One birthday wish came true Sunday when Meatball the Pug came to a little girl's birthday party.
Charlie Toledo McGillivray's fifth birthday plans lacked only one thing; an invitation to a fawn pug she knew only as Meatball.
"She met a cool dog on the beach and she really liked him, and she thought it would be a whole lot of fun if he came to her birthday party," said Charlie's dad, Andre McGillivray.
"She really wanted him to be there."
As the day approached, Charlie focused in on Meatball. Had he called? Had he emailed? Was he coming? "When it became clear to me that it absolutely was necessary to find Meatball for my daughter to have a happy birthday , I felt very strongly I should do it," the Wolf in the Fog restaurateur said.
The challenge was making a connection with Meatball's "mum" in time for the event. An appeal through Facebook turned up Jillian Stanley, who lives and works in Ahousaht. She was in Victoria, but agreed to shorten her weekend to brighten the party.
The event at the Tofino Community Hall was already a sweet uproar - there was no holding back the pug-decorated cake from the adorable kids as they waited for Meatball's arrival.
The popular pooch took the room at a run, leading the laughing kids on a game of pug tag and quickly making the acquaintance of the McGillivray's two fawn pugs, Oscar and Arlo, as well as lighting up the face of one Charlie Toledo McGillivray.
Meatball, as it turns out, is somewhat accustomed to attention. He's a dog with his own Instagram account and 45 followers - see him at http://instagram.com/ grumpydog_aka_meatball Meatball seemed to take the birthday frenzy in stride.
"It was a very stressful situation - I think he soldiered on like a champion," McGillivray said. jcarmichael@westerlynews. caMore Meatball at the Party pictures on the Westerly News facebook page.