Dream Pets

Dream Pets are collectable miniature stuffed animals, made of velveteen and filled with Willow sawdust, manufactured in Japan beginning in 1957 by Japanese toy designers Tochigi Mongi and Tomy for R. Dakin & Co. The manufacturer surprised Dakin by using these little toys as packing material for a shipment of battery operated toy trains which Dakin had ordered. That same day the president of Dakin, Roger Dakin, placed an order by cable to Japan for 25 dozen of the little velveteen toys, by the end of the day he changed his order to 300 dozen.By 1961 Dream Pets were being designed by Dakin's Senior toy designer Virginia Kemp in the United States. The toys became popular, and by the end of 1979 there were over 2000 different characters. In 1995 Dakin merged with The Applause Toy Co. Applause Toys re-issued copies of 24 of the vintage Dream Pets in 2004.

In late 2005, Dakin ceased to operate as an independent company. The names Dakin and Dream Pets were purchased by retail chain Big Lots, as of July 2011 Big lots had not produced any further Dream pets.

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