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Highland Park resident creates WishPuppies
Nancy Goodman holds the WishPuppies plush toy she modeled after her own dog Teddy. | Ryan Pagelow~Sun-Times Media
WishPuppies
Specialty: Stuffed puppies with a belly slit for stashing notes
Owner: Nancy Goodman
Hometown: Highland Park
Contact: (847) 910-WISH or www.wishpuppies.com
Article Extras
Updated: December 30, 2012 6:14AM
HIGHLAND PARK — Nancy Goodman was having one of those awful feeling-sorry-for-my-pathetic-self nights, when she realized she needed a little something to cuddle.
“I was so upset, I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t know where to go for comfort,” said Goodman, an author whose latest book, “Surprise Me!” is sold on Amazon. “Then, I thought about my daughter and how she has this stuffed doggie she holds, even in college, and I thought, ‘I need one of those.’”
Goodman drove to Walgreens in Highland Park, tried out the cuddliness of the stuffed animals available, chose one and headed home.
“I sat down to my computer and typed a letter headed, ‘Dear My Answered Prayer,’” recalled Goodman. “I wrote a letter describing a wish I wanted to come true.”
Goodman then printed the note, opened the seam of the dog’s belly, and tucked the message inside.
“With my wish and my goal, and holding the dog for comfort, I was finally able to sleep,” the Highland Parkd resident said.
Goodman’s wish eventually came true, and she gave the stuffed pup to the person who made that happen as way of saying thank you. She liked the idea so much that she created WishPuppies, a soft and cuddly “thank you” puppy with a belly slit for stashing dreams and wishes, modeled after Goodman’s dog Teddy, a St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees mix.
“We need to say thank you to the person who made a wish come true,” said Goodman. “I believe it’s that thank you that leads to the next wish.
“Whether it’s for love, health, a dream job, success in college, to heal a hurt, to become a parent, or our wish is for someone in need, I know one thing for sure: Where there’s hope, there’s a thank you,” said Goodman.
Henry Kraus, 21, of Highland Parker heard about WishPuppies from one of his friends. Now he’s not only buying one of the pooches for his girlfriend for the holidays, but he’d like to work for the company, too.
“It’s a great gift for anyone…a friend or a girlfriend or even someone who might need a little uplifting in their life,” said Kraus.
WishPuppies’ scheduled due date is Dec. 8. They’re currently available for pre-order at www.wishpuppies.com and will be sold at Walgreens in Highland Park and at (847) 910-WISH.
