New toys

I was not planning on purchasing new toys. With Christmas just over; our dogs have several new carcasses laying about. Jessie actually has one that somehow managed to stay intact; I think Luke does not like the feel of it so has pretty much left it alone. And Tilley has but one that escaped the malicious jaws of Luke and Jessie with everyone on high alert to protect her new toy from them. But I was at the mall and the old toy store was going out of business so with my daughters I entered the store looking for a deal.

The store was half empty; but I managed to find one bin of stuffed toys. Many of the stuffed toys for kids these day contain those little bead things; which are not good for dog toys. I finally found three small stuffed toys without any removeable parts. They were a mere 1.99 each; a price I can live with when I know their fate. I got a cute dragon, an orange teddy bear and a larger yellow teddy bear which would be for Tilley.

Once home it takes but a split second for my dogs to know what has come into the house with me. They are very polite; waiting to know if these new toys are for decoration or for them. All I need to say is "what did Mommy buy?" and they know they are for them. Typically they get pretty frantic; new toys are delivered in the same order as feeding time. Jessie gets hers; which she usually drops immediately wanting to know what else there is. Then Tilley and last but not least Luke.

They were all surprisingly calm and patient yesterday. I believe it is because there has been so much emphasis put onto who's toy is who's since Christmas. Jessie took her toy right away and went to the window bed. Tilley never takes her softies from our hand; she gives them a once over on the floor before the mouthing starts. Then Luke gets his toy; the dragon of course was for him and he never hesitates. He grabs and runs.

With new possesions everyone was happyily occupied for over an hour. By dinner time Luke had still not tore into his new toy; perhaps because there was no squeaky in it. These weren't dog toys; they were meant for kids so they were much softer and better made than the normal toys; no these were special toys.

We were all at the dinner table when my husband came home; there was the usual large greeting. After he sat to join us; I asked Luke to go get his new toy to show to his Dad. Right away those giant ears of his are up and listening intently, "go get your new toy and bring it to Daddy." Luke has a huge vocabulary but I must remain calm so that he doesn't get overly excited; once he is out of control he cannot focus.

Off he went to the other room; returning with his new dragon tucked tightly in his mouth. It was obvious how happy he was with himself with his tail held high as he strutted around the kitchen. My daughter was amazed that he brought the correct toy to show us. Luke does love to grab the other dogs toys but with Christmas just over he has had much feedback over this stealing behavior.

As he stood in the middle of the kitchen beaming over the dragon he now called his own; no one could help but smile. This big blonde goof with his prize possession; it just doesn't get any cuter.