Build-A-Bear Replaces Little Girl’s Lost Teddy Bear That Had A Recording Of Her Late Mom’s Heartbeat

A story was circulating recently about a four-year-old girl who lost a teddy bear. This is something that happens regularly and it rarely makes the news, but this teddy bear was special.

According to KAKE, the toy had a recording of a heartbeat. It was the last heartbeat of her late mother, so you can see why it was so special to her and to the entire family.

Photo: Flickr/Mike Mozart License: CC BY 2.0

Unfortunately, somebody in the family donated the bear accidentally to a Goodwill store in Tazewell, Tennessee. They didn’t realize it was gone until the girl was asked to bring the bear to school.

The father went to the store quickly to retrieve the bear but it had already been sold. The community got together to help find the bear, as information was shared by the store, the family, and even the local radio station.

As shared on Facebook, a note was posted in the Goodwill store, saying they were in search of the tie-dyed Build-a-Bear that was donated by accident. They were asking for it to be returned to the store and they would reimburse the money for the sale.

A few pictures of rainbow teddy bears were shared via the radio station and then a video showed how the missing bear actually appeared.

Once the video was out, some people saw it and knew the exact model. It was a Rainbow Sparkle Bear from Build-A-Bear.

There was also audio from the original bear in the video, and people were wondering if they could make a new bear with that sound.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Aolden23 License: CC BY-SA 3.0

As the news began circulating, Build-A-Bear came to hear about it. According to KAKE, they reached out to the radio station and asked for information so they could make a replacement. They started looking through the warehouse for a toy that matched.

In speaking with Today, a Build-A-Bear spokesperson said: “The staff at Build-A-Bear were heartbroken to hear the news about the missing Rainbow Sparkle Bear.”

Photo: Facebook/The Big ONE 106.3 FM WRIL

The company announced that they would be replacing the bear and it would have a recording that the girl’s grandmother had provided to the radio station.

According to The Big 1063, the communications director of Goodwill in Knoxville, Cynthia Dawson, extended gratitude to the Build-A-Bear company, the radio, and others involved. She went on to say that the new bear was reunited with the family.

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