I keep at *least* one or two of these on hand for emergency kid-gifts, because this plush has been such a hit! I have a dachshund like this, Gillie. He’s a smooth red tweeny, as dachshund terminology goes, aka the classic “wiener dog”. I also have a querulous long-haired black-and-tan diva of a dachshund, Sophie, and my parents have two more smooth reds, named Gussie and Sadie. Rescues all! (Long story about Sophie, but not for here.) I first gave this plush to my veterinarian’s 4-year-old son. He named it Gussie (we didn’t have Gillie yet) and he dragged it wherever he went, slept with it, and took it to Show & Tell. He LOVED the HECK out of that toy! My housekeeper has two sons, 10 and 6, and she brings them with her when they’re off school. I have a blast with them, we watch movies together and they send me texts from their moms phone, and I spoil them - but they have to earn rewards by behaving and getting good grades. The 6-Year-old really took that to heart, and one day when he got in trouble for talking in class, he was crying “TELL MEGGIE IM SORRY AND I LEARNED!” when he was picked up from school that day! Over the summer, we spent a lot of time together, and the 6-year-old absolutely fell in love with Gillie. Which is no surprise because Gillie’s adorable. So come the holidays, I let them choose their well-earned gifts, but I also added this “Gillie” plush. Well, same as before, the child drags it everywhere (even to the bathroom, his brother told me), sleeps with it, has it waiting for him in the car after school. It’s nice, portable size, the same size as a Webkin, thereabouts. Soft and Dachshund-y. And Gillie-y. Now I will always have at least one or more on hand, in case I see a friend’s child at dinner, or have friends and their kids over. Or if, like at Christmas, and thank goodness I had gotten a spare “Gillie” for this very reason, someone with a child gives me an unexpected gift. My nextdoor neighbor, who we know well enough to wave and yell hi! to from driveway to driveway, brought her toddler and infant over to give us some homemade peppermint bark. I was able to pull together the plush, some baby bubble bath (also for emergency gifts for any age) and a Yankee Candle room spray into what looked like a very well-thought-out gift, in a gift bag with tissue, even! I looked way more competent, well-planned and got-my-sh!t-together than I really am! My mom taught me to keep a gift stash on hand. I’ve never regretted it. It’s a drawer in my buffet. I need to stock up on Gillies. :) The toddler now yells HI GILLIE when we go on walks, and we take the dogs over to be petted. The plush Gillie has been shown to the real Gillie many, many times. Simply put, kids love stuffed animals. If they know a real-life counterpart, they love them even more. This lil plush pupper has been very well received! EDIT: I just had the idea of giving this toy to the man who first found a Gillie as a stray, and to the woman who fostered him for a year before we adopted him. We renamed him, because his rescue-given name was almost exactly my father’s, which is a crazy coincidence considering dad’s name is ultra-ultra rare, so rare that if I shared it, my anonymity would be immediately shot in one google search, and the name Gillie had is only slightly less rare. This representation of Gills, along with some dachshund socks or earrings (for her) or a keychain. They *just* emailed me the other day asking if they could see him sometime. He’s very lovable. Twitchy, from his time on the streets, but precious. He’s my shadow; everywhere I go he’s on my heels, even in the middle of the night. Little buddy.
