This is a story from back in the late summer. As you may have guessed, Toothless and Hiccup are very close friends and were going to fly to the hospital together…. though they took a plane because it was really too far for Toothless to fly himself.  Here are their diagnosis photos:

As you can see, while Toothless just needed a bit of cleaning, Hiccup was in more dire straights.  His original clothes and body were flannel, and it had not worn well with all the hugs and adventures he had had.  It was agreed that Hiccup would need to be fully recovered in new fabric, except for his hair and ears.  His clothes would be removed, and he would get new clothes, and a new vest as well.  It was serious surgery, but otherwise he was in danger of disintegrating without some magical interference.  I was actually pretty excited because I had the perfect fabric for his new vest and boot trim — as you’ll see if you read to the end :-)

Here’s Toothless in his bubble bath:

Already feeling much better!  Here’s his new rainbow heart being made and transplanted (with his original small heart inside too):

Next, checking on his chubbiness before he got closed up:

Just right!  On to Hiccup’s surgery.  Given it’s complexity, I didn’t pause to take photos, but here he is all better:

And here are the two fast friends, ready to fly home:

Their person is one of you dear readers, and she wrote:

Thank you so much! Hiccup looks great with the new clothes and skin. (I don’t know how you do it because he looks brand-new!) I love how his hands came out. You have my permission to post the photos on your blog if you’d like, since I know the photos from other beloved toys make me happy.

So here’s hoping their story makes you happy too!

Coneja’s person first wrote to me back in August.  She was concerned that the Bunny needed to be replaced from the neck down.  Here are her diagnosis photos:

As you can see, her legs, arms and torso were made from the same very thin fabric as her skirt, and over time they just got thinner and thinner.  But her head, hands, and feet were all still sturdy, just a little deflated.

We agreed the best treatment would be to give her a spa, then recover all her clothes in new fabric.  We’d replace the bodice and skirt, but leave the trim as a memory, as it was structural so was ok to keep wearing. 

It took a couple months, but Coneja flew to the hospital in October to begin treatment.  Here she is starting her spa with her bubble bath:

She got restuffed next and of course, got a heart of original stuffing.

I thought those flowers would be nice for her and her person completely agreed: Oh my gosh the heart is perfect ! Thank you so much!

Next up, choosing fabric for her new clothes.  We discussed a couple options.  Flannel was a bit sturdier than her current clothes, but velvet was the next step, and brighter colors, and that’s what her person and I agreed on.  I was going to recover most of the clothes, but replace the skirt.  It was just too thin to hold new fabric.  Here she is bright and sturdy:

Still herself but ready for many more years of hugs!

She flew home and arrived just this week.  Her person wrote:

She just got here! Omg she is actually perfect!!! Thank you so much Beth, you’re incredible !! Even my mom started crying when she saw her!
Thank you so so much!!

Hi all!  I hope you had Happy Thanksgivings and are all staying safe!

As you may’ve guessed, the hospital is pretty full — I think that when the world breaks, people turn to their beloved stuffed companions (who never let us down) and after months at home together, they figure, at least he or she or they can feel better, and then the animal or doll comes to the hospital for a spa and rejuvenation.:-)

In any case, I’ve been saving up stories as usual, and thought I’d start with Paddington’s.  He was here last month for a spa and a new outfit – so I guess he came for a spa and a fitting?  Here’s Paddington’s diagnosis photos:

Not too bad, just a little deflated and with his smile a bit out of sorts.

He began his stay with a bubble bath:

Got a new heart with a bit of original stuffing:

And soon was feeling much better:

So it was time to size him for some new clothes.  Originally, the plan had been a new blue felt coat and yellow hat, a la the books… but then his person decided he should have a red hat, like in the latest movie, and then I thought, velour would work better for his coat, so he could have a proper hood and pockets like in the movie too.  Unfortunately, I haven’t found wood buttons in teddy bear size that are like a traditional Paddington coat buttons, so his are a bit different there, but he’s unique, so he should have something unique to him too, right?

Anyway, here’s Paddington all spiffed up in his new clothes, ready to fly home:

Paddington flew home (to Arizona not London) and his person wrote:

He looks fantastic. Thank you!

Heartbreaker was a well loved hippo.  He once had a silk tie with white hearts, but the hearts faded.  His eyes once gazed on her person with all the love in the world, but now their gaze was imagined.  He lost a bit of tail somewhere along the way, along with all the kishkes he lost in hugs. His ears were also worn to nubs. So Heartbreaker was feeling his age, and his person wanted to help him feel better.  So she sent me some photos:

I took a look and knew that Heartbreaker would feel much better with a spa, some good stuffing food, and new eyes.  I could patch up his tail and treat his other injuries, and I knew just the fabric for a new heart.  His person agreed and Heartbreaker flew to California.

He started with a spa, but was a bit shy about bath photos, so the first photos here are his heart going in with a bit of his original stuffing. 

Soon, Heartbreaker was feeling better!  Clean and happily plump, sight and hearing restored, wounds repaired, and he was sporting a spiffy new tie and collar:

He flew home cross country to Massachusetts and his person wrote:

Heartbreaker has arrived and he looks beautiful. Thank you for giving me a piece of my youth back.

George was a classic dog coming to the hospital for a classic treatment:

As you can see, he was a bit worn with age and hugs (kind of like the chair he was photographed on).  :-)

His person didn’t want to change his insides, and she loved the bells in his ears, but she did believe he needed a new fur coat, and a nose and mouth too.

He flew to the hospital and we discussed fur transplant options.  I sent photos of those options to his person:

We all agreed the top brown was best, which meant ordering a black to match. So George relaxed for a few days while that was all arranged.  Given that his black fur was on top, I wanted to be able to do those sections first.

Soon George was recovered in soft new fur, and even had his pink tongue in place:

Next some adjustments to his tongue, and a nose!  And we needed to adjust his tongue so it was, as his person wrote, “a bit more salmon, not as anemic lol.”

“This is perfect!” George’s person wrote. 

He didn’t have far to fly, just a short hop south and he was home again.  His person wrote:

Thanks so much for restoring my first friend! And, thank you for sharing your gift to folks like me!

Honey Bunny’s family first contacted me in 2017.  They knew she was getting a bit worn, and were wondering about treatment options.  Here she is back then:

Not too bad… I offered stitching wounds and minimizing scars, with or without a spa.  Then they asked about recovering the pink and I said sure, proposed a treatment plan, and asked if they wanted to send a fabric of their choice or choose from what I had.  They opted to choose and send a fabric with her. 

Fast forward three years to May 28, 2020…. :-)

Honey Bunny’s family wrote again, they had a fabric and were ready for her come to the hospital:

Ok.  I’ll set up a bed for her.  Three days later…

A new fabric selection:

(actually, I think that was a better match to what she had) and she was on her way!

