Alfie's Dirty Bow Wow

I've loved reading your beloved Dirty Wow Wows,

 but Alfie's story touched my heart.

 Bridget has kindly allowed me to share:

Meet Richard my gorgeous teddy.
 I have never known life without him.

 He enjoyed the little photo shoot – he is smiling…. see?

Until I saw him through a camera lens

 I never realised how threadbare (and gorgeous) he actually is. 

He has been loved and hugged bare!

 I learned only a few years ago 

that he has a growl in his tummy. 

It sounds like a proper bear growl. 

Sadly, the spring is almost through the fabric

 so I don’t like to press the growl any more. 

Richard now sits in his own chair

 in our bedroom and Tidgy Pud, 

my little cat that died a few weeks ago,

 loved to snuggle up with him there
with her tiny paws wrapped round him. 

This is Alfie (The Sexy Eyed Monster) who died a few years ago. 

His Dirty Bow Wow was a furry banana called narna.

 As a puppy Alfie was the only boy in a litter of five 

and was bullied by his sisters who would pinch all his toys.

 He was given his furry banana - a toy of his very own –
at a few months old

 and he loved it.
No one dared take his narna. 

He was fostered with his narna but surrendered

 a couple of years later when his owners
could no longer care for him.  

He came to live with us shortly afterwards
bringing his narna with him.

 He had lots and lots of toys, 

which he played with and chewed and broke, 

or lost, but his narna was always played with very gently. 

He never damaged it though all other toys 

were usually wrecked within a few hours.

 He slept with his narna. He even got excited 

when he got his nana back 

after a spell in the washing machine 

to rid it of doggy dribble.

It lasted all his life.

Alfie died – we buried his narna with him 

so that he had it with him always. 

When I sit and think of my sexy eyed monster

 I sometimes wish I had his narna with me.
To remind me of him – 

something to hold that belonged to him
. But then I am happy

 that he still has it and will never be parted from his narna.

Thank you

Humphrey Cumfy Cushion

Kim Henkel, of Letting in the Light

sent me this little note about her Dirty Wow Wow

who was too pricky to cuddle but loved none the less.

Though Teddy had no name,

Kim has had him as long as she can remember.

 Even though he was not cuddled much 

he was always a source of suport and emotional comfort.

"Generally, by the time you are Real,

 most of your hair has been loved off, 

and your eyes don't see as well and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. "

"But these things don't matter at all,

 because once you are Real you can't be ugly,

except to people who don't understand" 

The Velveteen Rabbit

As an example of how precious our soft toy friends are, 

 an original 1922 copy of 

The Velveteen Rabitt is on sale for $16,500.

  via

I love that both Kim and Brigit 

dug up old images to share with us,

 and told us their story.

What is your story?

 I have opened my Facebook page

for images and stories

of your own Dirty Wow Wows.

Will you share yours?