The Case of the Missing Cow

August 30, 2005 10:51 AM

Where can I find a stuffed cow that was once for sale at The Enchanted Forest, a store previously located at 85 Mercer street in New York City but now closed down?

Two winters ago my girlfriend and I decided to go visit a stuffed animal store in SoHo called The Enchanted Forest (more info about the store here: http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/1248.htm). She fell in love with two of the animals there: a bear and a cow, but decided to get neither, the both of us being pretty broke at the time. I later bought her the bear as a present, but when we went back together to get the cow we found that the store was gone -- only a big empty space where the animals had once been. She was heartbroken. I vowed that day to do everything in my power to track down this cow, although I've been doing a pretty lousy job of it so far. I've found a thousand incorrect cows, but not the one she dreams of.

About the cow:
It was vaguely humanoid in shape, about 15 inches tall. The body was a light biege color, and the head looked like something Gary Larson (The Far Side) would have drawn. The fur was very, very soft, just like the animals sold at FAO Schwartz, but I don't know the name of the material (could it be mohair?).

So far I haven't even been able to find a picture of this cow online, let alone a store that sells them. I've tried eBay and have googled for hours on end, but it is nowhere to be found. If any MeFites remember this store or think they've seen a cow matching this description I would greatly, greatly appreciate a response. You can also email any tips to [e-mail]. That's an ancient email address where I won't mind all the spam I'm bound to get after publishing contact info.

posted by ducksauce to sports, hobbies, & recreation (13 comments total)

Would the label on the bear hold any clues? Who made it? It would be helpful to know, in case the bear and the cow were made by the same company.
posted by iconomy at 10:56 AM on August 30, 2005

Thanks for the response, iconomy. The bear was made by Gund. I've been unable to find any Gund stuffed cows that look like the one I saw, but I did find a puppet on this page that looks very similar to the cow in question:http://www.freebears.com/store/gund_animals-ss6.htm.
posted by ducksauce at 11:13 AM on August 30, 2005

quick ebay search for "gund cow" turns up this.
posted by lorrer at 11:16 AM on August 30, 2005

err, this. Darn post v. preview.
posted by lorrer at 11:16 AM on August 30, 2005

They shut down the Enchanted Forest?!!

I had no idea. Can't help you, but I'd like to thank you for the link. V. sad to hear.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:24 AM on August 30, 2005

Wait a minute- if you go to the link in the link you cited, you get this

Things may not be so bad after all. Check the button. You may be in luck
posted by IndigoJones at 11:28 AM on August 30, 2005

It's not Milkshake, is it?
posted by arco at 11:30 AM on August 30, 2005

I'm so sucked in- is Milkshake the cow, ducksauce? ::says the woman still hoping she'll one day find the Gund dog from her childhood in a thriftstore somewhere::
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:37 AM on August 30, 2005 [1 favorite]

IndigoJones, thanks for pointing out the information within my own link... how ironic. I went to that site after I first found out they had closed (back in March), but I don't think they had the information link.

Lorrer, when I first visited the page you linked to I thought that was the wrong cow, but after cross-referencing the name of that cow (moosle) and the name of another cow (buttermilk), I found the complete Gund product list here. Although I feel that this cow is closer to what my memory recalls as the face, your cow's lanky body is a closer match to what my hands remember holding.

You'd think two year old memories of a cow I saw for only a few seconds would be better than this!

Thanks for the help.

After previewing:
arco, I'm not sure if it's milkshake or moosle... they both look so close, but in different ways. I think I'm going to have to take a chance with one and hope I make the right decision.
posted by ducksauce at 11:37 AM on August 30, 2005

Gots ta be. It's on eBay right now, with a Buy It Now option, if it is Milkshake.

Gotta Get a Gund! Or...this Milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. Or something.
posted by iconomy at 11:38 AM on August 30, 2005

I just noticed that the puppet you linked earlier is a version of the Milkshake, if that helps. It looks like this place has it in stock.
posted by arco at 11:38 AM on August 30, 2005

After seeing a few pictures of Milkshake, I'm now 100% sure that this is not the cow. More than anything else, I remember the humanoid shape, so I guess it has to be Moosle, though I don't remember it being so black.

I sent a message to SoHo Toys using the link IndigoJones pointed out, asking if they had any cows similar to Moosle but not made by Gund. I'm expecting their answer to be "no", and am also starting to think that the mystery has been solved and the search is over.

Thank you everyone, for all your help.
posted by ducksauce at 11:50 AM on August 30, 2005

ThePinkSuperhero:
You might want to try searching through the site I posted immediately after your response to see if your dog is there, or view all of the dogs they have at once: Dogs.
posted by ducksauce at 11:53 AM on August 30, 2005