Torn, falling apart, heavily-hugged and well-loved toys come from all over the world to the Realms of Gold stuffed animal and doll hospital in Los Altos.
Some arrive with the love nearly squeezed out of them. Some have had run-ins with family pets. Some have survived natural disasters. Some have been mangled in the washing machine or burned in the dryer. Some arrive in pieces. Some are literally on their last thread.
“It’s been everywhere, and it’s part of me, and yet, getting rid of it would almost be like losing part of yourself,” Karper said people tell her of their dolls and stuffed animals. “There’s also people who are like, literally, this is the only thing they have from their childhood. And sometimes that’s because they’ve just had a busy life and they’re now 80 years old and this is what was left.”Karper has been making dolls since she was a child in Maryland.
“It’s cool to know that people are reading about them and feel comfortable enough to entrust their stuffed animals to travel, not just across the country but [also] around the world to get here for [me] to take care of them,” Karper said. “One of the ones from Italy was almost 100 years old, and it was his mom’s, but he was willing to risk the mail service to get it to me. That’s a lot of trust.”
“Maybe it’s an animal that we’ve had no interaction with or no love of but there’s something in that face, there’s something in that styling, there’s certainly something in the eyes, that is almost like falling in love at first sight,” Adamo Baumbach said. The rejuvenation process depends on the patient but Karper sticks with her usual regimen. Most patients get a spa soaking to help with cleaning, refluffing their stuffing and getting the dirt off so their original color can be restored. The photos of patients sitting in bubble baths — nothing but their eyes and noses visible — are a popular part of, and clients often like getting reassurance that their stuffed friends are doing well.
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