A 3-year-old Texas boy was reunited with his beloved stuffed animal thanks to a Round Rock grocery store, caring community members and social media.
According to a Facebook post by Ashley Inglet Sanchez, she and her son Noah were at the H-E-B grocery Friday night shopping for a Christmas party. When they were leaving the store, Noah realized his favorite stuffed animal, a rabbit named Rabby, was nowhere in sight.
Determined to find his closest companion, Noah convinced his mother to return to the store. Sanchez and her son placed the groceries in the car before retracing their footsteps and asking the floor manager and business center for help. With little success, the family left the store and went home hoping they would be contacted with good news about Rabby.
Once the groceries were put away, Sanchez posted a photo of the rabbit on her Facebook and the "People of Round Rock"community page before deciding to head back to H-E-B for a second search. With her husband, Jason, and her baby daughter, Zoey, the family scoped the market a second time. No luck.
But news traveled fast. Sanchez was shocked when she received a handful of Facebook notifications with people commenting and sharing her posts about Rabby. One message in particular caught her eye.
"It was from a lady who said she showed my post to her husband, Lyle Wells, when he got home from work at the HEB on 620. She showed him the picture of the missing rabbit and he knew right away where he was," the post read.
Rabby was safely handed to the floor manager, Lisa, who offered to drive him across town in case he could not be picked up.
As Jason made his way to the store, a text from Lisa to Sanchez revealed that the stuffed animal was in perfect condition and covered in H-E-B gear. Lisa told Sanchez to let Noah know about all the adventures Rabby had at the store, which included helping at the deli and checking out customers.
"I just couldn't believe how so many people went out of their way to help a three year old boy find his favorite most treasured stuffed animal, Rabby," Sanchez said in the post. "It was a nice reminder during this season of giving of how people need to slow down, really help those in need — no matter the need and spread kindness."
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