Childhood Toy

November 22, 2004 7:24 PM

How do I go about finding a stuffed toy from my childhood? (a.k.a. about 10-15 years ago)

It was a GUND stuffed baby toy- a little white dog in a little blue clown suit that did not come off, with a ruffle around the hands and neck. The little dog had ears that were attached to it's head, and a little brown eye patch. It rattled when you shook it. It was my absolute favorite toy, and I was heartbroken forever when I lost it. How can I go about finding another one? I bought it in 1988-1991, roughly.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero to Grab Bag (13 answers total)

Where did you last put it?
posted by joelf at 7:56 PM on November 22, 2004

Response by poster: The last time I saw it, I was in the second grade. I had taken it to school, inside of this hard case CD holder (you know, the ones that hold about 15 CDs in their cases) that my Dad had given me after he had gotten it for free somewhere. I swear that snotty nosed Jennifer with the kinky hair stole it, but I never had any evidence to back up that thought.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:59 PM on November 22, 2004 [1 favorite]

Search for it on ebay, using the keywords say "gund dog clown" or "gund white dog" and set it to be a favorite search. It might take a while, but everything I've ever looked for shows up eventually (except for the second volume of the Complete Concrete).
posted by drezdn at 8:31 PM on November 22, 2004

Do you see him in this picture?
posted by LarryC at 8:36 PM on November 22, 2004

Response by poster: Hmm, not in the picture.

I'm going to keep trying the ebay thing, but it's such an old toy, I feel like the chances are slim.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:37 PM on November 22, 2004 [1 favorite]

You may know this, but you can set up a saved search in Ebay and get an email when a new item meeting your criteria is listed. All the world passes through Ebay eventually, you will find it.

(By the way, your parents threw your toy away one night when you were sleeping because it had gotten so dirty.)
posted by LarryC at 8:58 PM on November 22, 2004

I think your chances are pretty good because there were alot of gund collectors
posted by drezdn at 9:01 PM on November 22, 2004

I don't have any advice for you, but I'm incredibly fond of my stuffed animals, and I feel for your loss...
posted by spaghetti at 9:06 PM on November 22, 2004

Just some search tips from my failed search:

The rattling part is important. They actually sell them as "rattles" even though they look just like a normal stuffed animal. And they might call it a puppy, not a dog. Cuter that way. Actually, they probably call it "Swuffles the Dog" or something but what can you do?

(I also ran across Dreyfus the Dog by Gund, which is as great a stuffed animal as I've ever seen.)
posted by smackfu at 10:01 PM on November 22, 2004

I just can't get over that you had CDs in Second Grade. I feel very old. Sorry for the digression; please return to your regularly-scheduled programming.
posted by ParisParamus at 10:22 PM on November 22, 2004

I just can't get over..............ah, forget it.
posted by codeofconduct at 11:44 PM on November 22, 2004

Unfortunately, Gund has a policy of 'retiring' their critters, so the chances that a toy that old is still on the market is limited. You'll almost certainly have to go the eBay route. Since you don't know what it's called, you might try asking the people at Bear St.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:36 AM on November 23, 2004

Don't forget the flea market and thrift store routes, and try not limiting your search with "Gund" while searching for the item online -- the seller may not know it's a Gund, especially if the tag was ripped out during a particularly terrible twos...
posted by icontemplate at 2:18 PM on November 23, 2004