Help, I need somebody
17Help, not just anybody.
If you hang out here very much, you’ve read that my mother is in a nursing home because she had a stroke. She’s now been there about 10 months. I take Mom’s dog, Lady, to visit about three times a week. Mom is always so happy to see her “number one daughter” and Lady is always so excited to see her.
However, lately, Mom is becoming more and more agitated when Lady and I leave. She will often refuse to eat, and believe me, Mom has already lost 40 pounds and cannot afford to lose any more. Let’s not talk about her throwing things at the staff and yelling at them to, “LEAVE!” her room.
A friend of mine suggested that I try to find a plush dog that looks like Lady and then maybe Mom will feel like (maybe?) Lady is staying with her and not always leaving. One of the nurses said that they will sometimes give patients a baby doll to “take care of” and it seems to help them.
The picture I posted looks very much like Lady, except Lady has an all black face. I haven’t found any plush dogs that look like Lady, except for a Dalmatian puppy that might work. But I want to make the face black, add a couple of large black splotches, and a lot more black freckles.
Alright all you crafters and smarties, help me out. What should I use to color this dog? I definitely need something that will not rub off.
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Unfortunately as far as I’m aware there’s no way to DIY dye synthetic furs. If you have an airbrush you could maybe carefully paint those areas, allowing time to dry between light coats, then comb the fur to break up any clumping and go with the second coat and so on, rinse and repeat until the desired shade is reached.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Something like fabric dye might work, they even have one specifically for synthetics . I don’t know if you can use that without it spreading further than your want to dye though. It might work for the head, if you just submerge that part, but I don’t think it would work to add more spots.
Hair dye might work, it would be able to be applied in the precision needed, but I don’t know how well it would work on synthetics.
But there is probably a better solution I just don’t know about.
After some googling, I read about upholstery fabric waterproof spray
paint.
Some use that, brush it gently in whatever direction (only a tiny bit at a time) and let it dry.
It’s waterproof and won’t easily fade.
This website has some interesting articles on dyeing fabrics… including using soda ash, like in tie dye…
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/sodaash.shtml
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyeblog/C1084792486/E1459779246/
Course if you traced a pattern of the face, we could make you a black face out of material for the animal.
http://www.michaels.com/tulip-colorshot-instant-fabric-color/M10412455.html?dwvar_M10412455_color=Black#start=1
Specifically for clothes and things because it stays soft.
There is also fabric markers you can use for the spots.
http://www.michaels.com/10140815.html#q=Fabric+markers&start=3
@jbartus @metaphore @juststephen @mikibell From what I’ve been reading (and thanks for the posts) painting or dyeing are probably not what I want to try. First, it looks hard, tedious and messy. I have no patience for this kind of thing. And secondly, I think a certain amount of talent is required. Nope, none here. -sigh-
@RiotDemon I do think it might be worth a trip to Michaels, if only to have them laugh in my face at what I want to do. Who knows, maybe they have a magic solution?
@Barney How about a black Sharpie? Just let it air out a bit.
@heartny I only have purple Sharpies.
@Barney buy a black one? If your mother’s happiness means as much as you say spend 2 dollars on a black sharp
@gosuion You’re right, I’m too cheap to spend that kind of money on my mom. Can I borrow a buck?
I see some in google images. I would say scroll for pages and pages until you see closest one then hunt it down?
https://www.google.com/search?q=plush+dog+white+and+black&espv=2&biw=1274&bih=678&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkls256_bNAhVB2mMKHY2ODgIQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=_
@connorbush I’ve spent the last half hour or so looking at the various stuffed animals and I just haven’t found one that would work without trying the dyeing or painting thing. I’m going to keep looking because that’s really the way I want to go.
However, I did kind of like this, for some reason or another:
Another option is something like these:
http://www.cuddleclones.com/steps.html
http://shelterpups.com/custom_order.php
http://www.sockdogs.com/#!custompets/cjg9
They seem a bit pricey, but maybe you can find someone who does this for less, perhaps on Etsy?
@heartny Ahh, if only I were made out of money. Did you see that the sockdogs are made in Kansas? Why don’t I, a real live Kansan, have this kind of talent?
@Barney You could start a go fund me page. I would donate and probably other mehmbers would too. Seems like an attainable goal for a worthy cause
@heartny I was thinking the same thing. I got a few bucks I can throw at this
@heartny You are so sweet. So… a go fund me page for a spot remover for my mother’s dog? I guess I’ve seen worse fund raisers.
@Barney Well, I was thinking something more along the lines of a special order from shelterpups.com.
@heartny Yeah, I figured that.
Did you see what @metageist posted?
@heartny @Barney I would donate in a second. Or you can see if the vendor will accept multiple payments and we can just send it directly to them since I think gofundme takes a percentage.
@mehbee @heartny @conandlibrarian Aww thanks, but I just can’t. Both @PurplePawprints and @metageist have come up with a couple of great leads.
Y’all make feel all warm and purple fuzzy.
I really like what shelterpups.com is doing. I went on to etsy and found this do you think she would be interested in something like this?
@conandlibrarian I agree with you. The shelter pups really do look pretty cool, don’t they?
