A man has been left red-faced after spending £3,500 designing and making Liz Truss dog toys - only for the Prime Minister to resign before his products arrived. Dave Farquharson says he enjoys making 'funny' products as a side hustle, and decided to create a dog toy in the now former PM's image after observing her in the leadership election.
After splashing some cash to get the toy designed, created and shipped over from China, the 30-year-old was left in hysterics when the Tory politician announced she was leaving Number 10 after only 45 days on the job. Dave, who works in business development, is still going to sell the unusual items for £14.99 and is hoping that 'politically incorrect' shops might be interested in taking on the product.
After sharing an image of the toy to Twitter, Dave was advised to repurpose the plastic figurine as Uma Thurman or Robbie Savage tributes, whilst others told him to 'get his head checked'.
With 500 of the knick-knacks on their way to his flat, Dave still sees the humour in the situation - although his wife Hannah was left with her 'head in her hands'.
Dave, from Ealing, London, said: "About two weeks from now, I'll receive my first shipment of Liz Truss dog toys. 500 of them are coming.
"When she resigned, I thought 'Oh f***ing hell, here we go'. It just made the whole thing even more ridiculous and funny.
"I had this vision of me with 500 Liz Truss dog toys in my flat and my wife thinking 'Dave…come on. What a stupid idea this was'.
"It cost about £400 or £500 to design it and get the samples made. I was testing the sample out on my dog Gus and he loves it.
"It cost a couple thousand pounds to get the product made, alongside import duties, VAT and to ship the product from China where it was made.
"I don't really know what to do with them now. I've started taking pre-orders - I've sold a whopping five.
"I am in talks with some retailers about buying some as well. We'll see where that goes.
"What I've learned is that traditional pet stores don't want to sell anything that's political. I've found that it's the fun, quirky shops that are a bit politically incorrect that are more interested.
"We'll see if it'll be a Christmas hit or not."
A sample of the toy has already proven popular with Dave's cockapoo Gus, who spends a lot of time with the plastic PM.
Dave said: "When I first got the sample, I put it on my desk. I'd never seen him do this before, but Gus walked up to the desk and started whining for it.
"He really likes the toy. He even picks it up and brings it back to his bed, which is kind of weird.
"When I was making it, I thought it would appeal to both sides of the political spectrum. I wasn't making it thinking 'If you hate the Tories, you'll get your dog chewing on this'.
"It's funny no matter what side you fall on. Maybe it's more fun if you want your dog to play around it with it though."
Dave initially came up with the idea for the Liz Truss toy whilst she was running to be Conservative leader.
Dave said: "I was thinking about making a Boris Johnson dog toy, but then Partygate hit and I thought it wouldn't be a good idea.
"I was watching the Tory leadership election quite closely and I kept hearing that Liz Truss had the better chance of winning.
"It's funny, if I'd chosen Rishi to make a toy of, the toys would be arriving just as he became Prime Minister.
"I thought that I'd take the risk. About two or three weeks before she became leader, I started getting the designs made.
"Luckily, it came through that she'd won. The process took a while.
"Ironically, the time needed by manufacturers to get the toys made was 45 days.
"We had David Cameron for a few years, Theresa May for just over two, Boris Johnson for just under two, and now Liz Truss for 45 days.
"I honestly wouldn't put a bet on how long Rishi would last."
Dave's humorous hobby has given him a lot of amusement - although responses on Twitter were divided.
Dave said: "I like making funny, silly products as a side hustle. I'm always looking for the next thing to do, I enjoy the silliness of it.
"My wife Hannah had her head in her hands. She's really patient with me - I've filled out her mum's garage with some of my stuff.
"Luckily, she knew who she married!
"The reactions on Twitter have been my favourite part of all of this. One person just replied saying 'Have you considered not manufacturing a Liz Truss dog toy?', which was a really good point.
"Other people were saying I needed to get my head checked or 'Oh, that's what we need, more plastic s**t from China'.
"One person just retweeted it saying 'Disgusting'.
"Half of the people on Twitter found it hilarious and the other half were hating it. But I'll take it.
"It was always going to be a love or hate thing.
"I had one person suggest I repurpose it as an Uma Thurman toy. Another guy said I should put a Leicester badge on it and make it Robbie Savage."
Twitter users were divided in their reaction to the odd invention.
One user wrote: "Have you considered not manufacturing weird tory dog toys?", whilst another remarked: "You should probably get your head checked."
Another Twitter user replied: "Put a Leicester badge on it and sell it as retro Robbie Savage," as a fellow observer said: "Sell it as Uma Thurman."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
