A Boy's Puppy

Coco has a puppy. It's name is Puppy (really original but he named him a LONG time ago) and the boy got him when he was a very tiny baby - I think it actually came to us at the hospital.

Coco has lived and breathed Puppy for more than four years. Puppy stayed with him in his bassinet (sue me), moved to the crib and then out of the crib into my bed, then into the big boy bed. Coco loves Puppy. Puppy's got a great tag on his butt, perfect for "tickling my hand to sleep," as Coco puts it.

Puppy's been a little sickly lately. He's gone flat, and his beads have moved to various parts of his body. Something had to be done.

I'm pretty crafty, but I was extremely nervous about cutting into puppy. Where do I cut? I don't want him to fall apart later, so I couldn't cut him on a seam. That leaves his body. But if I cut his body, will the hole open up later and spill beads everywhere? So, sew the hole closed and put a "bandaid" over it. And the most important question of all...

If I do this, will Coco still love Puppy? We all know how finicky kids can be about their favorite toys. We rarely get to wash Puppy because it changes the smell of him. So, having a fat Puppy made me nervous about whether it would change things for Coco.

We talked it through, and Coco decided Puppy needs surgery to help him feel better. We got all the tools - including the stethoscope to check his vitals while he was under and the "needle" required to put him to sleep - and Coco gave Puppy a good luck hug and kiss.

I gingerly cut a tiny little hole into Puppy's butt. After using a makeshift funnel to pour stuffing beads into Puppy's arms and legs, I poured beads into his body. I followed the beads with a bit of polyester fiberfill to make him fluffy and carefully sewed the hole closed.

My hands shook the entire time.

I let Coco pick the bandaid patch I would sew on Puppy's booboo. Once he was done, I held my breath and handed him back to Coco. A few squeezes, a sniff and a tickle later, Coco pronounced him good as new. He even gave him "the biggest hug ever" and took Puppy off to play Batman.