Calgary police officer's teddy bear delivery makes little girl's day
CBC News | Posted: July 27, 2017 11:35 PM | Last Updated: July 27, 2017
Heartbroken child lost stuffed bear on Stampede grounds
When seven-year-old Ashlynn Walia lost her new teddy bear at the Calgary Stampede she was heartbroken.
Having just received the bear that day while visiting the Calgary Stampede during BMO Kids day, Ashlynn gave the bear to her parents to hold while the family had a day of fun down on the grounds.
When the family arrived at the midway to take in some rides Ashlynn realized the bear had fallen out of a bag somewhere along the way. Ashlynn and her father Amrit retraced their steps but there was no sign of the bear.
"She got so upset and didn't want to take more rides," Amrit said. "We tried to look around and even visited the police station at Calgary Stampede with the hope they had any extra, but they had none left."
Not losing hope, the Walia family spoke with two police officers on the ground and told them what had happened in the hopes of getting another bear to console Ashlynn.
Promised a teddy bear
Enter Sgt. Paul Dunn and a fuzzy friend to the rescue.
Hearing the family's story, Sgt. Paul Dunn with the Community and Youth Services section sprang ino action.
"Dunn told her that he would definitely try to look for her lost teddy or find another one by that evening," Amrit said.
Dunn said he and his partner searched for the missing teddy but had no luck. Determined to help the Ashlynn, Dunn made a promise the Walia family didn't expect him to keep.
"I promised Ashlynn we'd find her a bear, so when we couldn't find the original bear it was absolutely the right thing to do to provide her with a replacement," Dunn said. "And we luckily had a bear in need of a good home and Ashlynn is going to be a perfect owner."
To the surprise of the Walia family, Dunn arrived at their home a few days later with a new bear in tow.
'Humanity, thoughtfulness and generosity'
Unfortunately Ashlynn and her sister weren't home when Dunn made his delivery, so the family arranged to have the girls come and visit Dunn at the YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre and pick up their bear and some other gifts.
Dunn said he is humbled by the family's reaction to his good deed, saying he would do the same for any child who lost their bear.
"I've met the family a couple of times now, they're a great family and really their response to it has been incredible and it's very impactful to see the effect that you've had on a family to do something to connect with them ... and let them know what policing is like here."
Amrit said she hopes her daughters will learn a valuable lesson from the ordeal about helping those in need and their "duties towards other fellow citizens."
"This story was not all about a lost teddy but it was about humanity, thoughtfulness and generosity of a great police officer," Amrit said. "We would really want to say thanks from the bottom of our hearts."
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