Age 22 Girl Sends Teacher Photo of Stuffed Hippo that Leaves Him Baffled
What was the last important thing you lost? For me, it was my first iPhone: I’d left it on a clothing rack in Walmart.
By the time I realized my mistake, it was gone. For weeks, I dreamt about finding the tech I seemingly couldn’t live without.
One of the hardest parts of losing something is letting go. It’s easier to dwell on every moment leading up to the loss and how you should have done things differently.
Perhaps it’s that feeling of dread that comes with losing something important that compels people to go to extreme lengths to reunite found items with their owners.
Increasingly, social media is facilitating spectacular lost-and-found stories. And that’s one of the better uses for the internet.
Peter Luketina is a student-teacher in Willoughby, Ohio. On Feb. 11, he was headed downtown for coffee with a friend.
In the middle of an intersection, the pair came across a light blue stuffed hippo. Luketina picked it up and placed it on a post at the side of the road.
When the hippo was still there several hours later, Luketina took the hippo home for a nice cleaning. He then photographed the plush and started his search for the owner on Facebook.
“The poor fella was in the middle of the intersection. If you have friends with children in that area, please ask if they’ve lost a stuffed animal on Ridge Road.
“I know it’s seems minuscule to us, but to a child it can mean the world,” he posted. Indeed, stuffed animals can hold a special place in our hearts.
Luketina’s post was shared over 6,000 times. The local news station even covered the story assisting in the search.
When the hippo’s owner contacted Luketina, he was thrown for a “Curveball.” He’d imagined the bright and excited eyes of a small child reunited with their beloved plush.
Instead, 22-year-old Kate Wearsch sent Luketina a picture of the stuffed animal nice and clean in her room.
Apparently, the hippo had been gifted to Wearsch during a 2-year period when she was in and out of the hospital.
She explained that the hippo, named “Poe,” must have fallen out of the car. She was not aware that it was missing.
Stuffed animals have a way of providing comfort in our darkest hours. This beautiful tale of reunification shows that plushies aren’t just for kids.
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