Honey Bunny had a spa too:

Then recovering commenced.  She was keeping her original cuffs and lace, but we were relining her inner ears since they matched her clothes.  Her new stuffing went in with her heart of original stuffing:

And then it was time to get her chubbiness right.  First take, not too chubby, more squishy:

Can we “make her full, like a pillow”? her family asked?  Sure, I said, how’s this:

Btw, here are her ears lined:

One more adjustment.. a bit tauter… so I tightened her front gathers and added some denser stuffing (yes, stuffing comes in different densities):

And she was finally ready to fly home! Here she is with Daisy (Clothed Bunny 1), just before they caught their flights.

Honey Bunny’s family wrote: “ Thank you for all your work, she looks great! “

And here ends the story of the 3 clothed bunnies.  They all lived happily ever after. :-)

The second in the trio of cloth bodied bunnies is Rosey (who was actually the last to arrive at the hospital).  Rosey’s body wasn’t original.  It had been replaced in the past (years ago) but now she needed another makeover.  As you know, I don’t usually remove existing parts, so we (her family and I) agreed to recover her this time (after a quick spa to clean her up).

Here’s Rosey’s diagnosis photos:

She started with a spa, just like Daisy:

But then her people needed to choose a fabric.  The yellow wasn’t original, and they weren’t sure what was, so I sent a wide selection of patterned options in a similar texture for them to choose from:

They chose the blue calico at the top of the center photo, and recovering commenced.  Once her clothes were set, a question arose.  Should we recover her pawpads or leave them as a memory of her last wardrobe:

The decision was recovering and that was next.  Then she got her heart (old stuffing, new fabric):

And finally, she was closed up, plump and happy and ready to fly home:

She flew home to her family’s happy arms!

Next, the final installment of the Three Bunnies: Honey Bunny!

I know, before Butter’s I hadn’t written in a while (and I probably won’t for a while after this batch), because the hospital has been quite crowded and I’m now booking patients as far out as October, but I’ve had all these stories stored up and I really wanted to share them.  I hope you liked Butter’s story earlier in the week… my qa person (aka my so) couldn’t tell which leg was replaced, and so I thought, “that’s a story to share before I forget it!”

Anyway, another story I wanted to share was three bunnies who were all in the hospital at the same time, from different homes.  They are all the same style: puffy cloth clothing bodies with furry hands, feet, heads, and ears.  Daisy had even been here before, for a bath.  But this time around, all three were suffering the same illness their breed is prone to… clothing thinning and tears.  You see, the clothing part is thinner to start with, a thin cotton, and that means with years of hugs, it wears first.  Here are the three bunnies first photos:

Daisy was here before as I said, and so it’s fitting her tail is first. :-) She came in  back in 2016, just for a spa and touch up, but now her fabric was so thin you could see through:

Her fabric was stable, so her person opted for lining to reinforce it.  We started with a spa, and discovered her original fabric was pink with white dots!

So we decided to line her in pink, to give a hint of that color back.  She had a heart from her last spa, so that went in:

And after some back and forth on chubbiness, she was ready to fly home:

Daisy made it home safe and sound and her person wrote: “Thank you so much for the care you gave to Daisy. She looks amazing. You’ve taken at least a decade off of her. She’s so squishy and cuddle and I’m not afraid of tearing her, though I am still careful of course. Thank you, again, for everything.”

Next up, Rosey the bunny!

Yes, that’s his name, with the apostrophe. :-)

Butter’s the dog had a run-in with the family dog and definitely lost the battle – along with a leg, an ear, and his nose and muzzle!  Here are the diagnosis photos his family sent:

We started his treatment with a bubble bath, to remove saliva, clean out his wounds, and get down to his original fur color and texture for transplants later on:

Next he got restuffed, with his heart of original stuffing, to provide courage for the coming surgeries:

Butter’s was one of the lucky ones who I could find near perfect matches for his skin and fur.  So surgery proceeded well.  Here he is modeling some new nose options (post ear and leg attachment and muzzle reconstruction):

His family chose this one:

Here are a few of his “chubbiness testing” photos:

And here he is, just before he flew home last week!

His family wrote “he’s never looked better!”

Spotty’s  is a story from last fall, one I’ve been waiting to tell and I think, because he’s so colorful, it fits well with the start of summer, so here it is. :-)

Spotty’s person first wrote around Thanksgiving, and she’s one of you kind readers!  Spotty was 21 years old, and needed a bath, and some scar minimization, and his eyesight restored.  Here are his diagnosis photos:

He came in within the week and started in the bubble bath to brighten him up:

Spotty got a blue heart with stars to make it shine:

Some new pupils for his eyes, a good feeding on the stuffing diet, a bit of old stitching redone, and he was plump and ready for more hugs and adventures:

His person wrote: He looks perfect! Thank you so much” So Spotty flew home to NY.  The real test though, is when a patient is hugged again by their person for the first time.  Spotty’s person wrote:

He looks great and I love the stuffing you used it wasn’t too firm even though he’s definitely filled. Thank you for everything.

He was happily home and just right! :-)

I know it’s been a bit since I wrote…. everything is fine here and I hope it is with all of you.  May was just been a very busy month in the hospital – so busy that I am now scheduling July patients, because it leaked into June.  But Isaac’s story has been sitting in my head, waiting to be told since he went home earlier this month, so here it is, a bit of happiness to share with all of you. :-)

Isaac’s person first wrote back in December.  She had been referred to the hospital by a previous patient:

My bunny, Isaac, has been with me for as long as I can remember.  I would love to get him fixed up to pass on to my daughter.

Lots of my patients come in when they are getting ready to go to another generation.  I usually suggest a spa, to get them spruced up, and any wound repair that is required.  Here are Isaac’s diagnostic photos:

As you can see, he was in pretty good shape.  Fluffing up his fur, supplemental stuffing, and then repairing the bald spot on his tail and recovering his pawpads would have him spruced up and ready for a new generation of hugs.

He waited a bit to come to the hospital, arriving in mid-May.  He came with special fabric to be used for his heart, and another fabric specifically for his pawpads.  We would find fur to recover his tail in the hospital’s resources.  Here’s Isaac in his bubble bath:

Looking a little less matted already! And here’s his heart being made and installed using the purple fabric his person sent:

Next up was choosing fur for his cotton tail, and I had just the right one to be a close color match and nice and fluffy (if you look closely, you can see his heart peaking out at the bottom of his spine there):

Surgery proceeded with the recovered tail, and recovered pawpads.  His person had sent a lovely navy faux suede for his paws, and soon Isaac was ready to go home!

Isaac flew home to Alabama and arrived safely at the beginning of this month.  His person wrote:

The first hug when I took him out of the box was just the greatest thing ever.  Thank you so very much!

