Stunt Puppy

One month ago today, we welcomed a new member into our family. Daddy and Momma are the only people who know of his existence, but that’s okay. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. One month ago today, Stunt Puppy arrived.

Claire is absolutely and totally smitten with Puppy. Puppy is a “huggy-pup by TY” that some good friends of ours gave to me, for her, before she was even born. I purposely got her attached to Puppy, because I knew that she would eventually be attached to something, and I wanted that something to be relatively small and easy to handle in the car, grocery store, and a restaurant. Selfish? Yep. That’s me.

Although they were forced to spend time together at first, my plan worked. Claire and Puppy soon became totally inseparable. She has other favorite toys and has recently started sharing her crib with them, but Puppy is the only one who has outside-the-house privileges. He’s the only one that really matters. When we go on our trip, Monkey and Bear have been tapped as attendees as well, but they won’t be allowed into restaurants. A. They are too large, and B. Have I mentioned how big they are??

Anyway, the attraction Claire has for Puppy is amazing, and I would hate for something dreadful to happen to him. She’s way too little to explain such circumstances, and life as we know it would be dramatically different. Claire would be devastated, and I just don’t want to deal with that. Selfish? Again, yes. And, I don’t care.

So, Momma did some hunting on the internet, and found a stunt-double for Puppy! Amazon has him really cheap (and yet he’s priceless, go figure). We placed the order, and he arrived. We opened the package when she was sleeping and threw him in the wash right away. He was a little plumper than Puppy, but not too much, and a trip through the washer and dryer helped a bit. The rattle in his head sounds a teeny-tiny bit different, but when you’re not expecting anything different, you don’t really notice. I made the switch when she wasn’t paying attention, and she never even blinked an eyelash.

Every week, Puppy and Stunt Puppy change places. That way, both are exposed to the same mileage and all of Claire’s secrets. It would be horrible for one puppy to not know a story that the other puppy had been told! I’m careful to keep the other puppy well-hidden from observant little eyes, and so far, the plan is working magically.