I’m not sure if she would like the pillow, but gee, I keep going back to the shelterpups.com website…
@conandlibrarian I think you and @heatny are trying to spend all of my money.
Do you think either of these two would be close enough? I’m still searching for something better… I also have a few friends who crochet animals. If you think a crocheted replica might suffice, I can check with them to see if they think they could do it and what it might cost.
@PurplePawprints That dog, in the above picture that I posted at the beginning, really could have been one of Lady’s litter mates (Nah, I don’t think so.) However, her whole head is completely black, but her body is white with the Dalmatian spots, or as some say, freckles. She has one large black splotch, which takes up half of her right side, in the middle, and two smaller splotches on her left side and rump (hind leg). But it’s the freckles that I think would be hard to crochet to make them look like her. But would you check? I’d appreciate it. In the meantime, I’m going to continue to look at various stuffed animals on the internet. And maybe someone here will find one that will work Thanks!
@Barney I’ve put feelers out along with the pic and description. I’ll let you know when/if I hear anything.
@PurplePawprints Okay, thanks again!
@Barney So, my super talented friend Jenn got back to me and says she can do it, and can handle the spots, but because she has a show and a vacation coming up, she wouldn’t have time to work on it until August. She said that if you like, you can contact her through her Etsy shop here so that she can make sure she gets it exactly the way you’d like it.
@PurplePawprints That will work out just fine because I’m trying to hunt down a Cuddle dog that @metageist posted. I should know in a few days, I hope.
Do you know what kind of dog that is? I found an Amazon link like this one with a search for “pointer stuffed dog”
@metageist I’ve been told that Lady is a Beagle/Jack Russell Terrier mix, but where she got those small spots, I don’t know.
She is about 14 inches tall at the shoulder. When I brought her to my house from Mom’s, she weighed 34 lbs and looked like one of those black and white pigs. After almost a year of dieting, she is now at 15 pounds, looks like a young puppy, and her vet is very happy. (She is 7 years old.)
Moral of the story; snacking all day with no exercise, is not good for doggies.
@Barney that’s not a good regime for people either
@Barney A mixed breed dog is probably why you’re having trouble finding something exact in the premade toys. Best I found so far is this one.
@metageist Wow, I was so excited! That one was pretty darn close. But it’s out of stock. -sigh-
@metageist I emailed them.
@Barney I see this but on the Amazon.ca site not the US one. Dunno if that makes it better or worse…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@metageist Sheesh, Canadians pay a whole heck of a lot more for things, don’t they?
@Barney If you try to charge them less, they probably just apologize and pay more anyway.
/image canadian apology
@metageist Haha. One of my best friends lives in Edmonton, Alberta. I’ll have to tell her about this /image.
@Barney This appears to be a Hunter Black and White Pointer from Douglas that retired in 2014:
http://douglaspromoplush.com/shop/stuffed-dogs/hunter-black-and-white-pointer/
http://larra1234567.deviantart.com/art/Douglas-Hunter-Black-And-White-Pointer-Plush-599624073
It might be hard to find, but ya never know.
@heartny I guess I could move to Canada?
@Barney You may want to after the election
@heartny Now cut that out! I already started pruning what to take, what to get rid of for a move in a year or so. I guess I should accelerate. Suddenly the HGTV shows about househunting in Canada have become deeply personal.
You might also try your local Buy Nothing/similar group. I am constantly amazed at the things people have and give to each other in my neighborhood group. And its free, so no risk.
I don’t know if this would work but they do custom orders and you could ask for freckles to be added…or spots. I have a mixed Jack Russell and he had spits…his name is Freckles.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/111757949/jack-russell-terrier-plush-stuffed
@mehbee @PurplePawprints friend said she can crochet a dog with freckles. Yay!
@Barney Oh that’s wonderful. I’m so happy to hear it. My aunt was in hospice off and on and they signed her up for visits from a therapy dog. My aunt and I share a huge love of animals, especially dogs. When my mama mentioned that she had signed up quite awhile ago but never heard anything and that she was very sad about it, I offered to see if I could find out what was going on. Spent a bit of time on the phone going from one person to another when I finally found someone who found her name and paperwork. She basically said there were only so many dogs to go around. I totally understand that problem and let my mom know. She said she’d pass it along to my aunt. Like the next week maybe two but I think a week later my mama calls and says they were bringing a dog out to visit my aunt. Now it could very well have been a coincidence or they could have misplaced her paperwork…I don’t care. She got to visit with a doggie and she also knew her family was advocating for her. I love what you are doing for your mom. I really hope it helps.
@mehbee Lady is not a certified therapy dog, but when we go to the nursing home, we do visit all of the residents who want to see and pet her. Lady enjoys it and the other residents really seem to look forward to her visits. Lady is also a very good vacuum for any stray crumbs on the floor.
@Barney And a lot cuter that the Vacuum! I have a dog that I think I could train to take places like hospitals and residences but most of mine have some issue that I don’t think would work. They don’t have to be trained, I doubt the one that went to see my aunt was but they have to be like Lady. Calm, friendly…you know what I mean.
I don’t have any advice, @Barney, but I understand (sort of).
