Quote Originally Posted by Kfamr
Sorry to burst anyone's "bubble" but MY ANIMALS ARE MY CHILDREN. They are my babies and I WILL treat them as such, NO ONE needs to call it ridiculous.

You better bet it makes Kiara excited and happy to dress up. Simba and Nala, not so much which is why I don't do it to them often. Each furkid is different. You may speak for your pets specifically, on what makes them happy, but you do not know everyone else's pets or their personailities/likes/dislikes.

Maybe not other pets, but dogs do realize the difference in days. They know when it's a special day by our actions in the past. Sure, maybe their first party/celebration may be confusing. However, they begin to relate objects to different celebrations. Just like when a box comes in the mail - it makes them incredibly excited and YES, it makes them happy. It is very easy to tell when a dog is happy over something or has no general emotion over something. It's become such a routine over the years, they know what's going on, and their emotions are happy.

They DO understand. They may no understand "Hey, it's my birthday!" but they certainly understand that something special is going on and they are happy.
I agree. My furkids are living, breathing, creatures with personalities. They are not robots programmed to not know certain things, etc. And yes, for me, animals are up on an equal pedestal with humans.

They recognize that the day is special for one reason or another.

My cats and dog, also, ARE able to and DO distinguish from what is theirs and everything else.