Those of you who read my unicorn post closely, will remember that Ruby’s horn and hooves were a silver originally purchased for alien eyes.  And at least one of you asked what the alien looked like.  Well, the alien’s story has been on my list to share for a while, and here it is. :-)

Xeno the alien’s human first contacted the hospital just over a year ago.  Isn’t that a great name for an alien, Xeno?  Anyway, it took a few months for him to send photos of Xeno, and they arrived in early fall.  As he wrote, “Xeno is a bit under the weather lately.”  Here is one of his diagnosis photos:

As you can see, this showed his blindness, and some of the dirt and stuffing loss (you can see that best in his arm).  He also had some minor tears.  We agreed the best treatment would be a spa and recovering his eyes.  Here is the intergalactic explorer enjoying his first bubble bath:

You can start to see the edges of his eyes, which were clearly silver.  Once clean and dry, he was restuffed and of course had a heart of stars with a bit of his original stuffing:

His bath was quite successful and he brightened up nicely.  He had one small mark (perhaps it was a marking common on his planet?) that wouldn’t come out:

But he was nice and clean and plump.  We restored his eye sight with that nice thick shiny silver fabric you saw on Ruby. Here are some photos sent to get his chubbiness right.  His spine is still open in them:

Approved!  He got closed up and took the next UFO to his earthly home in IA.

His family wrote:

Xeno is home safe! Thank you so much for helping him out! He and I really appreciate all you’ve done!

And they sent this photo of him happily back in his human family’s hands:

So a few weeks ago, there were a pair of unicorns who crossed paths in the hospital.  You may have noticed Sparkle at the side of the blue striped bunny’s drying photo a few posts back.  The other unicorn was Ruby.  They had similar issues and so I wanted to share their stories together.  I figure a Monday is a good day to bring some of these magical creatures to share with you. :-)

First off, was Sparkle.  Here are the diagnosis photos:

Her person wrote: “She’s seen damage from two dogs and a lifetime of wear and tear, and while she’s stable, I think she could be better.”

As you can see, Sparkle was missing an eye, and two hooves!  And her remaining hooves were worn to the bone.  The plan was to give her a spa, reconstruct her missing hooves, recover and repair her surviving hooves, and give her one new eye as close as possible to the original one.

Ruby was the second unicorn.  She too had hoof problems.  They weren’t missing, but both her hooves and horn were worn to the quick and had lost their metallic shine.  They needed to be recovered.  Somewhere along the line, she lost her mane, and her tail had some balding issues as well.  Here are Ruby’s diagnosis photos:

She was going to start with a spa too, so here’s her bubble bath photo:

Now when recovering unicorn hooves, it’s important to get the shine just right.  We had a few options for Sparkle, from gold like her horn to shimmery.  Here are some of her options (you can see her new eye is already in, so she could help choose the new material):

Ruby, on the other hand, was looking at silvers for her metalic hooves and horn.  Here were her options:

Choices were made and surgeries proceeded.  First, hearts went in. A white shimmery heart for Sparkle would match her new hooves:

A ruby heart with Ruby flowers worked well for Ruby:

Then on to the hooves.  Ruby went for shimmery silver for her hooves and horn.  An interesting side note, that fabric was originally used for the eyes of a purple alien. :-)

Sparkle was soon dancing on shimmering hooves as well:

Sparkle was ready to fly home at that point, but Ruby still needed her mane and tail fixed.

Here’s Ruby with her new mane, and initial tail surgery.  Her person had opted to fully recover the tail to match the mane:

The tail position wasn’t quite right, but after a few adjustments, Ruby was ready to fly home too.  You can see the striped bunny in the background again too :-).  Ruby isn’t quite the dancer Sparkle is.  She prefers to stand tall, but can bow her head majestically when desired.

Both unicorns flew home safely to be reunited with their families early last month.

Here’s hoping you all have a bit of magic (even if not unicorn) in your Mondays as well.

This week has seen several Georges (three monkeys and a bear) and inquiry requests from several Zachs.  But today’s story isn’t about names (although I have been collecting a list of names for another post).  Today’s story is about Bunny.  A completely different bunny from the last two.  His family wrote:

“My daughter’s stuffed bunny is in serious need of repair. He’s very dirty because I’m afraid to wash him. We’ve done a bit of repair on him ourselves, but this is beyond anything I can do.”

These are some of the diagnostic photos they sent:

A couple of the patches (like the one on his cheek) were original to this bunny, who was supposed to be patched, but the others weren’t.  The hope was to remove his old added patches, repair his wounds, clean him, and getting him looking close to new.  We knew going in that the sharpie around his nose (that pink line) probably wouldn’t come out.

He flew in from AZ a few weeks ago with a very sweet note:

Hello!!

My name is Bunny (sometimes Baby Bunny).  I belong to O. H.  We have been best friends since she was 2.  She will be 9 in just a few days!  She is very sad that I will be leaving for a while, but everything will work out in the end. 

Thank you for looking after me!!

–Bunny

As you may have already guessed, Bunny started his treatment with a spa. Here he is in one of severalbaths.  You can see he’s starting to clean up, and his sharpie tattoos are standing out more clearly:

Once he was clean and dry, we needed to find a fabric close to his cleaned color for transplants for both hole repair and scar/patch minimization.  There were several options, from white white, to off white, to pale gray:

His person opted for the middle option, the pale gray.  Bunny’s surgery proceeded, including a heart with a bit of his original stuffing.

Then I worked on his many wounds.  Soon, he was done with surgery and it was time get his chubbiness right.  Here are the photos I sent with his spine open for chubbiness adjustment:

The response was, “ that looks perfect!” So I closed him up.  Here he is, awaiting his flight home earlier this morning:

And that’s the story of the non-striped bunny. :-)  On to the Georges, and a Cheese-Kun, and Rainbow the dalmatian, and another bunny.

Have a good weekend everyone, and take care of each other.

beth

Over the last few months, two similar bunnies came to the hospital for similar treatments.  One was fairly local, he came into the studio in person at the beginning of the year.  His name is BunBun, and he is a pink, striped, pj bunny.  Bunny, on the other hand, is a blue bunny who  flew in from Cincinnati.

Similarly, both bunnies didn’t have their original people contact me first.  Rather, people who loved the bunnies’ people contacted me, hoping to rejuvenate the bunnies as a gift.  In BunBun’s case, it was his person’s mom.  In Bunny’s case it was his person’s fiance. Here are the diagnosis photos.

First BunBun:

As you can see, his clothes were awfully thin, see through, with holes and old patches.  I offered several levels of treatment.  His person’s mom opted for a gift certificate, and then his person brought him in.  She opted to recover his pjs, but leave his cuffs and button strip as they were.  We also planned to give him a spa, recover his nightcap (not the rim), and transplant his pj tush flap onto the new fabric.  I had a near perfect match for his fabric, which she approved.  It’s actually specially printed pink stripe fabric I had ordered for an earlier pink stripe bunny.

