My one-year-old Aussie absolutely adores stuffed animals that speak in words, sing, make cute animal sounds, and so forth. So, over time, I have bought her Multipet's Underdog, Mr. Bill, and Woody Woodpecker, almost all of its "Look Who's Talking" animals, and numerous "silent" stuffed animals. Yet, I am now extremely disappointed with Woody Woodpecker for precisely the same reason that I was disappointed with Underdog: namely, that they were both sold with a speaker that suddenly and completely stopped working after about two weeks of gentle, but consistent, play. In both cases, because my dog adored these toys, she was never the least bit rough with them. In fact, she never chewed on them nor did any visible damage to them whatsoever. Indeed, she always felt around their tummies gently with her teeth to locate the speakers, and then pressed down on them equally gently. And, while the speakers did get daily use, they were neither overused nor abused in any way. She never made them talk incessantly, and my husband and I activated them only occasionally, when we would toss them up in the air for her to catch. Yet, in two out of three cases, the speakers lasted less than two weeks. And, while these toys are inexpensive, there is no excuse for selling defective products at any price, least of all knowingly (and the reviews make the problem clear). If the manufacturer or the seller cannot make a profit at the current selling price if the manufacturer invests in better speakers, then, after the speaker problem has been fully resolved, they should both raise their prices. As a retail seller and store owner myself, I would do precisely this. I would never knowingly sell a defective product, especially one that an animal was going to adore. And as a buyer, I would rather spend a few more dollars on a quality item than buy a defective one at a lower price. After all, doing so actually costs me money. I have to purchase another item to replace the defective one. So, the defective item costs me both its original price and the price of whatever I buy to replace it. My dog was crushed when Underdog's speaker suddenly stopped working. She had absolutely loved him prior to this point, and she had always chosen him above all of her other toys. Yet, when his speaker broke, she felt so badly about it--and was clearly either blaming herself for "breaking" the toy or feeling suddenly incompetent because she could no longer make it speak--that she never played with it again. In fact, even after I bought her a new one, she was reluctant to play with it. It was almost as though she was concerned about "breaking," or being unable to work, another one. She had no way to know that she bore no fault for the speaker's malfunction whatsoever nor that she was pressing on the speaker correctly, despite the reassurances of my husband and myself. Indeed, she had been so gentle with the toy that it still looked almost new! Now, she tries over and over again to make Woody laugh, and then looking over at me questioningly. Yet again, she is terribly disappointed in both her favorite toy and herself, and I feel truly badly for giving this company another chance. In my opinion, knowingly selling a product that will quickly disappoint the buyer, and, in this case, also completely disappoint an animal, is highly unethical--and I am a professional ethicist with a PhD in Philosophy (who opened two retail stores after taking an early retirement). Moreover, neither the seller nor the manufacturer offered to replace my dog's Underdog, despite the fact that the review I wrote explained exactly what had happened. At this time, my dog is still carrying Woody around, and still trying to make him laugh. But, of course, she has no chance of success, and she is disappointed each time. Yet, hiding the toy while she is outside is not an acceptable solution either, because she would spend hours or days sadly searching for it. And I now know that buying her a second one is not an acceptable solution, either. Yet, she should have a working toy. At this point, however, I have no reason to believe that buying another Woody would not result in the same kind of disappointment, and for the same reason, in only a week or two. I believe that Multipet should take responsibility for its deficient items by 1) offering customers a hassle-free and cost-free replacement or refund if they end up with a virtually new-looking but broken toy within a reasonable time; 2) design and sell products that can be expected to work for a reasonable length of time; and 3) immediately discontinue sales of defective ones. As much as I wish that Multipet would expand its line of "talking dog toys," I would prefer that it sell none at all until it can offer ones that do not disappoint their intended users within two weeks or less of someone purchasing them. So, at this time, I caution buyers, and suggest that they not purchase any of these Multipet "talking" animals. Mr. Bill has continued to work as far as I know, but he is stuck under the couch at the moment, and I am hesitant to "find" him. At least as things stand now, my dog is not feeling sad, guilty, and/or incompetent, and this is healthier for her than is the alternative, on my view, which would both quickly and undoubtedly follow upon "finding" him. Multipet makes excellent silent stuffed animals for dogs, but its talking/laughing ones leave something to be desired: both quality and a company that is confident enough in its products to stand behind them in a meaningful way itself.
