I chose to describe my childhood stuffed German Shepherd. This plush toy was given to me by my mother’s boss at a Christmas party in 2004. Invited to a party where everyone was larger and older than my brother and I, we were allowed to spend the hours in his now grown-up children’s playroom. A small holiday gift, we were allowed to take a toy home. Once I set my eyes on this dog, I was strangely drawn to it. Coincidently it was his one of his daughter’s favorites growing up.

Handling the plush, it is roughly the size of a small dog itself. When the plush is laid on its side, it is approximately the same size as a Yorkie. Standing up, the plush is 12 inches by 6 inches. A young child would be almost dwarfed when carrying it around. For someone on the smaller side, the dog would be tedious to carry around.

On the bottom of the dog is a well-worn white tag that has begun to grey with age. The tag is looped and measures an inch out from the body of the dog. On one side there is a stitched yellow bear holding an unintelligible sign and stitched blue text on the reverse.

Unfortunately, the word on the bear side of the tag has been worn away. Beneath the bear are the letters “C. W” written crookedly in bright pink marker. The other side of the tag reads: “© R. Dakin & Co. – 1986. San Francisco, CA. Product of Korea. PA Reg No. 118. All New Materials. Contents: Polyester”.

The fur, according to its tag, is made from polyester and is smooth to caress. The fur itself is more akin to a cat’s fur than a dog. Squeezing the body of the dog, it is filled with some sort of fluff to give it a fuller shape. The eyes and nose are, on the other hand, are made of harder material. Knocking a knuckle against the eyes and the nose, both appear to be made from the same hard plastic. Rubbing a finger pad across the eyes, scratches can be felt. The eyes share the duplicate sensation as well-used sandpaper. The eyes have a mismatched array of scratches with some deeper than others. When facing towards the plastic eyes, the scratches omit one’s reflection.

The plastic nose has suffered the same fate as the eyes. There are numerous scratches as well as chunks missing from the black plastic. No longer sitting correctly on the snout of the plush, the plastic nose appears to have been glued back onto the plush. Looking head on at the dog, the nose appears crooked in proportion to the rest of its features. Using a hand to feel around the broken plastic nose, what appears to be hardened by aged glue can be felt around the edges.

While filled with stuffing, the front of legs of the dog are hard in comparison to the rest of the body. Putting my entire hand around the right front leg, the animal seems to have some sort of hardened rod in inside of it. Inside the front two legs, the rods seem to have been put in disproportionally. One rod can be felt down to the paw while the other stops just short of it. As a result, the dog leans more to its left side and gives off the same feeling as a crooked painting.

Using a hand to pet the dog as though it was real, there are patches along its back where there is less fur. From a distance, the dog’s back black hair appears splotchy like an incomplete haircut. The front hair and other light brown parts of the dog feels fuller and coarser than the back. While not uncomfortable, there is a stark contrast in the difference of feeling. Running a hand from the black fur to the brown fur, it is like petting two different toys.

Near the base of the tail, the original light purple stitching appears where the toy is starting to split at the seams. At the actual base of the tail there are pieces of fine plastic stitching sticking out like a spider’s legs. The very fine yarn loops the base of the tail to the actual body of the plush. Giving the tail a tug, the stitchwork holds and gives very little.

Despite the aging and the threadbare appearance of the toy, the material shows the decades use and love of two young girls growing into young women. Now as one girl is currently attending college, the other is currently practicing law after graduating from Harvard Law. While both may have outgrown the well-loved toy, the toy’s presence has yet to come to an end.