When I was a kid, stuffed animals were my favorite toys. And I had a lot of them. Each one had a name. Whenever I got a new one, I’d introduce him or her to the rest. I’d stand facing the white, wiry, plastic shelf that rested above the door of my bedroom and ran from wall to wall. It looked like it belonged in a toy store, not a girl’s room.

My “favorite” stuffed animal changed at times. The newest was typically the favorite. One time I got a small, fluffy white and black dog while out with my dad at K-Mart. I think I named him Clifford. One time we got a short, white-haired Coca-Cola polar bear from there. He even held a little plastic bottle of soda in his paw. Rainbow was a really amazing sand-filled lizard that my dad had gotten me, I think from Animal World at the mall. He was SO cool. He was about a foot long and had sewn-on black beads for eyes. He was awesome. Bean/sand-filled lizards were a thing for a while. Freddy was one – he was smaller than Rainbow, much so, and was black with colored specks on him. My mom had gotten me Junior, a stuffed bear who had a burgundy ribbon around his neck. He was part of a collection of teddy bears, the name of which I cannot recall. He was among my very favorites, often chosen to come with me to sleepovers at friends’ houses and to sleep in my bed with me. General was distinctive. He was from Toys R’ Us. He was a very elegant tan cat with green/beige eyes. Puppy Surprise and Kitty Surprise were special in their own rights. I don’t remember what I named them, but they were pregnant. I named the pups and kittens, too. Fido was a light brown dog with floppy eyes and ears. He sat in a slouched position and would fold forward when seated. My grandfather had given him to me and my brother. He was really cool. The timeless and beloved Kermit the frog was there too.

Sometimes one of the real cats would get up to the shelf of stuffed animals somehow. Fluffy and Sassy, the calico sisters, would nestle themselves among the fluff. I remember looking up and scanning the shelves to barely notice that a real cat was among them. One of my dreams as a kid was to break into the SPCA (the animal shelter) at night and open up all the cages and free the dogs and cats and any other animals in there that were behind bars. I’d take them out to a big plot of land in the country somewhere and let them loose, sort of like at the end of 101 Dalmatians.

I didn’t fulfill that dream, but once at the age of 10 and again at the age of 19, our family went to the SPCA and picked out two German Shepherd mix puppies – Misty first, and then Daisy (who is 13-years-old as I write this). They’ve been my absolute favorite animals because they’re real. They’ve brought joy. Misty has of course since gone to heaven – watching her go was the most heartbreaking experience of my life.

Since I was a kid, probably 95% of those stuffed animals have departed as well – to various places – thrift stores, other kids, to wear-and-tear and even natural disaster (we lived in a flood zone). Sounds like Toy Story almost. It was fun to have them while I did. To some, those stuffed animals were just inanimate objects, but to me they were full of life and adventure. Of course, my many furry pets growing up enriched my life the most. I believe I made their lives wonderful, too. Here’s to animals – both toy and live. ~