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TECHNO Dog was my new prized possession. My young nephew had expressed how much he really wanted the robotic pet for Christmas. I felt so lucky when I arrived at K-B Toy store and Techno Dog was still available. I fought the crowd, stood in a long line, but it was alright because I walked out with the item I really wanted. Bowser bot a different
kind of beastBy Jaylene Sarcedo
Special to the Star-BulletinThat evening, I wanted my fiance to experience the fascinating features on the toy so I asked him to press the demonstration button on Techno Dog. The thought of having a pet that you could turn off when you desired was appealing. The Techno Dog's eyes lit up, ears flapped and tail wagged. We both thought, "how cute."
Everything was great until Techno Dog went on for an hour or so. Naturally, my fiance's answer was press the button again.
"No! Don't press it again," I said in a frenzy. I started yelling, "Stop Techno Dog, stop!" to no avail. I really lost it and started commanding the dog to stop, heel and sit. So much for the simple commands listed in the instructions.
TECH PETS FOR ALL
Intelligent robot pets will be common by 2005
Source: The Futurist, Nov-Dec. 2000
I was worried that something was wrong with the poor dog, so I frantically called the toy store. I explained what had happened and asked if it was normal for Techno Dog to go on for so long. We knew it was supposed to resemble a real pet, but this was ridiculous.
The salesperson found my dilemma quite amusing. I could tell by her hysterical laughter. Once she finally stopped laughing, she told me that it wasn't normal. I couldn't believe he could be malfunctioning!
She advised me to return the toy for a refund. I told her that I didn't want a refund, I wanted a replacement dog.
She laughed even harder and said, "We don't have any more."
Now, that wasn't funny! My 8-year-old nephew had specifically asked Santa for Techno Dog. How was I going to explain that Techno Dog was out of stock in the North Pole?
I asked if they could order the toy for me, but she couldn't."
The next day, I went back to the store hoping that I would find a little empathy. I gave the manager on duty the details, and his response was that all he could do was give me a refund.
I told him that I needed to have the dog!
I asked if he could order the toy online for the same price, or get another one at their warehouse. He claimed there was no way to get another Techno Dog unless I was able to find it in stock at another location.
He had one of his salespersons call the stores in search of Techno Dog. And yes! Kahala Mall had the dog.
The next day I drove from Kapolei to Kahala to exchange Techno Dog, all the while hoping it would really be there. A handful of Techno Dogs were waiting to be purchased, or in my case exchanged.
While on my drive home I thought, "this is not normal." I cannot believe I went through that entire ordeal for one toy, and a toy dog at that. The reason I wanted the toy was it was supposed to cause fewer problems than the real thing.
Yet, reading the instructions, I found that even this toy dog represents a lot of responsibility. It needs its own attention. You have to talk to it. It's about the same as taking care of a child, but it shows no affection.
I grew up with dogs that love you unconditionally and you can't beat that experience.
Unfortunately, my nephew lives in a rented apartment and landlords don't always accept pets. On the other hand, the smile on my nephew's face on Christmas morning made the whole Techno Dog ordeal worthwhile.
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