Here’s BunBun starting his spa (of course he go the pink tub!):

Meanwhile, Bunny’s diagnostic photos showed similar thinning (not quite as see through though). 

Bunny’s people planned to have his clothes and tops of shoes recovered (again I had a near perfect match for fabric) and to give him a spa as well.  Somehow, he managed to avoid a bubble bath photo, but here he is in a rare “patient unstuffed and drying” photo (next to a unicorn who is clearly trying to escape the photo!):

BunBun’s recovering proceeded quite smoothly and she got restuffed with a pink stripe heart to match her new pjs:

Here are her chubbiness approval photos:

And here she is all set to be picked up and go home:

You can see how nicely the new fabric blended with the repaired original fabric of her cuffs, button strip, and tush flap.  His person said: Thank you so much, he looks wonderful!!

Meanwhile, Bunny’s story continued… he also had a very smooth recovery.  And he got a blue striped heart to match his new blue pjs:

Sometimes hearts get fantastic reactions, and such was the case with Bunny.  His person wrote:

Thank you for a picture of his heart! My heart exploded!!!! So so sweet  

Here are Bunny’s first chubbiness photos showing off his new clothes.  At this point, his person opted to keep his original cuffs and shoe soles as is.  We had recovered his pj flap because it had torn too far.  His spine is open here so I can adjust his stuffing:

His person wrote: He looks almost right! I think just a TINY bit more and we should be good! He can be just a hair firmer I think!

So I added just a bit more and sent a few more photos:

The reaction? “ Oh he’s PERFECT! I could cry!!!! I can’t wait to hug him! “

And he flew home to his family’s waiting arms. :-)

Two happy striped bunnies home to keep their families company again!

Bear had lived an active life.  A 17 1/2″ tall lamb, once upon a time he looked like this:

But after many years of hugs and love, he now looked like this:

His people felt he would enjoy a full makeover:  gentle spa, full fur recover, and a new nose.  He arrived and quickly jumped into the bubble bath:

Once dry, he got restuffed and of course, a bit of original stuffing went back in in a heart in his chest:

Then it was time choose his new fur.  There were, as usual, several options:

His family chose the last one and surgery proceeded.  Next was nose choice.  We knew his original nose was black, but even with the photo it was hard to tell size for sure.  Here are the noses his family chose from:

They opted for the oval one. I put it in and sent a photo to check his chubbiness…

And finally, Bear the Lamb was better and ready to fly home!

His person’s reaction to those first photos of a healthy bear?

Beth!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!! This just brings tears to my eyes seeing Bear reincarnated
Thank you sooooo very much I know my daughter is going to be so moved when she sees him!!!!

So Bear flew home to Florida, just in time to be a perfect gift.  Again his person wrote:

Wanted to let ya know Bear just arrived at our front door! I truly can’t thank you enough! He brought tears to my eyes and memories of what he once was and now is!!!We can’t wait to see our daughters reaction!

After Bear was opened, I received one last email, of a very happy woman crying over the newly healthy bear.  Her mom wrote:

We could have not asked for a better reaction from our daughter who has loved Bear for the past 31 years!!!
Thank you again for giving Bear a beautiful 2nd chance

(I don’t post photos of people as a general rule, without explicit permissions, but there is a wall of photos of happy former patient with their people in the hospital, and about a dozen photo albums full as well :-) )

This is another tale from the archives.  I figured I hadn’t spoken about a pound puppy in a while. :-)

Toscha’s restoration was originally supposed to be a surprise.  Her person’s boyfriend sent the first email.  It was titled “Poor Toscha is dying”.  He wrote:

My girlfriend’s stuffed animal, Toscha, is on her last leg. She is a vintage 1985 Pound Puppy, who has been through it all. I want to surprise her for her birthday by having Toscha fixed, because she has to last another 35 years.
So how bad is it? Well, the pound puppy logo has lost all color; there are numerous holes all over her underside and many places where her fur and fabric are extremely thin; her neck is broken and held in place with a small piece of fabric; her eyes are just black pools as all the paint has rubbed off; she’s missing an ear and can’t hear too well; her paws have seemingly no toes; her cheek is split wide open; her mouth has been sewn shut from having her teeth all knocked out when she was younger.
Do you think you can help Toscha? If you think you can and it helps you, I can also try to find some organ donor puppies on EBay and send them to you with Toscha.

These are some of the diagnostic photos he sent.

She wasn’t quite as bad as he’d described, and she was definitely treatable.  I sent a LONG list of treatment options (think full page single spaced type).  He ended up forwarding the treatment proposal to Toscha’s person, rather than doing it himself as a surprise (usually the wise move).  He wrote to Toscha’s person:

I’m sorry I couldn’t do this myself… Let me know if I can help more… There’s just lots of details, and Toscha is very precious cargo <3.

Toscha’s person wrote to me directly nearly a year later, asking if I could still care for her.  My answer, of course, was yes.  There were still specifics to work out though.  Toscha’s person wrote:

This is great news! I have two donor dogs I will be sending with her. In regards to your questions I want to go with the following options.
1. For the eyes you can either paint them or use the donor eyes whichever is best.
2. For the ear, you can build it or use one of the donor ears. The donor ear might be a better match and easier though.
3. Please use transplant fur for the holes and tears. I want her to last so anything that needs fur go for it. Then please put the lining underneath all of the fur. I want her protected for the future. I would like the original stuffing both in the heart and then what is left mailed back with her when she is all fixed. I hope that is ok. I have something planned for the rest of her stuffing. She has been my baby and I want it.
4. She will need the spa treatment with new stuffing and heart. Like I said I want the rest of the stuffing so please don’t get rid of it. please be as gentle as possible and if washing causes any more tears or issues I can pay to fix with donor fur and reinforced by the lining before she makes the trip back.
5. For her tattoo you can keep her original. I kinda like the wear and love. If it has to be fixed please transplant it.

So Toscha flew out from Chicago for her complex surgery to begin.  Here she is starting with her spa:

And here’s her old stuffing, ready to go back home with her once she’s healthy. 

You can see why I replace stuffing!

Here is a rare photo of a fully lined patient.  This is Toscha’s finished lining, before she got turned right side out and restuffed:

Lining is usually a thin knit or flannel, in a similar color to the patients original fur or skin.  Here’s Tascha’s heart being made and installed with some original stuffing:

And here are her first photos (not quite ready, but time for feedback from her person for chubbiness and other adjustments).  We ended up using donor eyes and nose:

We needed to do a bit of facial adjustment, as the donors who came with Toscha (and who I used as a sample) didn’t have quite her original shape. 

Then on to face surgery.  Here was the first adjustment, minus freckles:

The response: Yes much closer, the only thing I see different is the crease by the eyes and nose and the freckles … I can’t believe that is her!

