About

Welcome to The Stuffed Animal Sanctuary! I was one of those kids who had to touch everything. My mom was always telling me to stop running my hand along the rows of clothes or canned goods. I guess that's why I loved stuffed animals as a kid.

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There is something incredibly satisfying about a stuffed animal with soft fur and the perfect amount of heft when you pick them up.  ​But like many kids, at some point I decided I was too old for stuffed animals and gave most of them away, except for my very favorite one — Buttercup, a brown stuffed dog I found in a toy box at my Grandma's house. That dog has been with me since I was very little, has moved states with me multiple times, and has been on 3 different deployments.

 

 ​I wasn't shy about having Buttercup, but I certainly wasn't allowing myself to buy more stuffed animals if I saw them in stores. Buttercup was an acceptable childhood nostalgia totem, and having him carefully placed on my dresser or in the closet never felt silly.

 

 ​A few years ago, I decided that I had to do something about his poor, ripped face and weakening seams, and I couldn't remember the last time he had been washed. So, I set about learning how to restore him. I found the process incredibly satisfying and soothing. There is just something about breathing new life into something that has obviously been well loved. ​The next time I went to the thrift store, I couldn't help but notice all the stuffed animals there, ones that had obviously been loved and were now waiting to be chosen by their next person.  But I knew that some of them, the ones with matted fur and missing eyes, were going to be overlooked for the ones that weren't so worn-looking. ​So I started taking them home and redoing each of them, and now here we are.