Today we remembered something I had forgotten had happened with my Niamh. Years ago my wife brought home a a tiny kewpie doll that squeaked like a puppy and it was the size of a new-born puppy. We gave it to Niamh and she nuzzled it and it squeaked and her ears fluttered and she turned it over and licked its bottom and then put it next to her to feed and curled up around it. She was in love and it was so cute we thought.
Well, several days passed and she would not leave that kewpie and when she did it was only to eat or go potty. She carried it everywhere and mothered it and loved it deeply. She would break into a outbreak of violent and loud protests if other collies came nearby and she wouldnt even go out to play. It was beautiful to see her motherly instinct come out but it was terrible because it became her life.
So, a week afterwards when she went out to go potty we hid it. She came in and looked for it and searched for it for a couple of days before she returned back to her normal self. Oh what a mother she would’ve made. I felt so bad for her but I knew that kewpie would never grow up, that it would never love her back and that she was putting all her time and energy into something that wasnt real. She would even get worried if it was quiet too long for she would nudge it and lick it which would make it squeak of course…. It was the only time I ever saw her fooled by something and what at first had been cute became something I felt really bad about for she worried constantly over that kewpie….
Years later I found the Kewpie and took it out and buried it in the ground next to her…. sort of a dumb thing to do…. but I couldnt bring myself to throw it away and I couldnt keep it….
So, that is the story of my Niamh of the Misty Meadow and her Kewpie… the puppy that never was….
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Here is a picture of Niamh with one of my daughter’s aged about 8 and my son… as you can see Niamh was a very tiny collie…. but she had a huge heart and she sure captured my heart….
Collies Of The Meadow 
Your story touched my heart, because we had a dog years ago who did that with one of her fluffy toys. She was over the top possessive with it and she could think of nothing else. In the end we had to do what you did and hide it; it took her a while to realize it wasn’t coming back.
When you found the kewpie doll years later and buried it next to Niamh, it wasn’t a silly thing to do . . . I would have done the same. It belongs with her.
Bitter sweet story.
She reminds me of our friend’s collie, a tiny rough tri girl. They could be sisters!