One of my goals is to launch a very small 501(c)3 foundation in 2026. The mission of the nonprofit is to donate very cuddly plush Maltese dogs to hospice patients, particularly those of Japanese ancestry in SoCal and Hawaii.
That may sound silly to you but for those who know my backstory, it will make sense.
Anyway, for the past month or two I’ve been busy establishing the nonprofit, getting the approvals, setting up budgets, devising funding strategies, contacting hospice providers and all the myriad things one does to set up a public benefit corporation. I’ve founded companies before, but never in the nonprofit sector so I have much to learn. I’ll bore you all about it later on. Or maybe not – this is a silly dog blog.
One of the start-up tasks is to choose the plush Malt to be donated. I’ve examined several but my criteria are strict as to product quality, size, look and feel, safety and other stuff. Today I received two samples of potential Maltese plush dogs with potential. Same dog in two sizes.
These pups are big time contenders to be my choice. But they have caused consternation!
Unlike other plush arrivals, I opened the boxes containing these contenders in front of our resident Mauzer.
Reiko noticed the plush dogs as soon as I slit the boxes’ tape. You could almost hear her little Mauzer voice saying, “OMG, is that a new dog in MY house?”
She stared and stared and then backed slowly away, never losing eye contact. For my part, I cuddled the plush dog, stroked it and made the hand sign for “good girl” to it. Reiko started quietly whining.
I signed to Reiko to come closer, but no dice. I then sat down on the Recliner of Sloth and began petting the plush dog. Reiko took position about 10 feet away and watched while quietly whining.
I’m not sure of the messages that I was sending. I wanted to convey that a nice doggie could sit with me and be friends but I may have communicated some form of betrayal of our relationship.
I think I am going to try using the plush dog as a Senpai Dog. Have it sit with me as I watch sports on TV. Place it in bed but visible to Reiko who sleeps on the floor. Just generally show that closer is better for doggies in this house.
I will not let her access the plush dog because I fear Reiko might savage it in a fit of revenge.
Oh yeah…an update. As I was getting ready to call her, Reiko’s Vet, Dr. May called me to check in on our girl. I updated her on Reiko’s hearing disability and we talked about the collar/lead issue, behavior patterns and Reiko’s anxiety meds. The upshot is that we will begin to wean Reiko from her current meds over the next couple of weeks. Meantime, Dr. May will prescribe a sedative to help calm Reiko for when we decide to replace her collar/harness, probably early January. In the meantime, we agreed there was little to worry about just now because the property is secure. So now you know!
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