Masticated Memories

I had one of these red velvet Dakin Reindeer when I was a kid.  I found this one at a garage sale over the summer.

Going through our family photos, I found this black & white Polaroid which shows me holding my reindeer.

For years, this was the only photo of that night (Thanksgiving circa 1971) I was aware of.  Recently while going through my grandparents' photos, I found this color version of the same night.

For some reason, my older brother is holding the deer in that shot.

Sadly, a few years later, our family dog got hold of my reindeer and chewed a hole in the leg.  The sawdust filling drained out leaving behind a deflated velvet reindeer skin.