Poor Wubba lost his head

Thatcher finally got groomed by a professional. We dropped off a very scraggly Newfie this morning and a few hours later picked up a clean, soft, respectable-looking Newfie. Amazing how much of a difference a bath, blow-dry and hair trim can do. He also got sent home with a sparkly Halloween theme bandana, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Love bandanas. Not only because they look cute, but when you have a drooly dog, it's a really convenient way to swipe a drool glob before it gets you. We try and keep a bandana on his neck anytime he's going to be around a group of people. Less hassle and fewer grossed-out strangers. But we really ought to take him to the groomer more, it's just one of those things we always put off. Not to mention he only stays clean for a couple of hours on average, before he's rolling around in the grass or dripping toilet wet with water all over his chest. 

I bought my Newfies a new toy this weekend - a Wubba dressed as a witch. We have a regular blue canvas Wubba that the dogs have had for a few months. It's pretty durable, it squeaks and it has a bunch of legs/arms for the dogs to pull on. So I was really excited to show the dogs this new witch Wubba when I got home. I brought them outside into the backyard and showed it to Thatcher. He gingerly took it from my hand and pranced around the yard proudly with it. The moment Boden noticed and grabbed one the of limbs sticking out of Thatcher's mouth, I swear I blinked and it was shredded. The yard looked like an early snowstorm hit. Stuffing covered the entire ground. I am still in awe that that small toy could hold so much stuffing. Apparently the witch hat compromised the sturdiness; once the hat was torn off, it left a hole in the top of the head.

It's so completely random, the toys that live and the toys that die. Rubber toys seem to be the safest. We have a rubber chicken, giraffe and flamingo that have all been around for months and months. Stuffed lion, who is a mix between a stuffed animal and a bean bag, has survived two years - even with a hole in the top of his head and stuffing sticking out. How do they choose which toys are allowed to live another day? I'll never understand. Thatch and Boden did enjoy playing with the leftover half of the witch Wubba this afternoon. So at least it lasted a solid two days.