Eric the stuffed dog was stitched together in 1961 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa-Ken, Japan. He was made for export and was shipped to Lyle's Toys in Peterbury, Ohio. In March of 1962, Eric the stuffed dog was purchased by Joanne Lipman. On April 3rd, Joanne presented Eric the stuffed dog to her nephew Stevie Richards on what was his 7th birthday. Stevie played with ERic the stuffed dog for a few days, but never really became attached to him. Soon Eric the stuffed dog found himself at the bottom of a toy chest, where he remained for many years. In 1972, Eric the Stuffed dog was put inside of a cardboard box and sealed into darkness.
Eric the stuffed dog next saw the light of day on April 17th, 1997. He was placed on a table, along with other old toys, and sold at a yard sale for .25 (approximately .28 by today's standards). He was purchased by Mariko Ito. Mariko, a buyer for the Japanese vintage shop Monkey Flirt, shipped Eric the stuffed dog back to Matsumoto, Japan.
Eric was back in his home country for only 7 days when a group of American tourists returning from a trip to Matsumoto Castle stopped in to Monkey Flirt. Jane Goodman, who had a stuffed Dog very similar to Eric the Stuffed Dog when she was young, purchased Eric for 3800yen. ERic the stuffed dog was again, briefly, sealed in darkness. 28 hours later, ERic was unpacked in the town of Burlington, Vermont. He was placed on the northwest corner of a wooden desk, in a cubicle in the Burlington headquarters of a Fortune 500 Biotech corporation called Genamtech. Jane would sit across from Eric the stuffed dog, typing on her keyboard, sometimes for 11 or 12 hours each day.
Although he occasionally grew annoyed by the clacking of her fingers on the computer keyboard, and the scent of her hazelnut coffee breath, Eric the stuffed dog was generally content.
In 2003, Genamtech CEO Charles Turner was found guilty of accounting fraud, embezzlement and one count of malicious name calling. Genamtech folded, and Eric the stuffed dog once again found himself in cardboard covered darkness.
He felt powerless. At Age 42 he found himself, once again, destitute.
That night, for the first time in his life, Eric the stuffed dog closed his eyes and dreamed.
He stood in front of a podium, on his hind legs, a crowd of men and women in suits stood before him vying for his attention. Cameras flashed. Eric raised his left paw. The commotion stopped suddenly. And then, Eric spoke to the nation.
And that is where our story begins...
