IF NOT for her dog Pippa, life in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic would have been ruff for young fashion designer Maizy Colleen Tan.
The irresistible half-Shih Tzu and half-Poodle was a precious gift from a friend in March 2020.
Maizy fondly recalls the unfur-gettable day she met Pippa. "There were six pups in the litter, and they all played in a group. But there was one pup in the corner being left out," she shares.
The tiny pooch sat on her foot and followed her around while her siblings were busy playing. "It was like she chose me. I decided to pick her up, take her home and the rest is history," Maizy smiles.
Keeping it paw-sitive
The avid traveler decided to name her Pippa because she could not hear even a "peep" as she was on "silent mode" all the time.
Having a pet taught Maizy to become more disciplined because she had to wake up at 7 a.m. daily to take her out to potty. She admits it was not a walk in the bark, at first.
During the quarantine, Pippa kept her paw-sitive and on her toes during days when she felt down and uncertain. To keep her creative juices flowing, the resourceful mama also made rebarkable dresses out of fabric scraps at home.
Patisserie Pippa
When Pippa turned one recently, Maizy wanted to celebrate her pet's barkday to honor her for a year's worth of love and joy she brought into the Tan household and into her atelier.
Fabulously dressed in Maizy Colleen paw-ture, Pippa's luxe pastel and gold Ladurée-inspired fete was fit for a princess.
For pawsterity, photograph-fur Kethley Uy documented the special day as Pippa posed with her decadent macaron towers and dainty satin ribbons.
Her delightful hooman cake by Happy Hive; pupcakes by The Barkery; flowers and balloons from Te Quiero Flower Arrangement; as well as booth decals and pawty woof bags by Sette Up-Events and Design added whimsical touches to the Douge and Vanity Fur-worthy birthday shoot.
Pawty furrends
"We couldn't have guests over because pawty guests also meant hooman guests and we didn't want to put anyone at risk during the pandemic. So, we just prepared gift boxes to send over to Pippa's furrends who included Coco the Pomeranian; her half-Poodle gang Saab, Cooper, and Zoey; Teddy the Toy Poodle; Pippa's mom Scotty and dad Harvey; Marble, Toffee and Oreo the Shih Tzus; and Milo the Fat Chihuahua," Maizy says.
As expected, the birthday guests went mutts over the dog-friendly biscuits, pupcakes, and banana-peanut butter cakes, and their grateful owners promptly posted their appreciation on social media by tagging pippatheshihpoo. With over 7,500 followers on Instagram, Pippa is undoubtedly a certified doggy-tal influencer.
"Being around Pippa made me realize that life shouldn't be complicated and that sometimes we should really take it one day at a time. I could be frustrated one minute and happily hugging her the next."
Maizy just feels so fur-tunate to have Pippa in her life!
E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit http://momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com/.