When we adopted Tigger, the Socorro Animal Shelter let her take a stuffed animal home with her.

She chose a cute light blue bear and was playing with it during the drive home. A little while after we got home, she went to town on the bear. It was ripped limb-for-limb and all of the stuffing was taken out of it.

She’s a very gentle puppy except for when it comes to anything containing fluff.

Tigger will give lots of hugs and kisses. Every night when I’m watching TV, she will jump up into my lap and just sleep there. There are nights where she brings the outer shell of the stuffed animal she destroyed onto my lap also. She will also sleep with them or drag them and her blankets around the house as her tail is wagging. It’s very cute.

On Black Friday, PetSmart had a sale on stuffed animals. They had one called a Puppermint Bark and it was long and skinny – probably about three feet long. She would try to rip it apart while laying on it.

The fluff was cleaned up and it was put on top of the cabinets so she couldn’t get at it for a while. We were trying to train her to not destroy stuffed animals as soon as she gets them, which is why we had taken them away.

She then got two more for Christmas.

We let her destroy one on Christmas Day just to keep her occupied for a while. There was a lot more fluff in it than I expected. After completely destroying the toy, she started playing with the fluff. We have since learned that she loves to play with fluff. She will throw it to herself and carry it around with her.

In the middle of January, we decided that we needed even more fluff on the ground and decided to give her the second one we got her for Christmas.

She plays with both outer shells on a daily basis.

Two weeks ago, I was at Walmart and saw they were selling huge Koala Bear stuffed animals for $15.

Well, it has been completely destroyed, but she absolutely loves it. The Koala Bear goes almost everywhere with her, except for her kennel. She drags what is left of it all over the house.

At night, Tigger will jump up on the couch with the Koala Bear and use it as a pillow. She will also drag it onto my lap and lay there for a while.

As much as she loves the fluff and outer shells of her toys, it was time for all the fluff to go.

All of the fluff filled almost two Hefty garbage bags. I then learned that Tigger is deathly afraid of the vacuum cleaner, as I vacuumed up the rest of it. I held a few treats in my hand next to the vacuum cleaner to get her to come near it. Once she was comfortable, I moved it slightly and she has since wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.

No amount of treats, including Pupperoni, would get her to come anywhere near it.

Tigger is now getting monthly subscription boxes of dog toys that are made for breeds similar to her.

We’ve already gotten one box in the mail and they have been amazing. She can go at them all she wants and they are still (almost) perfectly intact. Two of them even hide dog food in them — those are her favorite.

Nate and I will probably stay away from the fluff toys for a while.

Caitie Ihrig