A bit more minor surgery….

She looks amazing! said her person. :-)

So Toscha, her stuffing, and one of her donors, headed home.  This second donor hadn’t been used at all for surgery, but had become Toscha’s buddy during surgery and they were now fast friends.

Here person’s reaction?  Perfect!

Some patients, I just know I’m going to share their story from the very beginning, from the very first email contact.  I didn’t know about Velvy that quickly, but as soon as I began his surgery, I knew he’d end up here one day.  The further the surgery progressed, the more excited I was about sharing him and when he flew home overnight last Friday, I couldn’t wait for him to be home so I could start sharing his tale.  He was back in his people’s arms on Saturday, I had their response Sunday, and yesterday, they approved my sharing his story.  So here it is. :-)

Velvy is, as the heading says, a velveteen rabbit.  His original person’s husband was the first to write.  Velvy had “seen better days” and needed some help.  Here are some of his diagnosis photos:

As you can see, he is very well loved!  I offered a few treatment options, from just wound stitching, to partial fur transplants, to full recover.  His original person wrote back almost a year after the original email from her spouse:

I want to send my rabbit to your hospital. I’m torn because I want my kids to be able to play with him (full recover) but also want to make sure he is the same bunny.  It’s just hard to visualize:) what do you think?

We talked about it (via email) and finally agreed that recovering made sense, but we would put his patches and buttons back on top of the new velvet.  We’d also keep his original eyes, but reembroider his nose.  Velvy arrived at the hospital about a month ago.  Here he is with the two closest tan velvet options for his new fur/skin:

They’re pretty close, but it’s really a question of the color his person remembered… had he always been darker, or was he lighter in his younger days?  His person chose the darker velour and surgery proceeded.  A few weeks later, it was time to choose his new nose thread.  Again the question, lighter or darker:

Lighter it was, and surgery continued!  Soon, Velvy was feeling much better.  Fully recovered, with a new nose.  I’d resewn his patches on top, but had tucked their edges so they wouldn’t unravel as easily.  His original buttons and eyes were visible too.  We didn’t touch Velvy’s stuffing, or clean him, so he should feel the same and smell the same when hugged.  His skin was loose where it had been loose, such as at the hip joints, and firm where it had been firm (like on his head).  Here he is post surgery:

His person’s response:

Oh my goodness. He’s perfect. You have helped our family so much (and we really need it right now). Thank you!!!!!!!!

One last thing was needed, Velvy had arrived in a lovely hand knitted sweater.  So he needed to get dressed to fly home.  Here he is, ready to be picked up to go to the airport for his overnight flight:

As I said at the top, Velvy arrived home this past Saturday.  His family wrote:

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for repairing Velvy.  I was a little worried he would not be the same bunny, but he is exactly the same bunny.  You are a master craftsman and I wish you all the success in the world.  

Stay safe out there, these are crazy times – but also, know that you have brought my daughter (and me omg) so much joy as we are stuck inside the house.

My daughter has not let him out of her sight. =)

I hope Velvy’s tale made you smile, and that all of you are staying safe too….

A penguin bath and plump: Tuxedo Sam

Tuxedo Sam’s person is one of you, dear readers! :-) They wrote to me earlier this year about Sam:

I was wondering if you had any availability to help me refurbish my best friend, Tuxedo Sam? He’s a Sanrio character that I became enamored with when I was like 13, and one of my best friends from high school (that I still talk to) ended up getting me a Tuxedo Sam plushie that I have slept with every single night for almost a decade. Naturally, he’s very worn-down with that kind of history, and the other day, his ice cream cone that is normally sewn onto his left flipper came undone. In addition, his fabric is VERY dirty, and hisbeak & tail that used to stick out are basically caved-innow.

Hereis one of his diagnosis photos, so you can see:

Sam (or Tuxedo or Tuxedo Sam) came in last month and got right in the spa. As a penguin, he had a grand old time in the bubble bath:

It’s hard to see there, but he really did get nice and clean! Next up, restuffing. To help his beak and tail stand out, he got slightly denser stuffing there, which was sewn in place inside. Then he got traditional stuffing elsewhere, and of course, a bit of original stuffing was preserved in a heart in his chest (this is also a preview of how clean he got!):

That’s a very special heart, because Tuxedo’s person had sent along their own childhood blanket for the fabric. :-)

Next up, repairs. We were recovering the ribbon on Sam’s hat with new ribbon, and replacing the ribbon that stood out. And even though his bow got nice and clean, his person wanted a new one that didn’t split at the edges, and was a bit squarer. We upgraded both a bit, with gold edging on the ribbon and a velour bow. Here he is getting his chubbiness checked:

There was one small problem… his ice cream cone was on the wrong flipper! A quick flip, closing up his final seam, and he was ready to fly home:

Tuxedo Sam arrived home safely Saturday and his person wrote last night:

Hi Beth, OMG Thank you so so so much for all of your hard work on my baby boy!!! He looks ten years younger LOL. My parents and I got a kick out of the patient chart that he came with, specifically the discharge instructions about his weight gain from the stuffing diet LOL.. He looks so much younger and happier.

And they sent a photo of the happy former patient back home with his two Tuxedo Sam siblings:

Now normally, this would be the end of Tuxedo Sam’s story on this blog, but his person asked a small favor, and I said I’d help. Apparently, Sanrio, Tuxedo Sam’s brand, does a vote every year for the favorite character. Last year, Sam came in 10th. And, as you have seen, his person is a huge fan and is hoping he’ll do better this year. He already is, as in current voting, which just started, he is 9th. She asked that I ask you all, if you might be interested, to vote for Tuxedo Sam. They are hoping, if there are more votes, there will be more Tuxedo Sam merchandise because “There’s already a high demand for him but so little supply…” So, here is the linkif you are interested in supporting Sam and is brethren. I already voted for Sam in my patient’s honor. :-)

p.s. i know i mentioned the fashion show series of posts and i’m still working on them, promise! but i wanted to give you all time to vote if you wanted. :-)

Bunny from Canada

I’m working on a series of posts, a fashion show of patients (Pink and Blue, Catastrophe, Maxine) who got clothes in addition to, or instead of, repairs, but I just sent this bunny home and I was really happy with him, and I love his kind of quirky expression that suggests bunny front teeth, but doesn’t show them, so I just wanted to share him while he was top of mind.

Bunny’s person’s person wrote from Alberta last March. Bunny had had a lot of adventures and was now missing his nose, had a damaged muzzle, and was quite dirty. Here is his diagnosis photo:

What you can’t see there is he also has a big hole in his spine. But… it was all treatable. A spa, some stitching, a new nose, and he’d be all better. If you look closely at the photo, on his left (right of photo) you can see one of the stitches that helps make his quirky face shape.

