Almost everyone has their favorite cuddly bear or toy growing up, and it looks like some loyal four-footers can relate.
When the adorable Fletcher from Phoenix, Arizona, first laid eyes on a worn out baseball, he instantly fell in love and never let it out of his sight. The whole thing is just as adorable as it sounds.
His owner Nicki recalls how Fletcher’s adorable obsession with the volleyball started.
On July 4th, one of Nicki’s friends was throwing a nice party to celebrate Independence Day. And because the party was mainly held in a large yard, all pets were welcome to join. It didn’t take long before Fletcher retrieved an old volleyball from the backyard.
“He found this rogue volleyball and brought it to me,” Fletcher’s owner said to The Dodo. “I was like, ‘Oh no! Fletcher’s destroyed your ball.’ But they said it wasn’t theirs.”
At first, Nicki thought that her pup was a little bit too enthusiastic and destroyed her friend’s volleyball, but it turns out no one really knew where the ball came from.
It was old, partly ripped and heavily worn out – but none of that mattered for Fletcher, who acted as if he found the love of his life.
The pup’s new soul mate needed to have a name as well, so Nicki and her family decided to name it ‘Volley’. As you can imagine, Fletcher and Volley quickly became an inseparable duo and it’s about the cutest thing ever.
“That thing ended up going home with us,” Nicki told.
Fletcher truly does everything together with Volley, even when there are plenty of other canine playmates around. Running, swimming, sleeping – he never does it alone.
“Fletcher had that ball in his mouth the entire seven hours we were at that party,” she mentioned. “He chased the other dogs with the ball. He swam with the ball. He rested with the ball.”
Needless to say, the amazingly cute four-footer fell asleep that night while cuddling his new favorite toy, much to the surprise of his human owner.
This was the first time that Fletcher became so attached to an object.
“I have never seen him act like this toward any one toy.”
When you see Fletcher, it’s extremely likely that you’ll spot Volley in his mouth as well. The pup only lets the ball go when he needs to eat and drink, although he’ll allow Nicki to throw it around and play fetch with it.
Nicki can certainly see the humor in this situation, although she probably wishes that Fletcher would spend a little more attention to her as well.
“He’ll play fetch with it but he doesn’t want you to hold on to it very long,” Nicki told. “I wake up to Volley in my face most mornings,” she added.
Nicki thinks that Volley is actually a source of trust, stability, and comfort for her pup.
“Fletcher has gone through some transition with people and other dogs coming in and out of his life,” she tells. “I think this is the one inanimate object that he has attached himself to knowing that it’s going to be around for a very long time.”
Even though the volleyball isn’t doing all that well and could definitely use some patching up, both of them do their best to keep Volley in the best shape possible.
“Volley has a few holes and feels a little deflated at times, but other than that he’s willing to go wherever Fletcher goes.”
Volley definitely made Fletcher’s heart skip a beat, and their undeniable connection is so, so sweet.
“I think the lesson learned is that friendship can be found in the most unique circumstances,” Nicki concluded. “And Fletcher’s love is obviously unconditional.”
It doesn’t get much cuter than this.
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