Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : MISCELLANY / NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES

Animal rights advocates aren’t getting much of a kick out of a new stuffed toy invented by two Orange County men.

Called KickDog, it is meant to be kicked around by adults looking for a cheap way to reduce stress. KickDog was the center of attention last week at the San Francisco Gift Show.

“We think the idea of kicking dogs around the city is repulsive,” said Richard Avanzino, president of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

KickDog was created by Mike Murphy of Laguna Hills and Mike Greene of Santa Ana.

“We’re just giving people what they want, a funny way to relieve stress that undercuts the costs of psychiatrists,” Murphy said.

The owner’s manual for KickDog promises: “Now you can quit those therapy sessions, throw away those vitamins, forget about biofeedback, isolation tanks, gravity boots and Valium because your furry friend KickDog is the ultimate answer for stress.”

The manual also advises readers never to try this with the real thing.

“Never, never, ever, ever let KickDog see or hear of you kicking a real dog. If he finds out, he will call his Dogfather, Sonny VitoDog, and you’ll be dead meat,” the manual reads.

But Avanzino said the idea is about as funny as a baby doll for parents to beat when they are angry with their children.

“In a civilized society that seems totally out of place,” he said.

Avanzino said he finds the new toy “repulsive, offensive and vulgar” and hopes the public will reject it.

“To promote an activity that brings out violent behavior and gives it credibility by marketing it throughout the land seems wrong,” he said. “We don’t need sick-humor toys to give credence to the concept that this is acceptable behavior.”

Avanzino said he was also concerned that children would see their parents booting KickDog and imitate their behavior with the real thing.

But Murphy countered that children “aren’t going to look at an adult kick a stuffed toy and go out and kick real dogs. Kids are more intelligent than that.”