Squishmallows—those soft stuffed toys that were all the rage at the height of the pandemic—are still having a moment, it seems. They were launched in 2017 and rose to popularity during the pandemic, when children and adults were looking for comfort wherever they could find it. People collect the stuffed animals. Some have dozens, or more. And, while re-selling is apparently frowned upon in the community of collectors, that hasn't stopped people from buying up stock and reselling the toys at prices much higher than their retail value—especially the 'rarer' ones, including the coveted axolotl. Online, you'll find stories about the lengths people go to in order to build their collections, and about how the stuffed animals help collectors soothe their anxiety and OCD. You can also read about resellers jacking up prices and being doxxed and shamed online. The Squishmallow trend is still going strong—the hashtags #squishmallow and #squishmallows currently have 1.9 billion and 4.3 billion views, respectively, on TikTok, and the stuffies are ending up on all of the "hot toys of 2022" holiday lists that are currently circulating.
That's all well and good, I suppose – none of that really caught my attention, and honestly I haven't thought too much about Squishmallows despite the craze happening all around me. However, I recently discovered the trend of DOGS enjoying Squishmallows and, well, suddenly I'm interested. I've compiled some videos of cute dogs enjoying their squishy friends, for your viewing pleasure. Here's Roxas, Enzo, Loki, Izzy, and Henry Rollins enjoying their Squishmallows!
