Stuffed animal repair and cleaning: a Yoshi from Mario Brothers

For you dino and Mario fans… May I present Yoshter’s visit to the stuffed animal hospital

Yoshter’s person first wrote in January. He was 20 plus years old and had had many adventures, including travelling, going to college, and some nerve wracking washing machine rides (he won’t do that anymore). But now, he had a few issues that needed more expert assistance. Here are his diagnosis photos:

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As you can see, he had some fading, and stuffing compression. His spine scales were felt and had flopped and suffered from pilling. And he once had mechanics inside, which no longer worked, so he and his person wanted the velcro removed and his white chest fabric extended so he could have a full belly and tail.

An appointment was made for surgery, and a bed reserved for Yoshter’s arrival in April. First step in treatment upon arrival was a spa to see if we could help with his color fade. I don’t redye patients, but lots of times the spa does brighten them up. Here’s Yoshter in his bubble bath:

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Once he had dried (I don’t show drying because honestly, fully deflated stuffed animals sitting on towels under skylights is not attractive, and can be a bit traumatizing)… his velcro came out and he got stuffed to his fullest potential so I could figure out how far to extend his belly, then got a heart with a bit of his original stuffing. Green of course! To match his skin. 🙂

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For his belly/tail extension, there was really only one fabric which felt right, so surgery proceeded once it was approved. Here’s his tail:

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And here he is with new scales… can you spot my mistake?

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So the problem was… Yoshter had too many scales! Fortunately, removing one and redistributing the others was a fairly straightforward surgery.

Here he is, all better and ready to fly home to Michigan:

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His person wrote:

AAAH he looks wonderful!!

And once he was home there was one more email. His person wrote:

HE’S HOME!! Oh goodness, I just had the worst day at work and coming home to find him waiting for me and getting to hug him was exactly what I needed. He looks even better in person than in the photos!! So much healthier than he was before, and the new tail fabric is so soft!! Thank you so much for helping him!

And here’s the photo of him happily at home:

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Posted by realmsofgold