Happy Birthday, Bernie!

***Bernie returning from a walk four days before her 14th birthday. January 27, 2008; St. Paul***

It's Bernie's 15th birthday today, January 31. What a beautiful day it is here in the Twin Cities, 45 degrees and sunny, the first time we've been above freezing in a lonnnng time. Bernie and I would've enjoyed a long, messy-wet birthday walk today, and no doubt she would've spent the rest of the day relaxing in her backyard, enjoying the sunshine, sounds of snowmelt, and the many passers-by who are taking advantage of this January thaw. I saw several Bernie lovers today while working outside, and I passed along the news of her new home. 

Bernie's birthdays were always low-key affairs, that's the way she and I liked it. No party hats or the like for my little black dog. Generally, I'd tell her happy birthday and then put a big bone, like the one in yesterday's photo, in her mouth. She was so funny with bones. When the ground was thawed, she would parade around the yard with it protruding from her mouth for 30 minutes, an hour, looking for the perfect spot to dig a hole to bury it. I loved, loved, loved watching her do this. It would take several holes dug before she found the proper one in which to bury it. She'd dig with her claws, close the hole with her snout, which left her with a dirt-brown nose! Soon after burying it, she'd retrieve it and start the whole process again. It would be several days before she actually gnawed on the bone, and she would never mess with her bones in any way if I wasn't here. If I gave her one before work, for example, she would set it down and it would be in the same spot when I got home! At that point, she'd pick it up, prance around the yard in the spirit of her bone game. She was funny like that.

I miss paw prints in my yard, so I threw some bird seed around it today to draw the squirrels.

So, one year I made Bernie a birthday cake. She loved it, and I froze most of it for treats later on. If you make it, don't try to mix it all in a blender unless you have the "meat blades" in place. The big ol' liver will burn out your motor with the regular blades, trust me. Here's the recipe:

Liver Birthday Cake

Cake:

1 pound liver, well rinsed

1 egg (shell washed)

2 cloves garlic

1 cup parsley

8 carrots

1 cup rice flour

2/3 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2-cup low-fat plain yogurt

Frosting:

3 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup low-fat yogurt

Bon apetit!