Playtime's Over

Barley, a dog, lies like a rag doll as a blue plush monkey appears to gaze longingly at her.

I’ve said it before, but I will never not be charmed by how completely Barley hits the brakes when she decides to stop playing. “Playful” is less a mood for Barley than it is an emotional surge that overtakes her and then abates. Thing is, she doesn’t really do this with other dogs, just with her soft toys. It’s almost as if she will decide to one of her toys needs a thrashing, as if suspending her disbelief about its animacy. Then, at some point, it no longer registers as “lifelike” and it falls back into the oubliette of being a mere object, unworthy of further consideration.