Part 3 - Dog of Zurich   page 2a

No toy lasted longer than a few minutes once Digger got hold of it, unless I watched him carefully and took it away again. Toys cost money, and on the basis of minutes of enjoyment divided by cost of toy, most dog toys could only be justified as special treats. Any toy that couldn't be destroyed was no fun to play with. He would even rip the felt off of tennis balls and eventually bite them in half. I would usually let him play with a new toy for a minute or two, then take it away and store it in the closet for another day. His favorite type of toy (not counting tennis balls) was a large stuffed hedgehog squeaktoy. His next favorite was a supposedly chewable plastic hedgehog squeaktoy. (Igel, in German). The stuffed toys were ripped open, the stuffing pulled out, and finally the cloth ripped to shreds. The plastic toys were first bitten in such a way as to get a tooth into the hole where the reed was located in order to kill the squeak, then chewed into small bits (some of which were swallowed).

The most fun he ever had destroying a stuffed toy was the cow that Josh let him have:

The stuffed cow (on the chair behind me), before...

...during, and after:

Last page - more to be added later.