Lucky Doggy by Orange Toys

I was so excited earlier this winter when I discovered the Woof & Co. plush dogs at Walmart.  I felt like they were unique and adorable newcomers to the doll market and I gave them a mostly glowing review.  My only complaints were that they have cheap (and sometimes unattractive) clothing, and no head articulation.  And there were a few irritating manufacturing defects as well.  But overall, I was really impressed that Sunny Days Entertainment had come up with such a cool toy.

But, as it often happens, one of you shed a whole new light on the situation.  I got an anonymous comment that the Woof & Co. dogs are basically knockoffs of the European Lucky Doggy line by Orange Toys.  I absolutely hate that I featured the copycats (dupe dogs?) before I even knew about the originals.  Sheesh.  So, as soon as I learned about Lucky Doggy, I rushed over to my trusted European doll source, Dolls and Dolls, and ordered a few of these plush pooches for review:

Lucky Doggy Yoyo by Orange Toys, ~$45.

Woof & Co. by Sunny Days Entertainment

I feel like I should call the last month or two of my life the Walmart Phase, because a lot of the things that I'm excited about lately are from Walmart.  And I don't shop at Walmart very often.  It all goes back to that tip about the LUV dolls being on sale for $7.50 (which they still are, btw).  While I was investigating that deal, I found about six other doll lines that were either on an irresistible clearance sale or were simply too appealing to ignore.  I really didn't need any fresh ideas for reviews, since I have enough dolls in my basement to last the rest of my life, but this is a good time of year to investigate some affordable dolls and toys that might be appealing to kids.  The Hey Besties that I just talked about would make wonderful holiday gifts, and I think the dolls in today's review would, too.

I hesitate to call the critters in today's review dolls, though.  That hesitation prompted me to look up the official definition of a doll, which is something you'd think I'd have done by now.  According to Merriam-Webster, a doll is "a small-scale figure of a human being used especially as a child's plaything."  So, yeah.  These aren't really dolls, because they're definitely not figures of human beings.  They're dogs:

Woof & Co. Finley, by Sunny Days Entertainment ($29.98).