Little Boy’s “Stuffie” Deer Rescue Would Melt Your Heart

• A little boy’s stuffed toy deer was pitched into the frozen waters of a canal in Ottawa, Canada.
• Snow has already covered the toy and the family could not retrieve it.
• Call for help to neighbors merited a rescue mission which brought back the toy to a joyful 4-year-old.

---

A stuffed toy may seem worthless. But for 4-year-old Nico Lavallée, losing his stuffed toy fawn was heartbreaking. Rudolph is his best buddy.

It all started when his toddler brother decided to test his pitching arm in the snow by using Rudolph.  The stuffie went over a railing into the frozen waters of Rideau Canal in Ottawa.  Fortunately, they would be able to easily locate him as Rudolph landed close to a distance marker sign.  But still, they were unable to retrieve him.

For days, Nico and his family came to visit him. With the snow steadily falling, it was not long until Rudolph got completely covered by it. What remained was a bump.

Hopes of getting Rudolph home was fading.

But Nico’s older brother Sebastian came up with the idea to reach out to their neighbors and ask for help to bring Rudolph back.

Their mom, Brenda Duke, was reluctant to ask for help as she did not want to bother anyone.  That no one would care.

But Sebastian was adamant and so Brenda posted a photo of Rudolph’s last known location on Twitter: “If anyone happens to see a ‘stuffie’ reindeer (I think it’s a fawn actually) when the canal opens my kids would be grateful.”

But neighbors do take care of each other no matter how skeptical one may be.

A rescue mission was then organized and even the National Capital Commission (NCC), pitched in for the mission.

In no time, a frozen and a bit soggy Rudolph was rescued, thawed and groomed, before reuniting with Nico.

Little acts of kindness are what defines humans, after all. And Duke says, “You just have to just have to ask. People do care. Assuming that they don’t is something that adults do… [My kids] are growing up knowing that other people have our backs and other people care, and that’s really heartwarming.”

Source: Good News Network