Stuffed Puppies Make Perfect Practice

PHOTO: Andrea (the big one, like me), Kino, and Pinky,
THEY'RE ALL THE RAGE! PRACTICE ON A WEBKIN BEFORE GETTING THE REAL THING!

I note a new craze among small children in the area—or maybe it's sweeping the country, I'm not sure. But, more and more children are showing up at school with these cute stuffed puppies. They call them Webkins, or something like that, and they all come with a warning about not eating or chewing on their contents. Some are all clean and soft, some are a little stinky and sticky, and others need a major run through the dry cleaner's drum. But, they all have one thing in common. They are the cutest, cuddliest puppies on the phony side of real.

Well, I'm excited about it because having a Webkin can be great practice for having the real thing—like me. I mean, little kids can practice taking care of the stuffed dogs, and if they forget to take care of them—like getting the battery wet or dropping one of the Webkins out the car window—well, no real harm is done. And, when the kids grow up, they can get a real dog like me, and they'll be smart enough not to tie it up in the backyard for its entire life. (Really, if you're the type of human who's that mean to dogs, give your dogs to someone else and get yourself a Webkin.)

Speaking of needing a bath, it's supposed to rain all weekend, and there's no sense getting a bath in such inclement weather. I'll just pick up all that mud and have to get a second bath. Why make double the work? Okay, I didn't get snow I had longed for, but out of the most dismal circumstances the most wonderful things can happen. A weekend of rain and no bath. Life is a surprise.

Best wishes, Juno