Here’s Bunny in his bubble bath once he arrived at the hospital:

I know… without the nose and with those bright eyes, he looks a bit freaked out… but I promise he’s ok! And you can see how he’s already much cleaner. :-)

Bunny first got restuffed, and of course, he got a heart with a bit of original stuffing:

Then his wounds were stitched and he got a new nose and all of a sudden, he was his plump happy self, clean and ready for more hugs:

Bunny was ready to fly home to Canada! His person’s person wrote:

“I never told you how good the bunny looks. You did an amazing job and I hope it brings a tear of joy to her eye. Thanks again for restoring this bunny as the sentimental value far exceeds any price range from the department store gifts.”

Bunny flew home yesterday, so he’s probably going through immigration now (customs), but he’ll be home and in his family’s arms soon. :-)

Flag the deer

This is a story I thought I had told… I had written that I told it, but apparently I didn’t, because I can’t find it! But if I did and you know the tail, you can scroll to the end for the latest updates which I got from Flag’s person this week. :-)

Flag the deer was relatively young, under a year, when his person first wrote in 2015. He was a deer with bendable limbs, and one broke! Here is that first diagnosis photo:

His family was in Florida, a very long trip to California for a lone deer, so they opted to have his leg fixed locally. Zip forward 3 years and Flag had had more adventures, and new injuries! Here is the next photo I received:

This time they opted to send him cross country for a full bone transplant. He came with a donor (Fig Newton) who would go home as a more traditional, not bendable) stuffed animal.

Now this may be a bit much for some, so warning… below are the bones removed!

Transplant was successful and both patients headed home in the fall of 2018:

And now, after another three years, Flag’s family reached out again, just to check in. Flag managed to have some fun and adventures, even given the travel restrictions of the last few years! Here are some of his latest adventures:

Elphie the blue elephant

Elphie’s person (one of you dear people) wrote back in April 2019, when the world was very different, about Elphie needing some help.

Here are the diagnostic photos she sent:

Now Elphie was an Eden elephant, and originally had a pull in his trunk that attached to a music box. That was long gone (and something I couldn’t fix), but otherwise, he was in pretty good shape. The felt at his heels were worn, and his ears and trunk tip, once pink check, had faded to white. He had also lost some of his plumpness to hugs over the years.

We agreed on a treatment plan: gentle spa, recovering of inner ears, trunk tip, and heels.

But then, as you know, life happens, and then the world happened, and all of a sudden it was September 2021 and Elphie’s person wrote again. They were in a much better place, and ready to send Elphie to the hospital. The only change was a small seam wound that Elphie needed stitched up too. No problem. :-)

Elphie didn’t have far to fly, his person lives about 50 miles from me. But he did take a bit to work up the courage for the solo trip, so didn’t arrive till Thanksgiving.

First things first, Elphie got a bubble bath:

Nice and clean, he got restuffed, including a heart of original stuffing, blue and white as a memory of the colors when he arrived at the hospital:

On to the transplants… Elphie was one of those rare patients who I had perfect fabric matches for! So his new pink and white checked inner ears and nose tip, and new pink felt heels, were just right. Here he is posing to get his chubbiness adjusted:

Here he is showing off some more of his wound repairs….

And here he is, ready for his second solo flight, back home!

He flew home just after New Years (flying during the holidays could scare even the bravest elephant what with all those heavy packages). He arrived home promptly and his person wrote:

Dear Beth,

Happy New Year!

I just received Elphie and I’m so full of love and appreciation for the work you do.

You’re more than welcome to share Elphie’s story on your blog!

I am so excited about him living hopefully another 27 years thanks to your care and expertise.

Lambie from Boston

Lambie was another springtime patient… which makes sense as lambs tend to arrive in spring, don’t they? Anyway, Lambie is a patterned pink terry lamb, which means her skin has thicker terry areas, and thinner smooth areas, and that leads to uneaven wear which can lead to holes. I’ve seen quite a few of her relatives in the hospital. Here are some of her diagnosis photos:

Her person wanted to keep her as close to original as possible, including her narrow waist, but to stabilize her, patching her wounds and recovering her feet. No cleaning so she could keep her original stuffing.

As I said, Lambie arrived in the spring and the first step was choosing fabric to patch her holes. Here were the options:

I actually had a perfect match for the original textured pattern of her feet, so we were all set there. A decision was made and surgery proceeded until she was once again whole (and hole-less) and ready for more hugs!

Her person wrote:

“Oh my gosh you are a miracle worker!! She looks GREAT! Thank you!”

and she flew home. :-)

Dirt the Gund Dog

Dirt’s person is one of you. :-) She wrote last spring:

“I have had him since I was born and he is getting close to 30 years old. He has been with me everywhere I have traveled and lived (my dad even drove an hour both ways to get my dog from my bed when I forgot him going to the airport and almost missed our flight). I am not sure he needs “repairs” necessarily as his is in pretty good shape but I am no expert. His paws are all good and still has both eye buttons, they are just hidden by his fur.

I was hoping maybe a good clean and some re-stuffing as his neck and body have gotten quite limp over the past few years.”

Here are his diagnosis photos:

I bet by now, if you’ve been reading a while, you can guess what I suggested…. a gentle spa! And that’s what he came in for, just a little spa.

Here he is in his bubble bath:

Here’s his heart made from original stuffing:

Here he is clean and restuffed with his fur fluffed. You can see he fluffed pretty nicely…. his seam was open to adjust chubbiness as needed:

We added just a touch more chubbiness (on the advice of his person’s mom) and then closed him up and packed him up to fly home to Colorado:

His person wrote:

“Oh I’m so excited! Thank you so much! You are more than welcome to share his story! My mom and older sister have been reminiscing about how good he looks. They both remember his golden tips that were hidden in dirt and mats!”

And when he arrived home, she added:

“Dirt has arrived safe and sound back home! He enjoyed his spa/hospital visit and has a brand new leash on life and a new tag for his collar with his name! Thank you so much again for everything. Cannot wait to read the blog story on his visit!”

And this is that story. :-)

Patches the Quilted Bunny

First, Happy New Year all! I hope that 2022 is a year of hope and happiness for you all. :-)

Ok, the story of Patches the bunny. He was a very well loved, quilted cloth bunny, who, at 25 years old, had been worn down by his adventures. Here is his diagnosis photo:

Fortunately, I had just treated a similar bear, whose condition was a bit more stable, so I had a good idea of what his legs should be, shape and proportionwise:

As you can see, the bear had a number of quilted areas recovered (pink dots, turquoise dots, blue marble, check and leopard), and that was the plan for Patches too. The new fabric is always a bit brighter, and darker, but fades to blend better over time.

