Okay, first - this toy is a hoot. When you first get it and hear it's cute grunting/tooting sound, you can't help but grin and think, Yup! That sounds like somebody in here just tooted! Which for some reason always does seem to be a bit funny, doesn't it? And you'll probably find yourself chuckling a little and saying, Oh how cute. After that, the next logical step is you'll introduce the toy to your dog. And then, depending on your dog's particular personality, you may soon discover (as we did) the amazing love/hate relationship a human can develop with a simple dog toy. We have a 1-yr-old standard poodle whom we named Kenda. And yes, he is named after Joe (for any of you ID fans out there). His official AKC registered name is Lieutenant Kenda, Home Inside Hunter. Corny? No doubt. But it truly seemed an appropriate name for him, because this is the first dog we've ever owned that actually LOVES to play with dog toys and will endlessly hunt them down throughout the house. No toy, however well hidden, stands a chance with this determined toy hunter. As Joe might say, he WILL find you! :) His toys are his friends, and he is fiercely devoted to them. Enter the adorable little rubber hedgehog with his even more adorable "toot". The moment Kenda laid eyes (or ears?) on this little guy, all other toys were forgotten. It was love at first sight. So much so that within a few hours of him playing with this toy to the exclusion of all others, we decided to give him a name. We call him "Blue" (I know, we're so creative). Blue immediately became Kenda's best friend - or at least his best toy. He played with him constantly. He bit him, he wrestled with him, he chewed on him. He brought Blue to us and, if we were sitting down, very carefully placed this slobbery ball of rubber in our laps, as if asking, Can we play catch with Blue? Huh? Pretty please?? Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't. On those occasions when we didn't, he would play catch with himself, picking Blue up in his mouth, swinging his head, and tossing him across the kitchen; then running/sliding across the kitchen floor to retrieve him on the other side of the room. In the beginning, if Blue was nowhere in sight (and with dogs, out of sight is usually out of mind), the hubby and I would get a kick out of saying, "Kenda, where's Blue?!" Just for the enormous fun of watching a 55-pound poodle suddenly leap a foot in the air, scramble his legs mid-air like Fred Flintstone getting his car started, then half running/half sliding across the kitchen hardwood floor in a desperate effort to find his beloved Blue. Oh, how we entertained ourselves in those early days watching Kenda with his Blue. And through it all, through every bite, squeeze, toss, push, throw, and chew of this toy.......the toot. The grunt. Okay, let's call it what it really sounds like, folks: a FART, okay? There, I've said it. It sounds like your grandpa just passed gas - bigtime. Funny? At first, yes. Hilarious. But a thousand times a day? Over and over and over? While you're trying to talk on the phone? While you're trying to have conversation with each other over coffee at the end of the day? Sometimes for an hour NON-STOP? Well, let's just say the humor of it all began to elude us a bit. And therein lies our love/hate relationship with this adorable little toy. We thought we'd died and gone to heaven one day when Blue stopped tooting. Turns out Kenda had chewed on him so much his tooter (located rather anatomically correctly in his tushie) had fallen out. Or rather IN, since it was now in Blue's tummy. Poor Blue, he couldn't make noise anymore, and although Kenda kept playing with him you could tell he was confused as to why his little buddy had fallen silent and wouldn't "talk" to him anymore. And as much as the hubby and I were enjoying the tooting reprieve, we couldn't take it. By the third silent day, I could almost feel the invisible hands of Amazon coaxing me toward my computer, gently urging me to buy another Blue. But I resisted, folks. I did NOT buy another Blue. I bought TWO more Blues! One for now, and one for that possible future day when this Blue, too, falls silent. Why? Because ... well, because it's BLUE! He's practically a member of the family now. The dog loves Blue, and we love the dog. I guess it's that simple. My final word on this dog toy? It's adorable. It's well made and will hold up to a ton of play and chewing. His tooter may not survive as long; I guess that remains to be seen. And if your dog is anything like mine, well then your sanity may take a hit as well. But if your dog loves his little hedgehog buddy as ours does, and if you love your dog (and you know you do!), then you might decide your sanity is worth the risk. Two thumbs way, WAY up! P.S. Blue now has a friend. We just bought the pink sheep. Kenda is in 7th heaven. Our house sounds like a retirement home after a chili bean supper. And yes, we named him "Pink". I told you - we are nothing if not creative.
