Animal Abuse?

For Foxy's sake, I hope those are fresh socks.

I always hit this gift wall around this time every year. There's this lull between Halloween (not a very gift heavy holiday) and November (when the Christmas/Hanukah craziness begins in earnest). It's this time of year when I like to focus on a horribly misguided gift idea, a product that never should have seen the light of day, but packs some comic relief.

The Toad is an animal lover. There's a dog and many cats roaming her abode. But somehow, she just can't stomach the questionable charms of this Furry Red Fox Footrest. First off, its body shape is completely wrong, truncated and thickened for the slave labor of holding dirty feet up off the carpet. His expression is imploring, telling you every minute that he was meant for better things than this, and indeed would rather be chased through some forest by a bunch of dogs and red coated twits on horseback than be part of your living room decor. But the final indignity of the entire scenario? What the dog does to him when you're not at home.

Ironically, animal fan Martha Steward is the designer responsible for this much maligned beast. We all knew she had a sadistic streak, but I thought it was reserved for employees and family members, not innocent stuffed animals. For shame. At Grandin Road for $179.