It’s more than an obsession.

Tuesday, September 07, 1999

It’s more than an obsession.

Everyone has a hobby of some sort. Some on a grander scale than others. They are avocations or amusements done on a whim.

Not a fixation or a phobia like Anderson’s.

She collects puppies, but not just any puppy. It must be the Cocker Spaniel breed and no other.

She has over 200 of them.

They are stuffed animals and figurines.

They come made from ceramic, sandicast, porcelain, brass, glass, even Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash.

She has one made of crystal and another made of seashell.

The smallest is a one-inch tall sterling silver miniature.

They are buff-colored. The only color she will allow in her fetish-like collection.

All of them repose in her front living room on shelves, cube boxes, window sills and the floor.

Her favorite chair is, of course, right next to them. Chet, her husband, must take one further away.

"I think the reason I love them so much is that they have such loving eyes," she said.

Mrs. Anderson’s private hobby was made public, because her husband let the – let’s be politically correct here, too – dog out of the bag. "I could have strangled him," she said of Chet’s indiscretion.

Now, her story is to be told.

Paulette Wobschall grew up in Austin and graduated from Austin High School. She works at Austin Packaging Company.

Her husband, Chet, also grew up in Austin and works at Hormel Foods Corporation’s Austin plant.

They have a son, age 28, and three daughters, 25, 15 and 12, plus a grandson.

Until going to work at APC full-time, she operated a licensed day care in her home.

She has been collecting Cocker Spaniel figurines for several years; like the exact number of canines, she isn’t certain about the very first acquisition.

Before the imitations, she had the real thing: a genuine Cocker Spaniel dog, which undoubtedly inspired her hobby. Today, Thor has replaced two other "real" dogs that came and went from the Anderson household. "They’ve always been blonde or what we call ‘buff’ and that’s what I’ve tried to collect," she said.

She also collects angel figurines and – it must be seen to be believed – she has one Cocker Spaniel buff-coated dog, wearing wings: an angel dog.

T-shirts and sweatshirts depicting Cocker Spaniels are a favorite informal attire of the woman.

She has one favorite among many in her collection. "That’s the mother dog with four puppies," she said. "It represents our own family of four children."

When she closed her popular home day care business, what did she give the children as gifts? Answer: Beanie Baby Cocker Spaniel puppies, of course.

Somewhere among her day care alumni is a little girl, who is responsible for the only apparent assassination of one of Anderson’s over 200 Cocker Spaniel collectibles.

After the child used the Anderson’s toilet one day, the toilet didn’t operate correctly. When they inspected the contraption, they discovered a tiny ceramic puppy figurine – broken – literally down the tubes of their toilet.

She has been fortunate not to receive too many duplicates, but it happens and what does she do with them? "Why!’ she said as if insulted, "I keep them."

She shops for more additions to her collection wherever she goes. Rummage sales, used-a-bit stores, shopping malls, auctions and once a romantic Caribbean cruise with her husband.

She has shown "good sense," according to her husband and refused to purchase a Cocker Spaniel figurine she saw at a Mall of America store, costing $350.

Naturally, Chet and Jackie and the other children, know what to get Anderson for Christmas, Mother’s Day, her birthday and any other occasion.

"It’s something else, isn’t it? said Chet, shaking his head and pointing to the living room full of dogs. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

Youngest daughter Jackie is amazed. "It’s just amazing what mom does, because you see all kinds of different puppies and yet they’re all the same kind," she said.

On Labor Day weekend, Paulette Anderson and her one of a kind hobby were together.

The kids were no doubt off having fun and Chet, the husband, had things to do and errands to run.

It doesn’t matter.

With Thor at her feet, Paulette and her puppies, the ones with the loving eyes, were together.

Does anything else matter?