FrankenSquirrel

Staci over at Very Pink wrote the other day about murderous dogs and the stuffed animals they terrorize. I would be lying if I said we didn't have this problem. We have a terrier. He likes to chase and kill squirrels although luckily the only ones killed have all been the stuffed variety from Target.

Here's a little background on Domino and his toy playing. We adopted him and I went out and bought a few very expensive toys because I was going to spoil him and I was maybe stupid too. He snubbed his nose at them all, even the one that had peanut butter on it. He licked most of the peanut butter off and left the toy alone. He had zero interest. I was at Wal-Mart one night and perusing the doggy toy section and saw a little 99 cent monster. I figured if he showed as little interest in this one as he did the $15 ones, then it was just a buck. I took it home and Domino showed his true heritage, white trash Wal-Mart. He LOVED the monster. I have to believe that it was because it was cheap and from Wal-Mart. He not only loved it, but played with it for hours upon hours of squeaking. The thing is that the monsters? Yeah, they don't tear up easily, eventually the squeak gets a little pitiful, or if it gets filled with slobber it sounds pretty gross, but they last for months.

Enter the Target Squirrels. Chris and Domino go on squirrel hunts fairly regularly, trying to sneak up on them with a jingly collar and chase them up the trees. Domino's collar jingles too. So I thought he might like the little stuffed ones. He did. He LOVES them. At least I know that his white trash heritage is open minded and he can enjoy Target stuff too. The stuffed things only last about 2-3 days depending on his activity level and if there are monsters around to play with. After 5 days all of the stuffing is gone and I have a poor little carcass laying in the floor. Forgotten, neglected and left for the trash. Then one day Chris had the best idea ever. Stuff a monster into the carcass! Domino usually only makes a few holes in the squirrel to get everything out so there's still good structure to the carcass. Now we have a gray squirrel with a purple monster tucked in it's belly (or as was the case with the first one, a green monster in it's butt) that lasts for weeks if not months while Domino just flings it around the house, paws at it and generally makes a whole lot of noise. It's our own little Frankensquirrel and really makes the $14 worth it.