Four-year-old Phoebe’s favourite stuffed animal decided to take the long route home.
The Martensville girl lost the toy, a stuffed dog named Ra Ra, at the Toronto Pearson International Airport as her family was travelling back to Saskatchewan from the U.K.
“We had missed our connection, so we ended up being stuck there for about five hours,” Phoebe’s mom, Jen Steel, told CTV. “Somewhere in between a couple of the gates and boarding, he disappeared.”
Steel says her daughter had a meltdown when the family noticed Ra Ra was missing. She posted a plea on the Pearson airport’s Facebook page, but the family figured they’d likely never find the stuffed animal.
“My husband was like, ‘There’s no point. There’s no way. You know it’s Toronto airport. It’s massive,’” Steel recalled.
But two days later, Ra Ra was found, and to set Phoebe’s worries aside, staff at the airport posted pictures of all the fun the stuffed animal had while he was lost.
“It’s her security blanket. She sleeps with him every night and stuff like that,” said Steel. “It was a tough couple nights, but once they had found him, the thought of him coming back, I think she did good.”
Ra Ra even arrived with a friend — a stuffed bear named Pearson.
Steel says the story, which blew up on social media, just shows how good people can be.
Phoebe is just glad to have her favourite toy, and a new friend, back in her arms.
