Organized any dog birthday parties lately?

One of my co-workers has an autumnal tradition of spending a week of quality time with her dog Alfie around his birthday.

Some may find that eccentric, but even she is skeptical of a trend I saw reported in the Wall Street Journal.

“Dog birthdays are turning into elaborate social events,” barked the headline.

Yes, professional party organizers are raking in megabucks for lavish festivities centered around the anniversary of a dog’s birth or some other canine milestone (the anniversary of the pooch’s adoption, the anniversary of the legalization of dog poker, the anniversary of suing Pope Franc...