In a Parisian apartment near the Buttes-Chaumont park, 27-year-old photographer Gil Anselmi recently hosted a dog-themed birthday party for her Australian shepherd, Sony, who turned nine. Guests, some dressed as dogs or wearing “Didier” t-shirts (a reference to a popular French film about a dog who turns into a man), celebrated to the tune of DJ BoBo’s “Chihuahua”.
“In the end, the dogs don’t care, I mostly do it for laughs and for my friends. It’s deliberately cringey,” said Anselmi, who handpicked the guests, all of whom have a connection to Sony, either as owners of dog friends or as previous caretakers.
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Dog birthday celebrations are becoming increasingly popular in France. According to Mylène Bertaux, journalist and author of “Toutoute, La nouvelle place des chiens dans nos vies” (“The new place of dogs in our lives”), the “dog birthday” trend has gained momentum since 2020, following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In less than 50 years, the dog has gone from the doghouse to the sofa, then from the sofa to the bedroom, or even the stroller,” Bertaux explains. “More and more dog owners take them on vacation, confide in them, sleep in bed with them, give them gifts at Christmas and celebrate their birthdays,” highlighting the evolving role of dogs in French society.
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