My Frankie Doodle Dandy!

Today is Frankie’s birthday, at least the one I chose for him. He was five when I adopted him and of mysterious parentage (royalty who fell on hard times, I suspect). I decided on July 4 because he came prenamed Frankie, it was clear he was dandy, and… well, I told the story on this blog last year, and also went into a dog-name riff. You can read it here.

What am I giving Frankie for a present on this occasion, you ask? I’m going to stay home with him all day, so he doesn’t have to endure the noise of firecrackers or fireworks alone.

True, this is not as big a deal as it might be if I were a gadabout or if I didn’t work at home. But it shows I’ve come a long way in learning what’s  best for dogs in general and for Frankie in particular.

It’s a testament to my early cluelessness that, on the first July 4 we shared, I decked Frankie  out in the outfit you see here —  a bandanna made out of a July 4-themed cocktail napkin and adorned with gift-wrap ribbons — and took him to a political party picnic.

Naturally, Frankie was the object of great adoration, not only by the political candidates, who substituted baby kissing for puppy bussing when they saw him, but also by the other attendees. Naturally, this made him unhappy. I did have the sense to take him home before any fireworks began, but it was still all about me wanting to show off my cute dog, not about showing him a good time.

So for this birthday: No car rides to picnics, no forced social interaction. I did replicate the annoying makeshift outfit* but I took the pictures yesterday and I was quick.

I'm getting cranky. Can I take this junk off yet?

So Happy Birthday Frankie and Happy July 4 to all.  May the day be as social or as independent of people as you’d like.

*I’m not sure whether it’s a good or bad sign that, five years later, I still have the original streamers and the package of July 4 napkins. Calling Hoarders 911…

23 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Frankie!”

  1. Congratulations Frankie!
    Too bad your mom took you to the wrong political party, if you would have been at the “other one’s” you would have shown them what a dog with teeth can do 🙂
    You have a nice birthday party together, no need to be social, this is your day.

    1. Thank you! In the interest of being nonpolitical, I cut the original snark that I wouldn’t name the party but the fact that the candidate was an out lesbian and no one cared should be a giveaway (ha, I just snuck it into the comments here). You’re right, I’m sure Frankie would have been a tiger if he had been faced with any kind of discrimination — against breeds, sexual preference, you name it!

  2. You beat me to the punch! I logged on to wish Frankie Doodle a happy birthday…should have known you’d be on top of that.

    Your post reminds me of the day I got Archie and was far more clueless than you. I had to pick him up that day from Animal Control, before he got shipped to the Shelter and booked into the system. I took BL and George, my dog-experienced friends to the Animal Control. We picked him up, took him to the vet, and then home for a bath (a rather athletic event–don’t think he’d ever been bathed before) and some photos (as you know, he’s exceedingly cute). So far, so good, but I had two problems (1) I discovered an uncharacteristic shyness in myself–friends, don’t leave me alone with this stranger!–and (2) we had tickets to see the Capitol Steps. I had no idea that it wasn’t good stewardship to fetch a stray dog from the hoosegow, lock him in a strange kitchen, and leave. So that’s what I did. When I returned I discovered that Archie had managed to open the kitchen door, and was reclining on the living room sofa, cigar in one paw, cognac in the other. He regarded me with indulgent boredom.

    1. Frankie and I thank you! Amazing that, after all these years, this is the first time I’ve heard that story (then again, maybe it’s not and after all these years I’ve forgotten it). In any case, I’m sorry that neither of us was in the habit early on of taking photos. I would have enjoyed seeing Archie enjoying that stogie.

  3. Frankie, Happy Birthday from all of the Calming Collar cats here in Florida! You look adorable in your red, white and blue — even if it was only for a photo op! And Edie — my husband would say I could be a founding father of Hoarders R Us! Enjoy the fireworks — but on TV!

    1. Thanks, Deb! I won’t mention the cats to Frankie since it would undercut the soothing your collars have done. I’m happy to hear I have company in the hoarding department. The problem with such discoveries as the items for Frankie’s costume is that it just encourages us to hold on to more stuff!

    1. Thanks for being such an alert reader, Eric. It did occur to me that a 4th of July celebration might not be appropriate for a dog with monarchist tendencies. In fact, perhaps that’s why he’s so wary of other dogs in general. He’s not fearful, just a snob.

  4. H*A*P*P*Y *B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y F*R*A*N*K*I*E!

    I don’t exactly know when MY birthday is either but it’s all good : )

    You’re lucky your mum doesn’t have too many annoying makeshift outfits for you. Mine can be a maniac. But what can you do, eh? It’s nice to have a family and home. xox

    1. Frankie says thank you. And like you say, indeterminate birthdays, makeshift outfits — all minor compared to not having a family and home.

  5. Happy birthday Frankie!

    You look adorable.

    I don’t think it’s odd that you still had the napkins and ribbons but that you found them after 5 years.

    1. He does look pretty darn adorable, doesn’t he? Finding things is generally unusual but there’s only one place I keep “party” stuff so the napkins were either going to be there or not.

  6. Fabulous photo – so much disdain, in so little a frame! Ha! The fireworks have started here, car alarms going off from the booms that sound like cannon balls being shot – air so humid you could cut it. Stuck my head out the patio door and didn’t realize Tashi had followed me. He was about four feet from me, when the next round started – uh oh – turned tail and ran, but only to living room and he was just lying down looking down the hall to see if I was coming. He’s curled up at my feet on his cool pad listening intently but not freaked at ramrod attention. Ok, this is just strange – he’s decided to take a little nap! Wow – it’s a 4th of July Miracle:)) Wooo-hooo! Horray for counter-conditioning!

    1. Love it! That could be Frankie’s motto: So much disdain in a small frame. Congratulations on Tashi’s amazing 4th of July transformation. Hope the both of you continue to stay cool in what I heard on TV was hellish heat.

  7. Ok, I was so weirded out by Tashi’s reaction to fireworks this year I forgot to send his and my best wishes to Frankie for the best 4th of July birthday ever! We raise a glass of Peachcello in a toast to good health and happiness!

    1. Thank you! Ooooh — Peachcello. I don’t think I’ve ever had that but if it’s anything like Lemoncello I think I need to go out and find some. Here’s a toast to continuing mellowness for Tashi and you (w/ Trader Joe’s three buck Australian chardonnay, I’m afraid…)

    1. Frankie thanks you. And says that’s a very handsome picture on your blog of one of your own pups for the 4th of July. Hope you had a good one!

Leave a Reply to Mary E Haight Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *