Four years ago, Jackie Markey came home from work to find at least 30 stuffed animals scattered across her yard and deck.
The culprit? Her yellow Labrador, Buttercup. And the pup hasn’t stopped since.
Buttercup picked up this habit shortly after Markey’s husband, Don, added a doggy door to their home. Every day — after gobbling up breakfast — the Lab goes through the door, carrying one of her plush companions in her mouth and depositing it outside. Like clockwork, she’ll repeat the process with the next stuffed toy in her collection.
“It’s all day long,” Markey told The Dodo of the daily routine.
Buttercup, who lives in Michigan, doesn’t let inclement weather get in the way of her ritual.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or snowing,” Markey said. The toys certainly are no strangers to the elements: “Sometimes I have to thaw them out. They will be frozen.”
The dog’s robust collection of plushies — all of which are children’s toys from the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA — includes an octopus, a polar bear and a shark, among other animals. Although she’s fond of all her stuffed toys, Buttercup’s multiple huskies are her favorite. “Of the whole pile, she will always go for the huskies first,” Markey said. “She lies on them and suckles on their heads like pacifiers.”
Another standout member of Buttercup’s toy collection is a giant brown bear. Thanks to its cumbersome size, it often gets stuck in the doggy door.
“It’s a funny sight,” Markey said.
Aside from her toys, Buttercup, who is 8 years old, has another beloved playmate: her sister, Peanut, a 6-year-old yellow Labrador, who prefers playing fetch and chewing bones to herding stuffed animals. Despite having different hobbies, Buttercup likes to plop on top of Peanut and cuddle.
“Buttercup is the motherly type to her,” Markey said. “She’s very sweet. She kind of reminds me of an old soul.”
While Buttercup is happy to bring her toys outside, she doesn’t clean up. At the end of each day, Markey gathers the stuffed animals and places them inside, though they won’t stay there for long.
In the morning, Buttercup will begin carrying them outside again, one by one.
