day- Or to be more precise, her birthday! I can hardly believe it myself that this little puppy who’s been the love of my life since I was in elementary school is now 11 years old. Since I’ve been getting a lot of questions about her lately, I thought I would take this opportunity to give her the spot light and give you guys some answers.
As you may have already gathered by now, she is a she, even if the majority of people simply assumed the opposite. Her name is Isis, pronounced “eye-sis,” something that it seems is difficult to decipher just from the spelling. Don’t worry, we still have family members that can’t spell it correctly anyways! What many readers picked up was that yes, she is indeed a Basenji; an African-Egyptian breed that hates getting wet and simply adores warm weather. That’s why you’re likely to find her doing this in the summer:
Sunbathing. You know it’s nice and hot out there when she’s willing to spread herself across the pavement!
While many guides will tell you that Basenjis are barkless dogs, they won’t tell you that they can still be quite noisy, just in different ways. She doesn’t exactly “yodel” as they say, but she does whimper, grumble, whine, yip, and otherwise make her presence very well known. Barkless does not equal silent by any means!
If you have more questions, shout them out, because I honestly can’t think of too much else to tell you. She’s just a simple, sweet little pup.
So to celebrate her birthday, as per usual, I baked her a small cake made with peanut butter and oats. To give it some extra “flair,” I frosted the top with some leftover tofu cream cheese. A treat fit for a human, even!
She started off by cautiously licking off the frosting, much like any other excited child… But it wasn’t long before the teeth came out! From there, it was pretty much all over.
Happy birthday, Isis!!
VeggieGirl said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:24 am
My Kiwi is 11 years old too - my oh my, how are furry friends are aging!! I’ve already planned on trying that Canine Cake recipe in MSV, for Kiwi’s special day (in June) :0)
Romina said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:32 am
She’s so cute!! My fido is 11, and he’s just as much of a baby as he was the day we got him.
Aww you made her a cupcake!! That’s so sweet.
Celine said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:38 am
happy birthday, beautiful Isis! and many more to come. <3
Emma-Louise said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:41 am
Happy birthday Isis :)
peabody said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:49 am
My neighbor got one thinking they didn’t bark. He was so mad because he said his dog made more noise than his last ones.
What a sweetheart…happy birthday to her!
Silvia said,
May 6, 2008 at 10:52 am
Happy birthday!! What a lovely cake !
Many wishes to her
Have a good day darling
Silvia
didally said,
May 6, 2008 at 11:12 am
Happy birthday Isis!! What a lovely cupcake you have.
Rachael said,
May 6, 2008 at 11:25 am
lucky girl, to get such a tasty cake. She’s really beautiful! Looks a lot like our Dani, who passed on a few years ago. Do you know about Basenji Companions? Its a pet basenji club or “support group” as we like to call it. My mom is actually the VP and I’ve been active off an on in the club since the beginning, even though I don’t have any B’s now. http://www.basenjicompanions.org.
Ricki said,
May 6, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Well, she is just GORGEOUS! And seems like a real sweetheart, too (is she always that calm??–Lucky you!). Love the cake! I’ve been keeping your “canine cake” from My Sweet Vegan in mind for my own 2 babies’ birthdays!
Liz said,
May 6, 2008 at 12:20 pm
What a cutie! Love the cake. My Greyhound baby is turning four in July, and I’ve been thinking about making him cupcakes (he is a fiend for baked goods) — what recipe did you use for your cake?
Lisa said,
May 6, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Very cute, I have a Maine Coon “kitten” who’ll be 17 this month and she is VERY vocal. They have their own vocabulary of sounds and I definitely know what she’s telling me. Happy Birthday Isis!
teeni said,
May 6, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I thought Isis looked familiar to me. After you mentioned her being a Basenji, I remembered that is the type of dog my cousin has and she has also mentioned that although her dog doesn’t bark, she does make a heck of a lot of other noises. LOL. Anyway, it’s easy to become attached to our beloved pets. I had one favorite cat for about 25 years and she was my baby. I would have baked for her too! :)
vegyogini said,
May 6, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Happy belated birthday, Isis! Guess what…Isis is what I named my guitar. :)
Courtney said,
May 6, 2008 at 1:44 pm
She’s such a cutie! Basenjis seem like such wonderful dogs.
mary said,
May 6, 2008 at 2:05 pm
can we please trade lives???? please?? no, just kidding, but I love your sweet dog and am sending her big birthday wishes!
Bonnie said,
May 6, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Happy belated birthday to her! She’s so beautiful, I love that ’sunbathing’ picture. And I love that you made her a birthday cake, that’s the cutest thing. My cat who I’ve known for a looong time (and almost her entire life) is turning 13 soon now, it is hard to believe…
melisser said,
May 6, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Aww, Isis is just adorable! I’ll bet most anyone would be happy to eat the pupcake! haha.
