Buddies

Jack’s grandma Anna made a beautiful wooden toy box for him for Christmas. She also gave us 3 stuffed animals that were Jamie’s when he was a kid: a puppy, a unicorn and a bear in a raincoat. When we were putting away all of the Christmas goodies in December, I just put the stuffed animals in the toy box and left it on the floor in Jack’s nursery. One day last week, Jack and I went out to lunch with my friend Kim. When we returned home, Maggie met us at the door with a very guilty look on her face. We discovered that she had removed two of the stuffed animals from the toy box. One was on the dining room floor and the other was on the landing of the staircase. I told Maggie that they were not her toys and picked them up and put them back in the toy box. The same thing happened a few days later, so again I picked up the animals (the same two she chose the first time) and put them back in the toy box and this time put the toy box on the floor in Jack’s closet. Well, Jamie returned home from work yesterday and snapped these pictures. Apparently Maggie had gone into Jack’s open closet and retrieved the stuffed animals yet again, this time all three of them. You’re probably wondering why we don’t just put the stuffed animals away somewhere Maggie cannot get to them. The answer is that we find this little game to be absolutely hysterical. Maggie is well known for destroying her “buddies,” as we call her stuffed animals. She’s also very smart and understands when a toy is not hers. So, she’s bringing these toys to us and asking us if she can have them, but isn’t destroying them while she has the chance because she knows they aren’t hers, although they do look very much like her buddies (as you can see in one of the pictures). So basically, this is just a call for attention. Her life since Jack’s arrival is still far better than most dogs’. Jamie still plays ball outside with her at least once a day and we still shower her with love and affection. Cesar Milan would certainly disapprove of this game we’re allowing her to play, but we don’t care. The look on her face when we discover the animals strewn about the house and then feign disappointment is just priceless.