A cat batting a bottle cap. A pup crunching a plastic water bottle. No matter how much money we spend on the latest and greatest pet toys, often our pets find the most joy in the simple. And your daughter would rather play with the box than the $300 Barbie Dream House that came in it. You know.

Our dog, N.A.S.H.A.'s most prized possession is a red sock toe. How do you get a sock toe, you ask? Well, you cut off the tip of a sock for your kid's school project, and the dog takes over the scraps. Said kid will now be a junior in high school come fall, and this sock toe was born when he was in third grade. It's much like a child's thread-bare blankie. If we ever lost it, the would would most certainly end.

The sock toe is N.A.S.H.A.'s go-to toy. It's always the most played-with, so it keeps residence on top of all the other toys. She pulls it out when she wants to play, which, for a nearly eight-year-old dog, is pretty frequently. Sometimes she'll put it in our lap...it's just heavy enough to be thrown across the living room. She'll tear around the house with it in her mouth, drop it on purpose, high-tail it back to fetch it, then reverse her route. Most often, she'll toss it high in the air and catch it herself. Amusement for all.

It makes it's way outside and back in. On the bed. Under the bed. In the closet. On the couch. But she can always find it. Maybe because it's never been washed. We don't want to risk it going to the dreaded sock place of the unknown underworld.