My grandmother is in a home, and while I’ve never been close to her, I try to stop in when I can and help feed her etc. But inevitably, either being there is wrong, or trying to leave is wrong, or wanting her to eat is wrong, and the end result is beratement or a fist.
The woman I grew up living next to recently suffered a stroke and is in the same home. I like to try to spend time with her as well, but she does not make it easy either. Death grip on the hand, and if you try to extract it from hers… it’s chomp city.
I’ve become close with a lot of residents in the place. They’re all very confused, very lonely. It makes them come off as crazy. It’s hard to deal with, even for their closest loved ones. So a lot of them just… stop. I can’t really say I blame them, I can only imagine what that sort of stress would do to a lot of people. But I can say I really admire your approach. It’s nice to see people look past the irrational behaviors, and try to be accommodating, try to work things out on their level.
@brhfl Thank you. Admittedly, I have cried more this past year than I have ever cried my whole life. It’s hard to see her like this. I really don’t think she recognizes me as her daughter, but she does recognize her dog. Me? I’m seen by everyone at the nursing home as the girl who brings Lady, and that’s alright with me. If by bringing Lady to visit, I can bring a little bit of happiness to the nursing home residents, then my day has been worthwhile.
But it’s so hard at times…
@Barney My grandmother repeatedly confuses me for my mother, which would be fine if she didn’t then go into elaborate apologetic mode. I won’t go into details, but that situation gets tricky quickly. It is so difficult trying to… empathize, I suppose, just exist enough in that completely outside reality so that someone can relate with you.
IME, dogs have been incredibly helpful to the residents I’ve known too. It’s commendable for you to share Lady like that, through the difficulty of it all.
depending on where your mother is for capacity to take on something new, another idea might be to take along a new “friend”, not necessarily looking like Lady, but another “animal” you could ask your mom to care for while you are gone for the night.
in this way you could trial balloon the stuffed animal as a comforting presence, and impart a sense of worth by asking your mother to care for this new friend.
just an idea…
as mentioned earlier, i moved in with an elderly relative and was one of the primary caregivers, along with my husband, for 5 years of progressive ALZ.
a few simple points to keep in mind:
NOTNEVER) what was the date you graduated, etc.?i’m happy to give other suggestions if you find these at all useful
A friend got one of these (only Siamese) for his wife during her last years. It actually ‘breathes’, and the cats purr occasionally. I know it says ‘dogs’ but http://www.houzz.com/photos/41607960/Orange-Tabby-Childrens-Toy-contemporary-kids-toys-and-games
and now I am completely seduced by the ride-on unicorn and dragon, the life-sized bison, and the life-size walking black bear.
@OldCatLady The bear is so awesome!
Here’s a followup – kind of. I bought a dalmatian stuffed doggie to experiment on (poor thing). I tried all kinds of black paint and markers. Nothing worked. The black keeps coming off onto my hands. The lady at Michael’s said that this would happen and she was right.
So, I’ve decided to bite the bullet and buy one of the custom made shelter pups. You see, I’m kinda running out of time – Mom has been placed into hospice. She’s alright for now; she’s just not eating. And she is really missing her dog when we leave.
Anyway, on the order form, I need to send in a picture or two of Lady, but I’m having trouble getting them to upload. I took the pictures and emailed them to myself and so I have them in my download file. But they don’t upload. Maybe the pictures are too big?
Could someone take a look at this, do a pretend order and try to upload a picture? I would really appreciate it. @jbartus, maybe you could help me?
@Barney I was able to upload to the shelter pups website.
Are you able to find the photos in the uploader but they just don’t upload?
@RiotDemon Yeah, the photos are there, but they are blank. I did get one to upload, but it wasn’t the one I really wanted to. -sigh-
So, I deleted them and tried again. They keep coming up blank, I can’t even get the one that uploaded to upload again.
@Barney if you want to email them to me, I’ll try them on my computer?
My username at Google mail
@RiotDemon Okay, give me some time, I’m really slow at this. And thanks!
@RiotDemon Sent!
@Barney ok, they didn’t upload for me either, except the one. I cropped them and managed to get them to upload, so I’m going to email them back to you.
It’s odd, because the photos are really small already, file size wise.
@Barney I’m so sorry that your mom’s condition is not improving. You are so sweet to do this for her and I hope that it helps comfort her. I hope that the picture thing gets fixed and that they will rush the order for you.
/giphy big purple hugs
@Barney I’ve sent them back. Beautiful dog.
Thanks @PurplePawprints. @RiotDemon figured out what was wrong and I’ve placed my order.
@RiotDemon Lady is a spoiled brat, but I love her.
@Barney Sorry I wasn’t around.
@RiotDemon probably some stupid encoding issue, likely would have resolved without cropping, just a resave. #Computers
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@jbartus No problem. What @RiotDemon did worked. Besides I haven’t a clue as to what you just said.
/giphy clueless
@Barney open file, save again, voila, presto worko!
@jbartus I really think I might have tried that when I was trying to get it to work. I thought I tried everything.
@Barney might have been how whatever you opened it with was saving?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@mfladd You are such a big help.