Poor Big Walter

I would like to introduce Big Walter, Peter's lovie and best buddy. Ryan and I suspect Peter loves this dumb dog more than us. Big Walter is seldom more than five feet from Peter (meaning I am required to devise detailed covert operations worthy of the CIA to get him into the washing machine without Peter’s knowledge). And we certainly could never put Peter to bed or down for a nap without his lovie (we have tried and are hoping our hearing returns one day). Yes, Big Walter is a necessity in Peter’s mind.

Why a white and red dog with a rose in its mouth? Good question, I will ask Peter for an explanation as soon as he can talk. Big Walter was originally a last-minute gift from Ryan on Valentine’s Day 2007 (2 days after Peter’s birth). I named the dog Walter (yes, I still name stuffed animals) and he became my new sleep buddy (no, I didn’t kick Ryan out) that I used every night (yes, I still sleep with a stuffed animal). Then when Peter spent his first night away from home in August of ’07, I sent Walter along so Peter would have something that smelled like me. Well, when we picked Peter up from my mom’s 18 hours later a deep and lasting love affair had begun between Peter and Walter. Because Peter already had a pacifier named Walter (a story for another day), MY WALTER THAT WAS RUDELY TAKEN FROM ME was renamed Big Walter.

poor Big Walter being squished by Peter Dec. 2007

Now over a year later, Big Walter is showing his age; his fur is now grey, not white; his collar ribbon and ribbon rose are badly fraying; his stuffing is considerably flat; he has small stains covering him; and he has an overall feeling of fragility. But the worst part is that he smells bad (no, he does not still smell like me). I’ve lost count of how many times I have spot cleaned him and put him in the washing machine, and yet the smell lightly persists. I fear that he can only withstand a few more washings before falling apart. Big Walter needs and deserves retirement, but convincing Peter of this is impossible. So I have spent more hours than I am willing to admit scouring the Internet for a replacement. Apparently, Big Walters are very rare (or are all in various landfills across the globe) because I can’t find one. And my search has been made harder because I carefully cut the tag off over a year ago, so I have no idea who made the ugly thing. I’ve tried looking through our financial records to see where Ryan originally bought it. I even found a website dedicated to helping parents find lovies. But so far nothing, unless I want to commission a Chinese manufacturer with an order of 600 Big Walters (can you imagine the look on Pete’s face if he walked into a room with 600 of his dogs!) Well, the search continues as Peter continues adoring his Big Walter.