Every stuffed animal repair shop we hold

A fibre artist in Cincinnati running a stuffed animal hospital alongside making and selling her own. The clearest published price list of any US repairer here, and a same-day appointment for local people whose child cannot sleep without the toy.

A doll restorer who writes up every job she does, in detail, with the reasoning. She sculpts missing porcelain in Apoxie two-part putty, then sands and airbrushes it; she built a whole new cloth body around a family's heirloom doll head; and she says plainly that gluing on a wig is far cheaper than re-rooting hair. Also takes mohair Steiff, which she warns is fragile enough that pulling a needle too hard puts a hole in it.

Nicole repairs stuffed animals, fabric-bodied dolls and pet toys from a clinic in Madison, Alabama, taking work in by post and by local drop-off. She mends tears, holes, faces and limbs, cleans and brushes out matted plush, and makes memory bears and weighted bears, with prices published from $50 and free estimates.

A doll and teddy bear hospital west of Chicago, run by the same person for over forty years and now working from home. Everything starts with a paid examination, in person or by post, and most toys have to be cleaned before any repair begins. It takes stuffed animals as readily as dolls, and accepts donated toys for parts.

A specialist cleaner of thirty-five years with a dedicated soft toy service, in store in Scottsdale and by post from anywhere in the country or the world. They clean, sanitise and deodorise inside and out, and they draw a careful distinction between a plushie, a soft toy and a stuffed animal by what the eyes and nose are made of. Cleaning, not repair.

Every bear Vermont Teddy Bear makes carries a lifetime guarantee. If anything happens to it you send it to their Bear Hospital in Shelburne and they repair or replace it, free, for as long as the bear exists. Their own bears only, and unlike Build-A-Bear you post it rather than walk in.

A Tallahassee dry cleaner of twenty-five years with a fire and flood restoration arm, fur and leather work, and complimentary pickup and delivery. Their advice on hurricane damage is the most useful thing they publish: photograph everything before you clean or throw anything away, because documentation decides what an insurer will pay for and what a restorer can save.

Every Build-A-Bear store runs a Bear Hospital: stitching, restuffing, a brush and a clean bill of health, free, in about five minutes while you wait. There is one catch and it is a big one. They only take Build-A-Bear bears.