Family accidentally donates 4-year-old’s teddy bear with a recording of her late mom’s heartbeat

Luckily, this is a sad story with a happy ending. A 4-year-old girl from Tennessee was desperately searching for her lost Build-A-Bear that contained a recording of her mom’s heartbeat. Her mom passed away recently, and the recording was priceless to the little girl. Unfortunately, her family accidentally donated the bear to a local Goodwill store.

The little girl’s father realized his donation mistake when his daughter requested to bring her bear to school one day.

“It was a complete mistake,” Cindy Dodson, a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries Knoxville, told TODAY.com last month. “When the father came back and saw that it was sold, his heart sank.”

Luckily, once the story went viral last month, Build-A-Bear caught wind of the incident and replacing the bear with the same recording of the mom’s heartbeat.

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“While we remain hopeful that the original bear is located, it is our sincere wish that this new teddy bear will provide a bit of comfort for the child and the family at this time,” a spokesperson from Build-A-Bear tells TODAY.com.

Build-A-Bear released the following statement to WVLT News:

“The staff at Build-A-Bear were heartbroken to hear the news about the missing Rainbow Sparkle Bear in Tazewell, Tennessee. Understanding how precious furry friends often are, the team at the warehouse (otherwise known as the “Bearhouse”) reached out to the local radio station, WRIL, that originally aired the story of the missing bear. WRIL contacted the family directly and it turned out that they still had the original recording of the sound. The Bearhouse team located a matching Rainbow Sparkle Bear and added the original recording the family provided to the new bear. The new Rainbow Sparkle Bear, with the sound file included, was promptly sent to WRIL. WRIL and Goodwill worked to unite the new bear with the family. Build-A-Bear would like to thank WRIL and Goodwill for their helpful role and while we remain hopeful that the original bear is located, it is our sincere wish that this new teddy bear will provide a bit of comfort for the child and the family at this time.“

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Hopefully the new bear containing her mom’s heartbeat brings some much-needed comfort to the little girl and her family.

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