Two-year-old Brinley loves her stuffed animal Handy the Hound, the Home Hardware mascot.
Her parents, Twyla and Curtis Lamb, are coincidentally the owners of the Home Hardware location in Redcliff, Alta.
Last year, they brought the stuffed dog home after visiting a conference in Toronto, and the limited edition collectible plushie quickly became Brinley’s favourite toy.
However, not long after, the toy was selflessly given away.
“A couple months later, one of our long-time employees got sick and passed away,” said Twyla. “So, when she passed away, we just thought it was right to put it in her casket because she had worked at the store for 22 years.”
Curtis added: “We couldn’t do a lot for her, but we felt that it was the right thing to do at the time.”
After the toy was bestowed to their late employee, Brinley didn’t realize how much she had missed her hound.
Her parents went in search of a replacement, but quickly found out the toy was discontinued.
When other Home Hardware owners realized the sacrifice the young family had made, they jumped into action.
“A lady from head office sent me a picture of Handy and said that Handy is coming home to Brinley,” Twyla shared.
A new Handy the Hound was donated by an employee in St. Jacobs, Ont.
“The lady that gave hers to Brinley, she had had it since she started working for Home Hardware” Curtis said. “She said it was sitting on her desk so it might as well go to someone who is going to love and cherish it more than she would.”
It’s something that the Lamb family is extremely grateful for.
“It’s really heartwarming to know that we’re part of an organization that cares so much,” said Twyla.
Just a few weeks ago, the beloved plushie made the 3,048-kilometre trek across Canada to surprise Brinley, who now has her right-hand hound by her side once again.