Little Pup lost
By Dana Grae Kane
For the TODAY
As many parents of toddlers likely know, “Little Pup” is a soft and squishy toy dog, marketed incongruously by a company called Jellycat. Skip the pathetic grown-up denial; one glance and you will want one.
The particular Little Pup in this true tale was the beloved pet and dearest friend of a darling four-year-old, called Lucy herein, who lives with her loving parents near San Francisco, where I now live. Her hard-working parents budgeted the time and the money to take Lucy on an outdoor outing about 50 miles and a two-hour traffic nightmare away. Lucy and Little Pup played into exhaustion and as Lucy was tucked into her car seat, already asleep, no one noticed that Little Pup had been left behind.
When the family reached home, they made the horrific discovery that beloved Little Pup was missing. Lucy was inconsolable at the loss of her dearest friend, the confidant who kept all her deepest secrets, who was alone somewhere in the dark, forgotten and hungry. Worst of all was the feeling that it was all her fault; he would die because she had not held him tightly enough.
I clearly remember a similar incident on the beach during the years I lived in Lincoln City. A grief-stricken tiny tot stood weeping at the edge of the shore, calling frantically to his beloved toy to come back. This was perhaps even worse for the helpless parents, whose son would now think them failures, not able to fix everything after all. How I wish they and I had the quick-thinking of my friend Nicky, who solved the problem of Lucy and Little Pup instantly.
Lucy’s distraught parents, not having the luxury of the time to drive back and search for Little Pup, who was probably by now in the parking lot trash can, frantically called Nicky, whose real live dog is second only to Little Pup in Lucy’s eyes, begging for advice. Brilliant Nicky immediately suggested they assure Lucy that Little Pup was just fine, was already walking toward home and would arrive in just a few days. To reinforce the idea and let Lucy track his progress, Nicky suggested her parents draw a map showing the stages of Little Pup’s journey. He would be having a great adventure, stopping at all the points of interest along the way: the dog park; the Puppy Chow Diner; the stream for a drink of water; and the Dog House Motel for a refreshing nap. This benevolent ruse worked like a charm, assuaging Lucy and giving her parents time to order and receive Little Pup II. Lucy excitedly checked off in crayon every step of Little Pup’s journey as he drew ever-nearer to home. Her parents checked the tracking number, praying either UPS or God would deliver in time. As Lucy checked off the penultimate stop, the package reached the door. Her relieved parents smuggled the box past Lucy to transform him into ragged, stained Little Pup I, using an ingenious formula of soot, grease and garden dirt. Thus artfully disguised, Little Pup II was transformed and placed on the doormat. Dad rang the doorbell and dashed out of sight while Mom asked Lucy to open the door. There was Little Pup I, extra grubby from his journey, but safely home as promised. Whew! With a shriek of delight Lucy scooped him up and immediately gave him a bath in the sink. With help from Mom with a bath towel and her hair dryer, Little Pup was ready for a nap, lightly clutched in loving arms.
That Nicky saved the day is obvious; less so is the way she helped reduce the corrosive guilt Lucy might have felt feel for having not taken better care of her beloved Little Pup. It took me several years of childhood to apologize to my three mouth-blown glass animals for wounding them and realize that my adoring father, wanting to give me the most magnificent gifts he could possibly afford, had bestowed upon a five-year-old exquisitely formed creations suitable to a discerning adult connoisseur’s collection.
So now the next time you are walking on the beach at Lincoln City and come across a toddler drowning in a tsunami of tears, watching beloved Teddy being carried away, you know what to do. Brave Teddy will be rescued by a kindly fisherman, who will take Teddy in his boat to the dock at Newport, where Teddy will meet the friendly sea lions, who will give Teddy directions from a pirate treasure map found buried in the sand…
Dane Grae Kane is a former resident of Lincoln City and occasional guest columnist for the TODAY, now living a life of unparalleled glamor in cosmopolitan San Francisco.