Patches was going to have lots of new patches, new quilted and new quilted legs, but keep his sock ear. Patches arrived from the East Coast and surgery began. It took nearly two months… hand sewing each little patch takes time you know. :-)

Here he is, almost all better:

One final tweak… a little patch on the hole of his sock ear, and he was ready to fly back East:

His person wrote:

“Patches arrived home safely. He looks great! Showed my son a pic and he thought I bought a new bunny … :)”

and the White Elephant (Blue Teddy and the White Elephant part 2)

So Blue Teddy made it home and in her same email where she was so happy with arrival, his person wrote:

“Given the beautiful work on him, I am really hoping you will consider the same makeover /full recover on the white elephant. I will upload some pics of him shortly so that you can assess? I am wondering if we couldn’t find a similar fabric for him in natural cream.”

Here are the elephant’s diagnosis photos (including one of him next to the healthy Blue Teddy):

The elephant was getting fully recovered in a similar faux sheepskin, but with faux suede inner ears.

Now recovering was fairly straightforward, but ear reattachment, not so much. Should the suede part be in or out? Should the ears dangle or be closer to his head? Here are some of the option photos:

(yes, that’s my teddy bear, the mascot of my site, sticking his head into the last photo :-)).

Decision? Gray underneath, hanging down.

Finally, the White Elephant was healthy and ready to fly home:

Home cross country to MA he flew, where Blue Teddy was waiting. Here is their reunion photo:

Their person wrote:

“Just arrived this morning, none the worse for his long journey…….and looking GORGEOUS!!!!! You have done an outstanding job with these two….beautifully mended and without losing their old ‘personalities’…. I can’t believe I waited 30 years to have them seen to…..but frankly am only too happy that I did wait….. and found Realms of Gold…..

Thank you, thank you for your lovely work!”

Blue Teddy in Distress… plus an elephant pt. 1

Blue Teddy is his person’s favorite bear. At 70 plus years old though, he was showing his age pretty severely. Here are a couple of his diagnosis photos:

ufNot only was he deflating, and having joint issues, but his fabric was disintegrating in place due to age and drying, and as you can see, he was no longer blue. While initially the plan was a spa, new joints, and wound repair, in person examination of his fabric proved he really needed all new fur, and his original fur was too fragile to clean so “the full works” recover it was. Finding blue lamb style fur (that funky texture he has), took a bit, but eventually we found a good match.

Here are his initial recover photos, with his facial features reembroidered, fully recovered, and joints repaired. Those are original eyes, just different lighting:

His nose needed some tweaking, and here it is in the final form:

“Well done!!!! He looks so huggable!” said his person.

Blue Teddy headed home, but already his person was thinking of sending his friend, White Elephant, for similar treatment.

BTW, when Blue Teddy arrived home, his person wrote:

“Delighted to say that Blue Teddy arrived home today in his splendid new suit…and he looks fantastic! What is particularly delightful is that you restored his face back to his original personality. I can’t believe how good he looks!!!!!!”

Next up, White Elephant’s visit to the hospital.

Boppy the German Lamb Pt 2

so… Boppy’s story continues….

He got recovered in velour and it was time to check his chubbiness:

His original buttons had been transplanted on top of his new lederhosen, and his original eyes are now over his new skin, but his nose and smile were reembroidered. He was plump but squishy, the plan being that hug rehab at home would flatten his stuffing over time. His person’s response? “His squishyness looks perfect!!”

So Boppy got closed up and then there was one final touch. Remember his old bright red patches? We saved one and turned it into a heart patch as a memory of his past:

His person’s reaction: “Thats amazing!! (Like nearly tears amazing).”

Boppy the 18 year old German Lamb Pt. 1

Hi all! I hope you are enjoying your holidays! I finally am catching up on patients, which means I can take a small break and share some of their stories with you again. :-) I’m going to write a bunch and space them out posting-wise. First up is Boppy the German Lamb (who found me here, actually). His person first contacted me over a year ago after he had a “thankfully short” scuffle with a cat.

Here are some of the diagnosis photos his person sent:

As you may or may not be able to tell, he was originally all velour, not fur, and he had had a few surgeries in the past. I get a lot of whole or partially velour patients… I have a veritable rainbow of velour fabrics sitting on shelves so I can try to color match them as needed.

Boppy’s treatment plan included full recovering (his skin was really too thin to do anything else at this point since he was still actively having adventures) and a spa. His surgery was scheduled a few months out, so he arrived at the hospital last winter.

Here’s Boppy in his bubble bath:

And here’s his heart being made with a bit of original stuffing:

Next up was fabric selection from the rainbow of velours:

His lederhosen were originally navy, and I had to special order that.

To be continued…..

If a mouse looks like a cookie….

Benjamin the mouse (who looks like a mouse from a famous book) lived with a little boy for the first six years of both their lives. But one day, a dog mistook Benjamin for a cookie, and this was the result:

For almost six years, Benjamin was hidden away… too damaged to play with but too loved to part with. Until, the little boy’s mother heard about a stuffed animal hospital, and sent Benjamin my way.

Benjamin didn’t need a spa, he’d been cleaned up all those years ago, but he did need his parts put back together (arm attached, chest reattached to legs, overalls repaired) and some supplemental stuffing (since he hadn’t had any cookies recently). Here are his first photos after surgery. These are to check his chubbiness, so he still had some open seams:

And here he is all better, ready to fly home for more adventures (with his boy, but hopefully not with the dog!):

He’s perfect! wrote his family.

Yoshter continued….

So the problem was… Yoshter had too many scales! Fortunately, removing one and redistributing the others was a fairly straightforward surgery.

Here he is, all better and ready to fly home to Michigan:

His person wrote:

AAAH he looks wonderful!!

And once he was home there was one more email. His person wrote:

HE’S HOME!! Oh goodness, I just had the worst day at work and coming home to find him waiting for me and getting to hug him was exactly what I needed. He looks even better in person than in the photos!! So much healthier than he was before, and the new tail fabric is so soft!! Thank you so much for helping him!

And here’s the photo of him happily at home:

For you dino and Mario fans… May I present Yoshter

Yoshter’s person first wrote in January. He was 20 plus years old and had had many adventures, including travelling, going to college, and some nerve wracking washing machine rides (he won’t do that anymore). But now, he had a few issues that needed more expert assistance. Here are his diagnosis photos:

As you can see, he had some fading, and stuffing compression. His spine scales were felt and had flopped and suffered from pilling. And he once had mechanics inside, which no longer worked, so he and his person wanted the velcro removed and his white chest fabric extended so he could have a full belly and tail.

An appointment was made for surgery, and a bed reserved for Yoshter’s arrival in April. First step in treatment upon arrival was a spa to see if we could help with his color fade. I don’t redye patients, but lots of times the spa does brighten them up. Here’s Yoshter in his bubble bath:

Once he had dried (I don’t show drying because honestly, fully deflated stuffed animals sitting on towels under skylights is not attractive, and can be a bit traumatizing)… his velcro came out and he got stuffed to his fullest potential so I could figure out how far to extend his belly, then got a heart with a bit of his original stuffing. Green of course! To match his skin. :-)

For his belly/tail extension, there was really only one fabric which felt right, so surgery proceeded once it was approved. Here’s his tail:

And here he is with new scales… can you spot my mistake?

stay tuned for the next post for the answer and the end of Yoshter’s story…..

