Noted dog-blogger Juno lives with the MaPaw and PaPaw in Summerland in the BC interior from where she publishes an extensive set of dog blogs dealing with, well, dogs and other creatures.
I love my dog toys. Mapaw buys them for me on special occasions — Christmas, birthdays, and every time she sees something colourful, textured, inexpensive, and fun when in the pet store. Some toys endure the test of time and teeth; others not for long. Dog toy manufacturers assure consumers that their toy is indestructible. I suggest, strongly, that buyers should beware — The legal principle is caveat emptor. If emperors sometime have no clothes, my teeth can get any squeaker out of any fortified toy turtle, chicken, or snake, in minutes. Have you ever seen a guarantee on dog toys? Nope; and you never will. It’s like trusting Trump on tariffs; just don’t.
So what is it about dog toys that shortens their life so drastically? If we dogs love them so, why do we destroy them? If here in Canada political parties eat their leaders (hopefully in Alberta again, soon — remember Jason Kenney) why do we ravage and rupture our toys? What sort of primal instinct motivates drives us to take a toy in a pawed vice grip, immediately to wrench our jaws tight, and then to swipe our head left, then right, left, then right, quickly ripping the cloth or denting the plastic body of the snake, or chicken, or bird, or bear, or other beast.
Why can’t most of us simply enjoy those (things) we love so much. One of my cousins has a “wall of shame” in her home where he owner, Michael, displays for all visitors to see all her former loves, a horror show of misguided relationship. Such behaviour is typically attributed to puppies. The sad truth is that some behaviour never improves. My priest pawpaw looks me in the eye saying, “Juno, when was your last confession?” I reply “my what?”
I was delighted to recently discover the story of a black Labrador who like so many of us encounters the ups and downs of daily life. She needs an emotional support friend, a toy, a figure, a stuffy, or in this case, a fake vegetable, a carrot. From PetHelpful (Sponsored by Toyota) I read:
Everyone needs a little support sometimes — even your dog. When your dog needs a little comfort they usually turn to their favorite stuffy. Which for one Black Lab was a stuffed animal shaped like a carrot. The dog is devoted to it! He takes it everywhere with him and it always makes him feel so much better.
Black Labrador Retriever Morrie has one thing he loves and one thing only — his carrot. It fits perfectly in his mouth and is the right size to bring with him all over the house.
Interestingly, Morrie’s mama was warned against getting her dog the stuffy. But boy were those people wrong! The Black Lab loves his carrot. He would never destroy it, not one bit. Nope, Morrie is such a gentle guy with the object. He even keeps it in his mouth while he sleeps.
The Labrador Retriever’s mama shared a video of her sweet guy holding the toy all around the house. It seems like it’s the biggest comfort during nap time. How precious!
“An emotional support carrot for an emotional guy,” the Lab’s mama wrote in the video’s caption.
Morrie really had the internet swooning with his love for his toy. He won so many people over!
“My Black Lab has an emotional support avocado. It’s the only toy he won’t rip up,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“Such a handsome boy with his emotional support carrot,” another person added.
“Even if he DID rip it up, so what? It would be his favorite 17 seconds of his life to date!!” someone else pointed out.
And another person agreed, it’s totally okay for your dog to destroy their toys.
“My dog destroys her toys, so I buy her more. She’s not a human—she doesn’t understand the concept of possessions. She just enjoys playing, and I love giving her that joy,” the argued.
It’s a personal decision of course. Some pet parents get tired of getting new toys for their dogs, while others think it’s A-okay! But as Morrie proves, you can’t really tell how your dog is going to react to a toy before handing it over.
It is indeed a personal decision. To destroy, or to enjoy. For how long? Who knows.
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Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 
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