I agree with all that's been said about the marketing techniques of the brands, if it simply looks like a member of a species (horse, bear, sauropod) why not do a new species? Instead of beating the regular ones to death so to speak...
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-"I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven’t got the guts to bite people themselves."-August Strindberg (However, anyone who knows me knows I love dogs
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-“We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.”-Anonymous
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Anyway, that's how it is here where I live too, the only place to get anything other than farm life is a few small shops where it's a bit pricier. I'd have to travel anywhere else to get them for a somewhat more reasonable price. I haven't been to any local Hobby Lobby store, mostly because I figured that they wouldn't have anything that I collect.