December 5, 2013

Mirth Watch Thursday: Why You Should Always Squeak the Toy in the Store

In keeping with yesterday's theme about gift-giving for dogs, I was reminded of a video I took of our angel Abby with one of her presents, and I thought it would make nice "mirth watch" viewing. (Speaking of yesterday's post... did you enter the giveaway?)

When I went back a couple of years on the blog to find it, I saw the cute pics and other pressies she got and decided to share all that again, cuz (a) she was SO cute and (b) I think a lot of you were not here 2 years ago so probably missed some of the cuteness. 

So, here's what I wrote about all of Abby's gifts back in Dec. 2011, plus your mirth watch video for this week:


"Hey, that dog looks like me!"
First of all, she got this very cute Christmas stocking specially handmade for her by her Aunt. She was very intrigued by it - even when it was empty. If you look closely, you'll see that the one dog on the right-hand side looks a lot like our girl! So cute!


Abby also got this very fine orange alligator in her Christmas stocking. My brother actually made toys for all the dogs in the family. He bought a gross of squeakers online (did you know you could buy squeakers in bulk?) and got some heavy-duty fabric and started whipping up dog toys on my sister-in-law's sewing machine. He is a very good doggy uncle. (He also made dog treats out of leftover grain from his beer making endeavors. She loves them.)


Her present from us was also an alligator, which (as you can see) she has already turned into a tripawd. (It was the very first thing she did.) [Ed. note added 12/4/2013: She loved to turn her toys into 3-legged things. There used to be a woman we would see at the beach who carried a small "monkey" pouch for her keys that hung off a cord at her hip. Abby snuck up once and chewed one of his legs off.]
What were the odds we'd both get 'er a gator?

I did not think to squeak this gater in the store. Big mistake. I'd been looking at some other no-stuffing toys that had recycled water bottles inside, and I thought this was the same sort of thing. I thought it would just make that crinkling, cracking sound that empty water bottles make. Um, no. It makes these crazy noises, as captured in the following video. (Note: the *other* crazy noise is just my sister's laugh...)

After opening her own presents, Abby thought everything was for her. Here she is perusing Grandma's presents:
"For me??"
And she got a bone, that she tried to hide behind the Christmas tree.
"No one can see me..."
Hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane and don't mind me reusing content. After all, it's the most busiest time of the year! (BTW, pretty pleased with myself - was able to look at old posts and pics and watch the video of Ab with nothing but smiles. Some sad smiles, but still... smiles.)

Happy Mirth Watch Thursday. Let's be mirthful out there!*

* If you ever watched the wonderful Hill Street Blues you will get this reference...

39 comments:

  1. Ha ha ha! We've had a few obnoxious squeakers around here. We also had a snowman who used to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in an extremely annoying voice!

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    1. Oh, I don't like those singing toys! Abby had a Barney (long story) that would sing that stupid "I love you" song. Made me want to stab my eardrums out.

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  2. Ha ha pawome squeaking there......LOL drives my peeps nuts after a while. Have a tremendous Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  3. For some reason we don't tear our stuffies up or anything, wow your uncle is very talented cos our mom can't even sew a button on her shirt.....we reuse our pictures sometimes also...it is that time of the year.
    stella rose

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    1. Rita's pretty good about not tearing her stuffies up - although she likes to chew the labels off!

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  4. That reminds me, not to bring up a delicate subject, but do you need a new name for the stocking or are you preserving it in Abby's memory for ever?

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    1. Hmmm, have to ponder that. We don't really have a good spot for hanging them anymore, so maybe I'll just preserve it. Will see if I can figure out where to hang them and let you know.

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  5. Bailey has a Koala that laughs like a child. He loves it, but frankly it creeps me out.

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  6. So cute when they try to bury their bones in the house! Wilson tried burying one in our white living room sofa one Christmas......That wasn't so cute ;-)

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    1. Oh, that makes a good story though! Yeah, the burying in the house is too funny - especially when they do the fake "moving the dirt onto it" move with their heads. So nutty.

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  7. Christmas always brings such bittersweet memories. The shot of Abby hiding the bone reminded me of the Christmas when things kept mysteriously disappearing. When we took down the tree we found them all where our Old English Sheepdog had gone into the forest to hide everything.

