Stuffed animal fun...cloud cover indoors

Stuffed animals are one of the Dude's favorite things to play with. He likes to shake them up, throw them in the air, and play fetch inside the house. They are the closest thing to a live animal he can get, especially when they have a "voice box" inside that makes sounds when he shakes it.

I'm not certain if the Dude has the most toys of any dog, but he certainly has plenty. One of the reasons is that he destroys the toys relatively quickly. There is a method to his madness, so don't think he is purely destructive. He savors the moments with each toy. Some stuffed animals have more moments for savoring than others.

The first step is to remove the eyes and any other hard object attached to the animal. Nothing is eaten, just removed as part of the ritual.

Next, anything else that isn't a main part of the stuffed animal is removed. This could include a bow or a pillow or a hat or article of clothing.

Next, if the animal has a noise making device or "voice box," then that is sought after and finally removed.

Also, if there are any sacks full of polyester beads inside to add weight, those must be removed and shook up sufficiently to distribute small beads all over the house - preferably by making them fly through the air and ricochet around a little. It's all part of the ritual.

Last, the toy is torn at until the polyester stuffing can be removed and distributed across the floor. First a little, then a lot.

It looks a lot like small clouds floating at floor level. I call it indoor cloud cover.


The Dude doesn't seem to notice that it's a mess on the floor. After all, dogs like things just they way they like them, and that often isn't the way you like them.

If the Dude has a playmate come over for tug-of-war, then it only takes a matter of minutes before we have heavy cloud cover and two very happy dogs.

Thank goodness for garage sales. At 25 cents a stuffed animal, the Dude can have at it with as many as he would like - to the extent that we don't mind the cleanup.

Beanie Babies anyone?