Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride

August 10, 2013

Toys are either fun or not fun, there is no middle ground. Toys can be creepy, odd, unusual or scary, but they can still be fun. Toys can also be beautiful and sweet, but no fun at all. This is a toy that manages to be both  sweet and creepy at the same time, and still not any fun at all.

Marketed a different way, I’d have no issue with this toy. I’m sure little kids could have a lot fun with this and there are plenty of cute animal toys and dolls that do the same thing, or purr, or poop. But to market this as “perfect for comforting lonely seniors”? That’s just wrong. Giving a human being a purring doll is no substitute for human interaction, especially when the human is an older person in (as explained in the review) an assisted living facility. Those people generally do not get enough visitors or get enough real recreation, and you want to compensate that with a doll. Seriously? And the woman in the review says that, when she calls her mother, the doll is all she wants to talk about. Sounds like  a warning sign to me. She doesn’t talk about her trip to the park, or her friends and their card game, or the good time she had that afternoon, no, she wants to talk about the lifeless doll that sits in her lap.

I’d be very, very concerned.

Who would be cruel enough to think that giving a senior citizen a doggie doll is any kind of real comfort?
The question is Imponderable.

Tags: assisted living, bmj2k, comfort, dogs, dolls, Life Like Puppies, Mr. Blog, Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride, Mr. BTR, plush, senior citizens, the treasure chest of terrible toys, toys