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  8. It seems like she really enjoys Christmas :) And trying to hide the bone behind the tree was so funny and cute :)

    You're welcome to check out my blog ;)

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  9. LOL...I always squeak toys first, you never know what you'll get. That's pretty funny she would bite the legs off. She just wanted everyone to be like her.

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    1. I guess she knew she was special, so wanted all the stuffies to be special too!

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  10. The stocking is beautiful. All my human grandkids have stockings I handstitched for them. Someday my husband, me and the dogs will get one, but I don't have as much time anymore and after 23 grandkids (yes that's right) I got a little burned out. It has taken me 2 yrs to get one done for one of the daughter in laws.
    How niice that the memories of Abby made you smile!
    hugs
    Linda & the kids
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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    1. Wow, that's a lot of stockings to make! No wonder you don't have any for your immediate familial unit!

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  11. The man who adopted Honey's brother banned all squeaky toys from the house. I always felt sorry for his pup. Squeakies are so much fun.

    Loved seeing Abby enjoying her toy. Ain't technology grand?

    And just how creative is that family of yours? A painter. A writer. A beer brewer/toy maker. Any musicians?

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    1. Yep, we have musicians, too! My sis plays piano and my niece is in a band. My mom's also a quilter, and my bro used to make stained-glass windows. I could on... we have many crafty talents!

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  12. Thanks for sharing Abby with us - you are right, we weren't around 2 years ago, so only know Rita! Abby and the toy are hysterical...i hope the squeaker didn't last long...I would have yanked it out myself after about a minute!

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    1. Ya know... I'm trying to remember what happened to that thing. It was one of those supposedly indestructible toys, and had 2 separate chambers, so if one squeaky side did die, the other would still work. I think she chewed holes in it and killed it so I ended up throwing it away.

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  13. That toy was hysterical! I totally enjoyed reading about Abby....I haven't had time to read back but love to learn more about her.
    Really....your brother makes homemade dog toys? Did everyone in your family get the creative gene? I'm jealous....the best my family gets is me making homemade dog treats, which my sister's beagle proceeds to bury in their yard. LOL

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    1. Yep, pretty much everyone got the creative gene, as I was just replying to Pamela. (Oh, and my other sis makes jewelry. We've got the creative arts pretty covered I think!)

      The funny thing is that we are all also very practical - all have practical jobs (I.T., accounting, teacher, tech writer, etc.). We're all creative types trapped in practical bodies.

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  14. Oooooh! It's a crazy squeaker!!

    Thank you for sharing your Abby with us. I love that she tripawed all her stuffies. And other people's! What a true angel.

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    1. She was such a funny girl. (Maybe I should mine some more of my old posts about her...)

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  15. Oh my gosh those noises are great! Way better than a regular squeaker :)

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  16. I chuckled out loud at the photo of Abby hiding the bone behind the Christmas tree :-) So glad you shared Abby with us. I wasn't here 2 years ago, so would probably never have seen these cute pictures and great video. The video brought all 3 dogs running. They'd definitely like a toy that "talked" like that one! Read your response to Flea's comment - oh, YES! Please do mine more of your old posts about Abby!

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  17. Ha, ha...HSB my mom calls it. She watched that show every week and sometimes on reruns! We love looking back. The good memories are always fun to rehash!

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  18. OMD! That video was so funny! Where can I get one of those Jackie? I know Jasper and Cupcake would love one!

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  19. Oh.My.Dog. I would give my right paw for that alligator. I love the noises he makes; that is pawesome. So nice to reminisce around the holidays, isn't it?
    Happy Friday,
    Oz

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  20. So true... some of those squeakers are crazy!

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  21. Thanks for sharing Abby with us. She was gorgeous. One Christmas our late Shiloh buried the dinner rolls from Christmas dinner. She buried them under the cushions on the couches, under the couches, in the chairs…we found rolls for months! Dogs, aren't they great!

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  22. I got Coco that same gator. She loved it; we hated it. Luckily it didn't last long.

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  23. It's new content to me, so reuse away, and I enjoyed learning a bit more about Abby.
    How amazing that she made her toys into tripawds. Something to make you wonder.
    Thanks for sharing. :-)

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  24. LOL I would say that alligator was a hit. I bought a kong once that squeaked super loud. Storm LOVED it. I had to put it up. :)

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  25. Oh we always squeak the toys before we buy them, how do you know they work if you don't? I love a dog squeaking a toy, I'd be right there with your sister laughing.

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