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Thursday, June 22, 2017

A Link between Dog Generations

Yesterday, I was cleaning out a closet and came upon a box of old dog toys. They were ones that I'd saved because departed dogs had loved them. Most had been in that box for at least five years but I still remembered them. I'm in a ruthless, save nothing phase, so I held each one, remembering the dog who had played with it, and then I tossed them out. With age, I've realized that my memories of my departed dogs have little to do with physical objects.

Many of the toys brought back memories of Angel K as a puppy. She adored toys at that age. However, she was very rough on them. Most of her puppy toys in the box were in a state of complete destruction.

Then, I came upon a stuffed moose-shaped toy that was in remarkably good shape. I remembered that it had been around for a long time, over the lives of Astro, Acadia, S, and K. I'd put it away at some point when our dogs had lost interest in it.

I didn't toss it out because I thought that Shyla might like it. I was right!

Shyla has carried it around almost continuously since I offered it to her. She even uses it as a pillow for napping. And, contrary to her usual behavior, she hasn't destuffed it yet!

Times have changed in many ways since the last time that this toy was out around the house. We had never seen a moose in our neck of the woods then, making a moose-shaped toy a novelty. Now, it feels as if moose are everywhere!

Even next to our house!
The main thing is how we humans smile watching Shyla carry the stuffed moose around, knowing how many of her predecessors played with that toy. It's like a link between dog generations, and we are so thankful for it.

We are part of the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop. Thank you, Brian, for running it.

20 comments:

  1. It always amazes me when for whatever reason a toy is not destroyed, when others are. Shyla must understand the moose is special.

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  2. Hari OM
    Love is the link, fur sure!!! YAM xx

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  3. What a beautiful, sentimental story! Love it! My first Cardigan was a total frisbee freak. I still have his frisbee even though he's been gone 14 years this July. I rarely look at it or touch it but I'll keep it until the day I really, truly need to down-size.

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  4. Oh my dawg!! What a sweet memory of K
    Lily & Edward

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  5. I love it when they ever so gently carry around stuffed 'babies.' Too cute.

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  6. K was such an adorable pup! You are so sweet with your stuffed moosie, Shyla!

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  7. That is a tough thing to do, but you always have those memories tucked away in your heart.
    Great photos, as always.

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  8. A special link. A precious link.

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  9. That was so sweet, I hope Shyla gets many years of enjoyment with that moose!

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  10. That is so awesome, and Shyla looks so sweet with it. I save a lot of toys too, even destroyed ones, but eventually I do make myself throw some out, so I think all we have now are from the more recent dogs. There are two balls just hanging out in our yard that were Sheba's, and I haven't the heart to pick them up yet. They came out of Kong Wubba's that she destroyed, and she was the only one that really liked them.
    I recognize that moose toy, I think, it looks like a West Paw Design! We've had many of those over the years, though I don't think any survived. :)
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  11. Oh, that really is a most wonderful moosey link! Thanks for joining the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

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  12. That puppy picture of K is over the top!!! And Shyla sure seems to like her moose.
    KZK

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  13. We love puppy pictures. And you are right memories don't depend on things. We have a ruthless clear out sometimes. It's needed. Glad Shyla is enjoying her moose.

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  14. How awesome to see Mr. stuffed Moose enjoyed by another generation!!

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  15. Mom has toys from all of her dogs in our toy room. We can play with them anytime we want. Some are super old, like 20+ years old, but they have survived. It makes Mom smile to see us play with toys that belonged to her first dog Trine years ago.

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  16. I still have toys from when Silver and Brut were puppies. I'm saving them for the next generation. :) No doubt Shyla knows the moose is special and so cute to see her with it.

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  17. OMD, that is pawsome! I found a latex football in the backyard when I was a wee lass that two of Ma's Angel dogs kinda played with. Ma called it the 'devil football' cause the squeak in it was SCREECHING! The humans hated it, butts I looooved it! BOL! I played with it til it died. it was old after all, and puppy teeths are very sharp ☺
    I thinks your moose is gonna last a looooong time Shyla!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  18. That's very sweet. Abby was a destroyer too, but some of her toys survived and Rita had them now. It's a nice link.

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  19. That's nice that Shayla can have a link to the dogs who came before. We have some handed down cat toys from those who came before and we treasure them. Doggies seem to be much rougher on toys than cats do, Chimera doesn't count she is a dog stuck in a cats body, she gasp eats her toys.

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