Dream Pets by Dakin

When you've been obsessing over collecting toys for as long as I have, you have bits of knowledge that you have no idea how you came by. Things you just know.

For instance, I know the following two toys are Dream Pets, little stuffed animals from the fifties/sixties. And I also know for some odd reason that they were re-released a few years back.

What I didn't know is that I'd find two this past weekend, a re-issue and an original. For a buck each!

We first spotted the re-issue, 'Honolulu Harry,' at the flea market. My baby daughter immediately lit up when she saw him, and who can blame her? So we snapped him up for a buck.

A few hours later, we hit a garage sale and found this original 'Heinren Hippo.' Also for only a dollar. Well, I talked him down from two dollars.

Heinren Hippo has proven almost as popular as Honolulu Harry. And now my baby girl has an official collection of Dream Pets.

These Dream Pets are old school cool - velveteen skins around sawdust stuffing. Retro colors and design. They're just plain kitschy-cute!

I don't think I've ever seen a Dream Pet for sale anywhere (although I know I saw a collection of them at the Fair last year,) so it is super odd to have found two in one day at totally different locations. Moments like these make toy collecting fun!