Toys

When Teddy was brought home he was like any other new bear. He had shiny button eyes, soft clean fur, and was soft as a pillow. But when the human society found him, he was anything but. He was missing an eye, the end of one paw had been chewed off, and half his stuffing had been pulled out. half his body was soaked through with urine, and the back of his head was covered with some crusted fluid. Teddy had definitely seen better days.

Unfortunately, Teddy's store is all too common. Every year, thousands of plush animals are abandoned to the streets and landfills of America. Some are found and rehabilitated, but most aren't.

Rebecca Moines, co-founder of Furry Rescue, has seen a lot of orphaned plush since she started her rescue group in 1987. Since then, her organization has rescued over five thousand animals. She says teddy bears are the most common animal to be abandoned, however monkeys and dinosaurs are on the rise.

"The number one problem, besides people abandoning their toys, is that they don't fix them," Rebecca says. Most plush toys aren't spayed or neutered, and even fewer are taught to socialize with people or animals. Rebecca says this only compounds the problem. "They fuck everything," she says. Some have suggested this is a defense mechanism for a creature with no natural defenses, claws and teeth are usually only put on plastic toys.

Rebecca herself has been the victim of several sexual assaults from stuffed animals. Politicians and victim-rights groups seeking to outlaw plush animals point out that 30 percent of registered sex offenders are Beanie Babies. Despite her experiences, Rebecca continues to reach out to help the lost and desperate plush animals. "We have to remember that at one time, these little guys were a child's best friend." She admits that it's sometimes easy to forget when one is violently humping your leg.

A week after Teddy is brought in by Furry, he has been washed, restuffed, stitched up, and had a new eye sewed on. He's also been neutered. "It's a simple operation," Rebecca explains. "It just takes a seam-ripper. But why toy companies continue to sew penises on these poor animals is beyond me."

The next step for Teddy is to try and have him placed in a home. The volunteers at Furry are realistic about his chances. Teddy, despite being cleaned up and fixed, has a lot of competition from new bears to hand-held video games. Still, there will always be a closet for Teddy, and hundreds of plush friends just like him, at Furry Rescue.

If you have plush animals, please have them spayed or neutered.

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