Olga the Owl

There is no other creature on earth my golden retriever loves more than this vaguely conical rubber toy. We are on our second Olga after losing the first, and frankly that was a dark period in our lives neither of us likes to speak of.

Needless to say, this is Finn's favorite toy — button-training didn't click for him until we changed the "play" button to say "owl" instead. As the months pass, and our second owl slowly succumbs to the ravages of time, and tooths, and the occasional, wholly accidental toss into a neighbor's yard, I've had time to reflect on why I think Olga the Owl is likely the best toy he owns and ever will own:

- Perfect mouth feel, obviously. Not that I know from personal experience, but Finn seems to feel Olga is the perfect size and shape to carry while also grunting and/or wiggling.

- A bold, puckish red. We never lose Olga in the back lawn, no matter how colorblind our boy is or how long the grass gets.

- Devious bounce pattern. No spherical toy will hold Finn's attention for long, but Olga is wily, Machiavellian even. She is a worthy adversary.

- Robust squeak, for happiness and celebration. Olga the Second's squeaking days are long behind her (I have no idea how he hollowed her out and I'm glad I wasn't there to witness the carnage), but we will never forget the victory squeaks.

I worry that Olga may forever be out of stock, and Finn will soon learn a hard lesson about the impermanence of life and also rubber. We have since attempted to introduce…