If you have ever had to live through a child losing their favourite teddy or cuddly toy, you know just how heart-breaking (and dramatic) this scenario is.
My little girl has a cuddly turtle – Franklin – that she was given when she was about two, and I know that in the future, when I think back to her being little, Franklin will be a big part of the era that was her childhood.
He is her pillow at night and has been with us on every holiday and road trip and weekend break since he arrived. I have had to throw him in the washing machine on numerous occasions, and, more than once, upended the house/car/hotel room because he was nowhere to be found, and my daughter inconsolable.
Luckily, Franklin has always been found (phew!), and remains an integral part of the family.
It was no doubt this knowledge, of just how attached kids get to their cuddly toys, that made this Swedish hotel kick off a full social media campaign to try and locate the owner after a grey teddy bear was found just outside their entrance recently.
Head of Reception Kristoffer Kinnunen at the Hotel Avalon in Gothenburg in Sweden, tells local newspaper Gøteborgs-Posten that he immediately felt bad because a little boy or girl out there must be “missing their teddy terribly.”
And so Kinnunen and his colleagues decided to put out a search for the owner of the lost teddy on Facebook – while also showing that while obviously missing his owner, Teddy was also having a great time as an honorary guest at the hotel.
When no owner came forward after the first picture, the hotel staff put out more images, asking people to share on their personal Facebook accounts in the hope that someone who knew who the teddy belonged to would eventually see it.
It seemed many enjoyed seeing what Teddy got up to at the hotel. “People started asking in the comment sections what Teddy had been up to now, and when the next picture would be put up,” Kinnunen explains. “I would for instance reply and say he had just had a bath and enjoyed his breakfast.”
Teddy might have missed his owner, but he seemed to soak up his stay at the hotel, making time to both admire art and read some books.
And finally, after the Swedish newspaper ran with the story of Teddy and his hotel break, the owner’s parents came forward, and at last the hotel could share the happy snap of little Moa reunited with her teddy, Balli.
“All is well that ends well,” write the hotel in the Facebook post. “Moa and Balli, which turned out to be Teddy’s name, have been reunited with one giant hug. We wish Moa and Balli well, and cannot wait to welcome them back to stay with us in the future for some sun, swimming and art-admiring. We would like to extend a large thank-you to everyone who has contributed to this happy reunion, it’s because of you that Balli is now back home again.”
Now, tell us you are not just feeling a little better about the world after reading this!
