I crinkled the envelope into an accordion and threw it down. A white slip of a beast grabbed it with enthusiasm and kicked it with his back feet. Overjoyed, he rolled it around the floor.

A few minutes later pieces of shredded paper were dripping from my dog's mouth. She grinned triumphantly as our white-coated, someone new, slipped behind the sofa. The dog was proud of her accomplishment and she called it play.

I adopted my dog when she was two-years-old. She was a small, docile dog who appeared to have spent her whole life indoors. When she saw the yard she went crazy with excitement. She loved the air, the grass and the squirrels. She spent hours chasing the beasts from tree to tree eager to start a game. Encouraged by her willingness to play, I went to the pet store to pick out new toys.

The choices were overwhelming, and since she was my first small dog I wanted the toys to be perfect. I came home with a pink ball, a stuffed blue gingerbread man, a red rubber chew bone, a small rubber ring, a flying disc and an unnamed squeaky character. After the initial settling-in period, I broke out the goodies and tossed them about while making lots of high-pitched exclamations.

The ball was first. I showed the dog, then bounced it down the hall. She watched the ball leave my hands, and then quickly turned back to me as if to say, so? Undaunted, I threw the ball again and encouraged her towards it. Nothing. I ran down the hall and scooped the ball up and rolled it once more. Zilch. Her interest was simply not there. Next I tried putting it into her mouth. Maybe, I thought, she didn't know what it was and that it was hers. Her jaws refused to open.

The next toy offered was the stuffed cookie, I have now named The Blue Man. I wiggled The Man, tossed it high, and tossed it low only to be met with the same response. Zero.

The bag of toys dwindled down, each one being tried by me and only me. Exasperated, I claimed defeat and wondered how this dog had lived in her previous life. Hadn't she played at all? Had she gotten in trouble if she played, or was play something she just wasn't interested in?

As the days went on, her behavior towards the toys remained unchanged. She began to remind me of a German Shepherd I had cared for during my pet care days. This young, beautiful, healthy dog lived with an aging couple. She was friendly, obedient and spoiled. She was reluctant to run down her lovely expansive yard, and after she was twenty feet from the door she would stop and look longingly at the house. She also didn't know how to play. I would pick up a stick and toss it. I would wiggle and prance about hoping to spark her interest, and i was always met with the same confused look. She didn't know what to do.

I never stopped trying to show her during our time together. Near the last day her eyes started to light up briefly at the idea, but she never got a chance to try it. Her owners returned before we had made a total breakthrough.

Now, my little terrier looked to be of the same mind. A mind unfamiliar to me. I like playing with my pets. I get silly and try to think of new ways to spark their attention and their skills. This dog stared at me as if from another planet, and after several years, I finally gave up trying to persuade her that a stuffed toy could be a great friend.

The only toy she considers a toy are those white, bleached real bones you buy in the pet stores. These she loves. Of course I don't consider them toys but therapeutic necessities. Without her time to chew and gnaw, she really would do nothing but constantly bother me for attention or sleep the day away. So for all of our years together the only thing I have been able to get her to pick up are the bones and anything, I mean anything, she considers food.

The bones are her lifeline to playtime. That was until now. Now we have a new member of the family. A white kitten.

When I first rescued the kitten he weighed one pound five ounces. He was born under a bush in my front yard and raised by a feral mother. He had two siblings and when the kittens emerged into view, they would tussle, tug, twist, bite, leap and lounge at each other.

Meeting my dog was like being reacquainted with a new play partner. Their sessions were intense as both dog and cat would wrestle and flop about the floor. The cat loves to play. I bought him a few store toys before he was officially introduced to the dog, and he relished the experience. He'd capture, tug, bite and kick his new accessories to his heart's content. Soon though, the store bought toys were losing their appeal, and I began to scramble. Designer toys are expensive, so I started looking around the house for easy low-cost alternatives.

The first thing I came upon was an empty toilet paper roll. The cat loves it. He swats it around and wrestles it, slamming his claws into the mold-able paper.

Next I found a plastic soda bottle cap. These bounce and ping on hard surfaces.

Crinkled up newspaper and newspaper circulars formed into balls or twists. These are so very lovably noisy and easy to toss about.

Tissue box. These can be batted and pushed around even on carpet.

A lid from a ice cream sundae cup.

A salad dressing cap wrapper. These really move around and are easy for the cat to pick up and carry in his mouth.

A tennis ball. My niece and nephew discovered this one. They found it in their own bag of toys and started rolling it the cat's way. He tackles it and just keeps on rolling.

A plastic potato chip canister. It was rather large at first, but a delightful thing to try and out-match.

A large box with a lid. I cut a hole in the lid that was just big enough for him the squeeze through, and a door in the side of the box itself. He slides in through the hole and comes out through the door. Rather nifty if I do say so myself.

A feather. These are happily provided by my dove during molts.

Timothy hay. This treat comes courtesy of my guinea pig who throws it out of her cage when she's feeling frisky.

Electrical cords. Sorry, I had to throw this one in. They definitely AREN'T toys, but he thinks they are.

A dryer sheet. I actually thought he might be repelled by the smell, but instead he gave it a whirl with his claws. This lasted all through dinner preparation.

An empty plastic film container. You can also put something inside the container to give it a nice jingle, as long as it isn't something dangerous should they be smart enough to get the lid off the container.

Plastic rings from milk jugs. A good carry around toy that is also slippery and fun to race on hard floors.

A plastic straw. Easily swatted and kicked, but watch out for it to disappear under the refrigerator.

All of these toys have gotten us through these last weeks, except of course the electrical cords. These I've been spraying with bitter tasting deterrents with minimal results. But I keep spraying.

The dog on the other hand, has learned that the cat's toys are rather interesting. Her Blue Man.....now she's interested. Why? Because the cat plays with it. The dog suddenly believes that The Blue Man can be shaken, tossed, and torn apart.

Same goes for the crinkle, cloth ball I bought for the dog years ago.The dog hasn't given a wit about it until our feline friend arrived. Since the cat finds it entertaining, she now does too. I've had to repair to twice all ready because the dog has pulled the stuffing out.

The vet mentioned to me that kittens play rough. Really rough. From what I've experienced this is very true. Keeping them stocked with toys has become a challenge, but as the days grow into weeks and the weeks into months, I'm sure more toys will become apparent.

In the meantime, my dog is learning about play. Her idea of toys is still to grab them away from the cat and tear them up. When I saw the dog grab one of the paper twists I had thrown to the cat and try to maneuver her way around the cat who was batting at it in her mouth, I had to laugh out loud. Of course the dog proceeded to tear it up and start eating it. Her definition of play still needs a little work.

 Photos courtesy of www.freephotos.se

Use common sense when giving your pet any new toy. Some toys aren't safe. You can be the judge of the saftey factor once you see how the animal handles the toy.