Celebrating your Pup: Shazdehs Party Planning

We are guessing that by now you have at least heard of a doggie wedding—even if you haven’t actually been to one. Now what about an obedience school graduation? Or a bark-mitzvah? These are just a couple of the varied extravaganzas that Shazdehs Party Planning throws on behalf of your beloved pooch.

Shazdehs founder Yasmin Waskow got the idea for her business while watching TV with her husband. She explained to us in an interview how her husband encouraged her to try branching out her hobby of throwing celebrations for their dogs into a full-fledged business, “but we wanted it to be better. Nothing tacky,” Yasmin explained. The company is named after Yasmin’s own Maltese, and is Farsi for “Prince.” “And he is such a prince,” Yasmin said of her spoiled pooch. Shazdehs Party Planning is run by Yasmin, her sister Hannah, and her best friend Rima (pictured from left to right). The enthusiastic trio even dresses up as pooches for their events—donning furry ears, tails, and boots to their parties and fundraisers.

And whatever celebration you can think of, Shazdehs covers it–from the increasingly popular dog birthday bash, to the occasional bark-mitzvah, as well as dog adoptions, anniversaries, and other incredibly detailed themed parties. They cover the entertainment, decor, food and drinks, even the photography–not that these parties are remotely forgettable in the first place.

Yasmin’s favorite celebration so far has been a Latin-themed affair for a Chihuahua named “Papi.” For this occasion, Shazdehs’ private chef whipped up some doggy treats that were disguised as little tacos. And Shazdehs parties spare no indulgences; “everything is organic” Yasmin explained of their chef’s nutritious cooking for their pups. At another Parisian-inspired bash for a Poodle named Chloe, the pups snacked on doggie-friendly caviar (salmon eggs) and were treated to a sophisticated atmosphere of Parisian elegance while their parents sipped Dom Perignon. “That was Hannah’s favorite,” Yasmin added.

Though the Shazdehs team spoils the dogs at their parties, sending them home with goodie bags stocked with personalized Louis Vuitton collars and engraved water bowls, they also ascribe to strict rules in order to prevent any health and safety issues. Yasmin insists that pet parents submit current vaccination information as well as health history forms prior to bringing their dog to an event. “If they don’t do it, they can’t come,” Yasmin insists.

When they aren’t putting on an unforgettable party, Yasmin and her partners feel very strongly about giving back to the dog community and often reach out to shelters and nonprofits through charity events. “We donated 100% of the silent auction profits at our last event to Hope for Paws,” Yasmin said proudly. Hope for Paws is a nonprofit Los Angeles based animal rescue organization.

And in order to reach out to as many dogs in need as they can, Yasmin, Hannah, and Rima do a monthly sponsorship where they foster a dog from a local shelter. In order to find their dog, they each write down a favorite name on a slip of paper and put it into a hat to be drawn. This past month they drew the name “Oscar” from the hat, so they immediately found a dog named Oscar on Petfinder.com. The first Oscar that popped up on the computer screen was a smiley Chihuahua-Pug mix that needed a new home (pictured below). He was also a little overweight and in definite need of some TLC. “Of course it would end up being him!” Yasmin said of the lovably off-beat looking pup. The girls knew that he was the perfect candidate for their foster effort and took him in. With the help of daily walks, lots of playtime, and their chef’s wholesome doggie dishes, Oscar was able to get down to a healthier weight. He definitely relished in the three girls’ attention and care.

After fostering Oscar (and perhaps spoiling him a little) he was ready to be adopted into a permanent home, which the team was able to find for him. Fortunately, Oscar will be placed nearby so the three girls can still visit and spoil him as they please.

As you can see, the massive creativity of the ladies behind Shazdehs Party Planning is perhaps only diminished by their sincere love for dogs. So if you have a big celebration with your dog coming up, we recommend giving them a shout. Just don’t expect it to come cheap–”everybody wants to know our most expensive party” said Yasmin, “it was about $30,000.” The most popular and cheaper price tag is still a little tough to swallow at about $10,000. Regardless, we can tell that these girls have a heart for all pups. We look forward to hearing more successful adoption stories like Oscar, as well as more crazy (and off-the-wall) doggie celebrations.

Do you know any one-of-a-kind doggie businesses like Shazdehs Party Planning? Bark to us about it here, and it just might be our next dog blog feature story.

Samantha Madlangbayan

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