Sunday, May 11, 2025

T3i: Costco for the Win!

I go to Costco about once a month to buy bulk items for my mother and her husband. However, the 85-roll packs of TP and strings of 18 shrink-wrapped chicken breasts are a little much for me and I don't do much personal shopping there.

But when I do go, I always check out the dog toy selection. Treasures await the discerning shopper!

 Last month, I scored a four-pack of "Friends of the Sea" plushies.

 

Costco was offloading them for $20. The toys are made from recycled plastic bottles. 

T3i gave these toys an immediate 10/10. Size: perfect. Durability: high. Colorful: definitely. Washable: Of course. The blue hammerhead shark made his way into one of the bags I pack when I travel for agility trials to serve as a hotel room toy. 

This month, I snatched up a 3-pack of Kong plushies for $14. How could I resist that price? There was a crocodile, cow, and chicken. Here's a picture of the croc and chicken:

 

 

Notice anything strange? They look like pretty generic plushy dog toys....or do they? How about those four legs on that chicken! I know it's cheaper to make them from the same pattern and just change the color of the material, but I actually find it disturbing to touch this chicken abomination. 

Fortunately, Archie doesn't care. 

T3i gave these a strong 10/10 as well. The squeakers are in the heads and the bodies are floppy with little to no stuffing. They seem well made and stood up to even Frankie's strong tugging. 

I buy plenty of specialized training toys to use in agility but there is always room for a reasonably made plushy that is used for nothing more complicated than a game of fetch.