![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_2871.jpg\")
<\/a>However, by mid-afternoon being 8 had already turned terribly sad.\u00a0 Lupe’s friend Sidney was sick with serious heart problems.\u00a0 He hadn’t been eating for days.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went to see Sidney to try to cheer him up.\u00a0 Big Sid<\/strong><\/span><\/a> did respond, but he just wasn’t feeling well at all.<\/p>\n A little before sunset, things got better.\u00a0 Lupe got to ride in the G6.\u00a0 It was only to a couple of stores, but SPHP did pick up a birthday cake for her.\u00a0 Every year there is a birthday party for Lupe at Grandma’s house.\u00a0 This year wasn’t going to be any different.<\/p>\n When the time came to head for Grandma’s, Lupe was excited!\u00a0 On the way, she barked at the gas pipeline from the G6 like she always does.\u00a0 She barked at cows and deer she couldn’t even see, because it was totally dark out.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog figured they were out there, though.\u00a0 They almost always are.<\/p>\n When Loopster got to Grandma’s, she burst in through the front door as soon as SPHP opened it.\u00a0 Wearing her party hat, she raced upstairs to the living room, dining room, and kitchen looking for Grandma.<\/p>\n Grandma was cooking in the kitchen.\u00a0 Try as she might, Lupe couldn’t get Grandma’s attention.\u00a0 SPHP sent Lupe into the kitchen 5 or 6 times.\u00a0 Finally Grandma noticed that the birthday girl had arrived!\u00a0 That’s when the birthday cheer and loving really started.<\/p>\n Grandma and Lupe posed for photos, sitting first by the fireplace, and then on the white couch together.\u00a0 Grandma wished Lupe a very happy birthday!<\/p>\n SPHP brought out some presents and Lupe’s birthday cake.\u00a0 Grandma had a present for Lupe, too!\u00a0 Lupe had to be very patient, and sit calmly next to all these treasures.\u00a0 She did her best to be good.<\/p>\n Grandma had made cheeseburgers for dinner.\u00a0 SPHP gave Lupe only a few small pieces of cheeseburger, which was rather disappointing.\u00a0 Loop hadn’t eaten much today.\u00a0 Didn’t seem right to have to starve on your birthday!\u00a0 At least there was going to be cake and ice cream later on.<\/p>\n A year ago, Mush and Butterfly, Grandma’s 3-legged cat, had been here for Lupe’s party.\u00a0 This year Grandma and SPHP were the only guests.\u00a0 Butterfly had gone to kitty heaven more than a month ago.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t mind a small party, but it was sad to think that Butterfly was gone.<\/p>\n During dinner, Grandma said that Mush and David had called her this morning, and had asked what she was doing for lunch.\u00a0 Grandma had told them that she had a dental appointment, so they hadn’t gotten together.\u00a0 Near the end of this news, Grandma mentioned that maybe Mush and David were still in town.<\/p>\n Still in town?\u00a0 SPHP tried to call them.\u00a0 Mush answered.\u00a0 Yes, they were still in town.\u00a0 In fact, they were on their way to Grandma’s house right now!\u00a0 Attendance at Lupe’s birthday party was about to double.\u00a0 The more, the merrier!<\/p>\n When Mush and David arrived, they wished Lupe a happy birthday, too.\u00a0 Lupe appreciated it, but by now had something she wanted to do right away.\u00a0 Were Mush and David going to stick around for a while?\u00a0 They were.\u00a0 That was good, because Lupe wanted to go to the cul-de-sac.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP almost always visit the cul-de-sac whenever Lupe comes to Grandma’s house.\u00a0 It’s a tradition, and this time of year you can see the official “Most Beautiful Christmas Tree” along the way.\u00a0 Going to the cul-de-sac would only take 20 minutes or so.\u00a0 Grandma, Mush and David could visit while waiting for Lupe and SPHP to return.<\/p>\n The night was dark, but quite warm for mid-December.\u00a0 On the way to the cul-de-sac, Lupe stopped to admire not only the Most Beautiful Christmas Tree, but other notable Christmas displays, as well.<\/p>\n When Lupe got back to Grandma’s house, it was time for another photo session, this time with well-wishers Mush and David.<\/p>\n Grandma joined in.<\/p>\n Next it was time for the dangerous part – the trial by fire!\u00a0 SPHP brought out Lupe’s birthday cake again, and lit all 8 candles.\u00a0 The blazing bonfire was even larger than last year’s!<\/p>\n Too make it even scarier, SPHP turned out all the lights. The American Dingo was all smiles as Grandma, Mush, David and SPHP all sang Happy Birthday to her.\u00a0 SPHP made certain to include a part at the end about “And Many More!”, too.<\/p>\n The lights came on.\u00a0 The candles were allowed to burn a couple more minutes.\u00a0 Mush then blew them all out so Lupe’s birthday wish would come true.\u00a0 Lupe kept her wish a secret, because that’s tradition.\u00a0 SPHP guessed it might have something to do with having lots more adventures in the coming year.<\/p>\n Once the candles were out, Mush helped Lupe open her presents.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog made quite a haul!\u00a0 She sniffed each gift eagerly.<\/p>\n Although Lupe was anxious to dig into all of her presents right this very minute, SPHP didn’t let her.\u00a0 That was because Loop’s last present was meant for immediate consumption.<\/p>\n Well, almost immediate.\u00a0 Grandma was going to broil Lupe’s steak for her, even though the American Dingo would have been perfectly happy tearing right into it.\u00a0 While Lupe was waiting for her steak to cook, Mush and David let her try a bone marrow treat from a bag of them they had bought for their dog, Chewy.<\/p>\n When it comes to T-Bone steaks, the American Dingo didn’t really need any appetizers, but Looper wasn’t complaining.\u00a0 The bone marrow treat vanished.<\/p>\n Soon the steak was ready.<\/p>\n Cake and ice cream was served to all of Lupe’s guests.\u00a0 Only Looper got T-Bone steak.\u00a0 For dessert (as if one needs dessert after ice cream) Lupe got to chomp a Dingo Twist Stick, too.<\/p>\n Everyone had fun.\u00a0 Lupe’s 8th birthday bash was a success!\u00a0 The Carolina Dog went home with a whole year of being 8 to anticipate ahead of her.\u00a0 Who knows what adventures the coming year might bring?\u00a0 Lupe hopes you will return here now and then to see how being 8 all turns out!<\/p>\n Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Lupe’s 7th Birthday (12-14-17)<\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Lupe’s 9th Birthday (12-14-19)<\/strong><\/a> Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s\u00a0Dingo Tales\u00a0Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe Adventures<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Being 7 years old was wonderful!\u00a0 Lupe was fortunate enough to get to go on many adventures near and far, and always had plenty of food and water, so life was just about perfect.\u00a0 However, the day came when SPHP announced it was her birthday again.\u00a0 Lupe was now 8 years old! Being 8 years … Continue reading Lupe’s 8th Birthday (12-14-18)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[1020,105,106,104],"class_list":["post-17830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dingo-tales","tag-8th-birthday","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-lupe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_2905.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17830"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25187,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17830\/revisions\/25187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>That old trick wasn’t going to work this time around!\u00a0 The 8 year old Dingo knew the trial by fire wouldn’t last long.\u00a0 As soon as the lights came back on, she would get her reward.\u00a0 It would be time to open presents!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n