Ekio said,
May 6, 2008 at 4:50 pm
What a cutie! Happy Birthday Isis ^-^
My Diamond is 13 and I still can’t believe its been that long since I picked her up for the first time.
Doubledown said,
May 6, 2008 at 5:51 pm
So cute! Do you feed her vegetarian dog chow?
Antonio said,
May 6, 2008 at 6:36 pm
what a nice little treat!! adorable dog, too!
Oiyi said,
May 6, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Happy Birthday, Isis!
Maria said,
May 6, 2008 at 11:47 pm
What an awesome thing to do! Isis is lucky to have such a great dog-mommy.
Julie Hasson said,
May 7, 2008 at 12:05 am
What an adorable dog you have Hannah!
Happy belated birthday Isis.
mel said,
May 7, 2008 at 2:37 am
She’s adorable! I love basenjis.
Ashley said,
May 7, 2008 at 9:12 am
Aw what an adorable dog! Great photos of her. :) Happy birthday to her!
StarSpry said,
May 7, 2008 at 11:39 am
Happy belated birthday, Isis! She is just adorable :D
kittee said,
May 7, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Hannah,
Isis is gorgeous. Don’t let her give Vee word about the cake, though. He just turned one on St. Patrick’s day and he got JACK! He’ll probably win out next year and may even get a bark mitzvah. We’ll have to see how it goes…
xo
kittee
Amey said,
May 7, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Yay! Happy Birthday Isis!!
Tuesday was our 1-year anniversary of adopting our 3rd dog Snoopy. Dogs are really the best. I’m glad you still get to see Isis even though you’re in college. I missed my dog so much in college. My parents would bring him to see me (I was about 1 hour from home), and I would tell everyone “My dog is coming to visit!!” They would ask how he was getting there, and I’d say “oh, my parents are bringing him.” Ha ha!
ashley 79 said,
May 7, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Wow- 11 years old! It’s amazing how quickly they grow up. Well, I hope Isis (beautiful name, by the way) had a great birthday, and I can certainly tell she enjoyed her cake!
Geraldine said,
May 7, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Hi Birthday Dear Isis!!! What a cutie you are. Do enjoy your birthday cake too. Many more to come!!! Huggs, G
Jess - The Domestic Vegan said,
May 7, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Happy belated birthday, Isis!! What a lucky girl to get such a delicious-looking cake. I saw that cake in your cookbook & thought it was the sweetest idea. Alas, my dog has no teeth, so I’d have to douse hers in water/juice to soften it up. :) Which might not be a bad thing, actually… I’m sure she’d love it!
Anyway, I’m so glad to learn more about your gorgeous dog. She seems so sweet, and I love your pictures, too!
Sheltie Girl said,
May 8, 2008 at 9:43 am
Happy Birthday to your sweet pup!
My Grandmother had a Basenji. He was such a hoot. Thunderstorms would really get him going and he would yodel like a wolf at the moon.
He was a fabulous and fearless hunter too. He would get rid of all the field rats that tried to move in on her crops of fruit trees.
I’ll have to try making a little cake like this for our Sheltie when her birthday comes back around. She got some homemade dog biscuits for her birthday.
Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go
Alisa said,
May 8, 2008 at 11:47 am
Don’t ladies just get more beautiful with age? : )
Isis still looks like a young pup!
vegan addict said,
May 8, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Wow, Isis sure is a beautiful dog. Your photographs of her are amazing! And, how kind of you to bake her a special treat on her special day!!!!
Merri said,
May 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm
What a sweet looking dog!
That WAS so sweet of you to treat her to her own cake..and how cute the way she was cautious at first..lol.
Happy Birthday ,albeit belatedly, Isis!
Love the name,( really suits her breed etc…neat!)
Hannahknits said,
May 9, 2008 at 2:32 am
Happy birthday Isis (sorry but I am a little bit too late)!!
I love the pictures Hannah took of you. You are a pretty dog.
Dolores said,
May 9, 2008 at 11:30 am
Isis is absolutely beautiful… I hope her birthday was a joyful one for all!
Ren said,
May 10, 2008 at 1:05 am
what a cutie! : )
Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said,
May 10, 2008 at 8:45 am
She is really beautiful - definitely my kind of dog. She reminds me of my Scout, with those great ears. Thanks for telling us about her; I’m a sucker for all-things-dog.
Tartelette said,
May 12, 2008 at 2:34 am
Gorgeous Isis! It’s funny mine is a he and people often say “she….” well, he is a “it” really but still..!
The cake is great and I love the pictures of Isis eating it!!
~Sue-Leigh said,
May 14, 2008 at 12:33 am
aww, very cute!