When Adopted Little Girl Loses Her Teddy Bear, Park Ranger Sets Out To Reunite Them. 

little girl sitting on a couch and smiling big while hugging a small teddy bear

Teddy has always been more than just a stuffed animal.

While Addie and Ben Pascal counted down the days until they could finally meet their adopted daughter from Ethiopia in person, they decided to send her a little gift. It was a stuffed bear, and it was just what their sweet little girl needed as she waited for her new family to arrive.

“He kept her company until she could come home for good,” Addie said.

Even after Naomi arrived at her new home in Wyoming, she and Teddy were inseparable. The bear even helped her fall asleep almost every night! The adorable duo could also be found going on all sorts of adventures and family trips together, including one to Glacier National Park.

Their fall trip in 2020 was absolutely beautiful, but they didn’t realize until they had already left that Teddy was missing. Somewhere along the trail, Naomi accidentally left him behind.

Determined to find their daughter’s special friend, Addie turned to Facebook for help. She explained their situation and gave details on where they thought Teddy might have been left. Her post received a fair number of likes, shares, and comments, but months passed with no word of a stuffed bear sighting.

“There would be no greater joy than to reunite our daughter with her very special furry friend,” the mom said.

October came around, and it was time for the park rangers at Glacier National Park to perform a post-season clean up. Buried in the snow, they discovered a soaking wet teddy bear. Usually, this sort of damaged toy would be thrown out, but Teddy has always been more than a stuffed animal – even to Ranger Tom Mazzarisi.

“Bears are my passion. I just didn’t have the heart to throw it away,” Tom said. “There was something special about this teddy bear, so I adopted him and named him Ceasar.”

Tom isn’t exaggerating when he says he’s passionate about bears. He monitors bear activity in the Hudson Bay District, so not only did he keep the toy bear, but he also placed him on his dashboard and declared “Ceasar” to be the mascot for his patrol car. They went on lots of adventures together, and while Teddy no doubt had fun, after a year apart from Naomi, it was finally time for him to go back home.

A family friend of Naomi’s was enjoying her own fall visit at the park when she happened to pass by Tom’s car and the bear caught her eye. It took her a moment to realize why the stuffed animal seemed so familiar, but once she did, she immediately took action. In no time, Teddy was on his way back to Naomi!

Naomi was overjoyed to have her best friend back home safe and sound! We’re so glad these two are finally back together once again!

Share this story to celebrate their adorable reunion.

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