Rusty's Birthday is a black-and-white American juvenile drama, released by Columbia Pictures in November 1949. Structured as an hour-long second feature, it is the final entry in the eight-film low-budget series which centers on the bond between the German Shepherd dog Rusty and the boy Danny Mitchell, portrayed by Ted Donaldson. Rusty's Birthday was directed by Seymour Friedman, and also stars John Litel and Ann Doran as his parents, Hugh and Ethel Mitchell.

The Rusty film series comprises eight American films produced for young audiences between 1945 and 1949 by Columbia Pictures. Child actor Ted Donaldson starred as Danny Mitchell in the series, which relates the adventures of a German Shepherd dog named Rusty. The role of Rusty was played by Ace the Wonder Dog in the first feature, Adventures of Rusty (1945). A police dog named Rip took over the role for the second film, The Return of Rusty (1946). In the later films Rusty was played by Flame, a charismatic dog star who was featured in three separate series.