"Sho, opyat?" What, again? That's the Wolf's hello when the old Dog turns up in his forest. Here they are as a Once Upon a Dog plush pair: the lanky brown Dog and the grey Wolf, big enough to share an armchair, the Wolf's arm thrown over his friend's shoulders.
We didn't take them off a shelf. Everything we sew is made to order, for one person and the version of the characters they remember.
The cartoon behind them
Once Upon a Dog (Zhil-byl pyos) came out in 1982 at Soyuzmultfilm. Eduard Nazarov, the man behind the Soviet Winnie-the-Pooh, made it from the Ukrainian folk tale "Sirko". An old watchdog gets thrown out of the house, meets the wolf he used to chase, and the two of them cook up a plan to win back his place. Later the Dog pays the debt with a seat at a wedding feast. The Wolf eats, drinks and announces "Shchas spoyu!" (now I'll sing!). Georgy Burkov voiced the Dog and Armen Dzhigarkhanyan the Wolf. People still quote them both, and the Wolf's goodbye, "drop by if anything", is the line everybody keeps.
Fans call it a classic of Soviet animation and a cartoon about how an old enemy can turn out to be a friend. Parents who watch it again with their kids say it looks very different the second time around.
What makes them these two
- The Dog: reddish-brown faux fur, a cream belly and muzzle, long shaggy dark brown ears, big white worried eyes looking up, and that heavy black nose
- The Wolf: grey faux fur with a pale belly, black inside the ears, droopy amber eyes under heavy brows, a big glossy black nose and long whiskers
- long arms and legs that cross, dangle over an armrest or hug a friend, with black claws on every paw
Your pair, your way
Maybe you want both of them for an armchair or a sofa. Maybe only the Wolf, for the friend who always says "drop by if anything". Send a still from the cartoon, tell us the size and the pose, and we'll take it from there. These two are giant toys, so the price is per toy: from $775 each. You see photos of the finished toys before anything ships.
We're an independent studio, so this is not an official Soyuzmultfilm product. It's a handmade piece sewn from a fan's wish.
More from the same shelf of Soviet cartoons: the Nu, Pogodi! Wolf plush and Leopold the Cat. Or see all our toys from animated films.
Both toys are sewn from soft faux fur in the cartoon's colours, picked so they look right next to each other.
- Dog: reddish-brown faux fur for the body, cream for the belly and muzzle, longer dark brown faux fur for the shaggy ears
- Wolf: mid-grey faux fur with a pale grey belly and muzzle, black inside the ears
- big glossy black noses, big cartoon eyes with stitched brows, long whiskers
- black claws on every paw
The arms and legs are long and soft, so the toys sit with their legs crossed, lean on each other or hang an arm over an armrest. If you'd like them to hold a pose more firmly, we can add poseable limbs on request. Say so at the start, together with the size you want.
A giant pair like this usually takes 2–4 weeks to make.
The heads take the longest. The Dog needs that worried upward look and the Wolf needs his tired, half-lidded eyes, or they stop being these two and become any dog and any wolf. Then come the long bodies, the limbs, the ears and the claws.
The time frame keeps a small reserve for handmade surprises. If the toys are for a birthday or an anniversary, put the date in your first message.
Once your Dog and Wolf are finished, shipping takes 7–20 business days, depending on your country. Around the holidays the post slows down, so leave a few extra days.
Want them under the tree? Order by November 1 for Christmas.
Before they ship, you get photos of the finished toys. Check the ears, the eyes and the noses and tell us if anything should change. They leave us after you say yes.
We've been sewing toys to order since 2009. Characters from a childhood cartoon are the hardest ones, because everyone remembers exactly how the Wolf looked at the Dog.
That's why you see your pair in photos before they're sent. There's still time to make an ear longer, the brows heavier or the grey a shade darker.
If they arrive and you don't love them, you get a full refund within 14 days. No long explanations needed. We would rather you kept a pair that makes you smile every time you walk past the armchair.
More toys like this
GET G.U.M. TOY
Guarantee. Uniqueness. Meticulosity.
GUARANTEE
A detailed toy you’ll love. If not, full refund.
UNIQUENESS
One of a kind. Any size, any extras.
METICULOSITY
Tiny details, tough seams. Built for hugs.
Customer reviews
They Love Our Toys!
More Toy Types Crafted by Us
Order a Toy Made Just for You
Gentle stream flows,
Paths clear in moon’s soft glow —
Easy process.
GET A FREE QUOTE, FILL OUT THE FORM
You Take No Risks – We guarantee you love the toy or money back!
Custom toys start from $350.
A bigger size or extra details can cost more.
Why?
No ready-made pattern. Your photo or drawing doesn’t come with one. Our artist builds the pattern from scratch and turns a flat picture into a 3D toy. It’s the hardest and slowest part.
Materials picked for your toy. The right color, fur length and texture. Sometimes we order fabric just for one project.
Sewn by hand. Every piece is cut, sewn, stuffed and finished by hand. The face takes the most time: move an eye a millimeter and the character changes.
You approve it first. When your toy is ready, we send you photos. Something looks off? We fix it before shipping.
One toy, not a thousand. A factory spreads design costs over thousands of copies. Here, all that work goes into one toy: yours.
That’s why prices start at $350. And on a personal order, if you don’t love your toy, you get a full refund.