Postscript for a teddy bear story

A lot of folks were asking, so I thought I’d answer in a very short post. when patients are recovered, the original fur/skin is always inside, reinforcing the new skin. I follow the original seams as well. Sometimes, people opt to have patients lined instead, which puts the new fabric on the inside, reinforcing the original worn fabric, but then the original fabric can continue to wear. And sometimes people opt to do both, line and recover a patient so there’s three layers: lining, original skin, and new fur. Of course, full recovering is always a choice for an animal’s person. Sometimes I just do partial transplants, still usually over the existing skin, and sometimes we leave the worn skin as is because, after all, that wear is from hugs and holds lots of memories. The only time old fur or skin is removed, is if it has been burned so badly that it has melted and is now more rock than fabric. Then that part is removed and new fur is added to repair the hole (just like it would be added for any other hole, actually). The cool thing about recovering though, like the teddy bear had, is that it’s completely reversible if need be (though I’ve only had to do that once in over a decade of repairs, when a lion’s family changed their minds about fur fabric).

I hope this brief, pictureless post helps answer the questions. :-)

 Hi all!  I hope you are all safe and doing well!

As I have mentioned, this year has been crazy busy in the hospital (which is good, because it keeps me from paying too much attention to the rest of the world), but of course, as you’ve seen, that means my posts have slowed down tremendously.  But I promise, I’ve been storing up stories and I do want to share them with you all!  So, even though the hospital is still quite full (I have patients booked into the fall), I wanted to take a short break from sewing and share a few new tales (and tails) with you. :-)  I’m going to write up a bunch, and schedule them to come out over a few weeks, so keep your eyes open. :-)

I’m working backwards through my patients, so first up is a teddy bear who went home just last week.  His person wrote to me back in February.  He’s over 30 years old and she felt he could use some tlc.  Here are the diagnosis photos she sent:

Not too bad, but clearly well loved.  I offered several treatments, from just recovering his missing footpads and stitching his wounds, to transplants for bald spots, lining if the bald spots were acceptable but reinforcement was desired, full recovering, and of course a spa.  His person opted for full recovering and a spa, as well as a new nose and eyes.  A bed was reserved for his hospital arrival, scheduled for mid-June.

Teddy arrived and started care with a spa.  It’s always best to clean before other surgeries.  While plushies don’t need to worry about infection, it is better to match furs to cleaned fur, and to be sure any stitching doesn’t tighten surface dirt or keep old stuffing in place.  Here he is in his bubble bath:

He’s a little guy, so the tub was more of a pool for him. :-)

Next, his person had to choose his new fur.  There were many options:

The first choice was the top one, and surgery proceeded.  Once stuffed and recovered, he needed a heart for a bit of his old stuffing.  Here’s that being made and put in:

Next decision, what fabric to use for his footpads and inner ears.  They had once been a smoother, darker fabric.  I found several nice solids, but I also had one with stars which was an almost perfect match to his original color:

His person loved the stars!  So that’s what we used.  Here he is fully recovered in his chubbiness approval pics.  His spine is open so I can adjust his stuffing….

Chubbiness approved!  Just needed to add his smile back….

And those ribbons were options to replace his old bow.  Again, his person chose my favorite, the sparkly one on the bottom.

Here he is all closed up, ribbon on, ready to fly home cross country:

Sparkling with a glitter ribbon and stars!

His person wrote:

He looks even better than I could have imagined!

As you may have guessed from my lack of posts recently, it’s been REALLY busy in the hospital.  As in, complex surgeries are currently scheduling in August.  But… This little hush puppy dog is going to be the feature of an Easter Basket when he gets home, so I thought it was pretty timely to share his story this weekend. :-)

His family actually wrote back in December after he had an unfortunate  run-in with the washing machine. (I will spare you all my opinion of washing machines and stuffed animals… if you haven’t read it, and you want to do so, it is here … and a second post is here.)  In the author’s defense, she didn’t put the puppy in the washing machine. :-)  She wrote:

There is no rush on this repair since he has been sitting in the laundry room for awhile. My 45 year old son rides bikes and this puppy has been with him on all of his MS Bike Runs. Sooo he wanted to wash him and his head got destroyed and it looks like a piece of his fur is missing from the back of his head.

Here are the diagnosis photos she sent:

Now coincidentally, I have one of these same exact puppies!  So I knew exactly what he was supposed to look like, and knew I had quite close fur if he needed any transplants.  We waited a few months for him to come in both because it was the holidays (always riskier for travel) and the hospital was crowded, and because it gave his stuffing time to thoroughly air dry before he went in a dark box for his trip (thus avoiding mildew issues).  He came in last month for wound repair only.  Here he is all better after his surgery:

His person wrote:

He looks new and I think he will look great in an Easter Basket. I am so happy I found you.

So here’s to you, a hopefully not quite so sad puppy.  I hope you (and all of you readers, too) have a happy Easter, are having a good pesach, or are just enjoying the start of spring.  :-)

Two Winnie the Poohs flew home this week, fully rejuvenated for a new year.  They’re a little different than the Poohs in my classic Pooh post, but pretty similar to each other, so I thought they’d be a good way to enter 2021.

First is a clothed Winnie the Pooh with a multicolored scarf.  Here is his diagnosis photo:

As you can see, he was a little flat, his fur was a bit compressed.  What you can’t see is that all those gathers in his scarf are wired, and the wires were poking through the scarf and scratching his human.  So the plan was a spa for his compression and weight loss, and hopefully some sewing to fix up his scarf.  Here he is in his bubble bath:

And here’s his heart being made and installed, a classic Pooh Bear heart with some of his original stuffing:

Then he had his first fur fluffing, and I sent photos to be sure his chubbiness was right before his scarf was refitted:

He’s perfect!!! said his person.

Then, for his scarf, I removed the wires and stitched the gathers instead, then refitted it onto him.  One more fur fluff, and he was ready to fly home:

The other Pooh wasn’t going to have a bath, and was much more worn (and quite a bit older).  Here’s his diagnosis photos:

The plan for this guy was to keep him as is inside, add a touch of supplemental stuffing to plump him up, and then fully recover him (thereby fixing balding, nose, and smile).  So, the first decision was what fur to use:

Pooh’s family opted for the furry fleece in the second photo.  So surgery proceeded.  And soon… Pooh was ready to fly home:

His family’s response… “That is awesome!”

I hope the newly smiling Pooh made you smile, and that you all have a happy (and better) 2021!