Sunday, November 15, 2009

Today, I am Thankful for: Sewing Skills

I have a VERY funny dog.

He insists on sleeping underneath blankets. He actually puts his head on pillows. He buries himself in towels, laundry, or anything soft we leave around. I've even found him inside my hoodie sweatshirt before! But he's so darn cute, so we let him do these weird things whenever he wants.

He's a finicky dog. He only eats one kind of dog food - all other brands makes him sick. He only likes the bone marrow treats - the rest of them will be left on the floor for me to step on. He only likes rawhide sticks - not bones or ears or whatever. He only wants to bury himself in CLEAN laundry - dirty laundry is something he turns his nose up to. He doesn't want to sit next to you. It's your lap, or nothing. See? Finicky dog.

The thing he is most finicky about is: Toys. It must have three specific criteria to qualify as a "Pup" toy. 1) it must fit in his mouth. 2) it must be plush (as opposed to rubber or latex). 3) It MUST squeak.

His favorite squeaky toy is this very small orcha whale. We bought several of them at once, predicting that Target wouldn't carry them for long. And we were right. Finally, we are down to two orcha whales left. And one of them is... dun dun dun! defective! The squeaker is broken! So of course, Pup won't play with it. Sad face.

And then, this afternoon, it happened. He tore apart the one he will play with. It is dead. It's just not something we can let him play with any more. He was so upset when I took it away. He whined and barked and just looked so pathetic. And he, of course, turned his nose up at the non-squeaking one when I brought that out as a replacement.

And then, the lightbulb went on! I thought - ok - I'll take the working squeaker out of the old whale, and put it in the new whale! So I pulled out the old squeaker from the huge rip. Then I got out my seam ripper, thread and needle, and went to work. ORCHA SURGERY!!! I ripped the seam of the new whale, took out the broken squeaker, made the switch, sewed him back up, and voila! WHOLE NEW TOY. And Pup is already warming up to the new whale! (It always takes a day or two - he knows it isn't the same toy.)

But the best part of the story? Pup was just so funny as I was "in surgery." I was here, on our couch, stiching the whale back up, and pup was just so crazed! He was jumping up and down and whining and trying to bite the whale to take it from me - I think he thought I was hurting it!! He was like a worried parent uncertain that the Doctor even knew what she was talking about, let alone what she was doing! It was so cute. Poor guy. But it was worth it! He took it out of my hand when I was done and ran away to protect it.

All is well that ends well. Pup is happy with his new toy, and I am happy that the old whale is finally gone. And that is a long winded way to say - I'm super Thankful for my sewing skills!!! They came in handy!

Now I just have to figure out what to do in 8 months when the "new whale" becomes the "old whale" and I have no quick fix. ;-) Oh well.

-Jen

1 comment:

  1. I can see the headline now-"dr. Jen saves the day with risky squeaker transplant". Ha ha!

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