Kitty Falconer and Arthur, who's been missing since August. (Photo Courtesy Katie Falconer)

By Chris Brown

'I love him so much'

UPDATE: Family, four-year-old girl reunited with missing stuffie

Dec 18, 2020 | 3:18 PM

UPDATE: Kitty and Arthur have been reunited.

Shortly after this story was posted the Falconers and the person who found Arthur connected through Facebook.

Kitty’s mom Katie says they are ecstatic to have him back.

“The only thing Kitty wanted for Christmas was her Arthur. A Christmas miracle has truly happened and we can’t thank Kim and her family enough for keeping safe for us and returning him to Kitty. We’ll be forever grateful for their act of kindness.”

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MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s a fear of every parent: Losing your child’s favourite toy or, even worse, stuffed animal.

Katie Falconer has been living that reality since August and now is hoping for a Christmas miracle.

After a summer outing at the Ross Glen Spray Park, Katie and her family were packing the vehicle to leave. Her husband did what everyone has done at least once, putting something on top of the vehicle.

In this case, it was four-year-old Kitty’s stuffed husky dog Arthur.

He was forgotten about and fell off the vehicle in front of the park as the family drove away.

When they realized what happened they returned to the spray park to try to find Arthur.

“There were sightings of the dog, someone had picked the dog up, asked around the area, at the confection stand and it was nobody’s. And then that’s when the trail was lost,” says Katie.

Since then, they’ve put up posters, searched the area on different occasions and posted on social media. They’re also offering $100 reward for Arthur’s return.

Katie contacted the company that made the husky but hit a roadblock there.

“They only made I think 5,000 for that Christmas market we went to in 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland and they said they don’t make that one anymore,” she says. “They gave us two other alternatives but you have to bulk buy, you have to be buying in the thousands and I only need one. And it’s not even similar.”

One person gave them a stuffed husky and they’ve also ordered one online. But they haven’t filled the emptiness that Arthur has left for Kitty, says her mother.

“She asks for him on a daily basis. It’s always sad,” says Katie. “Even though she plays with the other ones it’s not, it’s not as enthusiastic as she what she had with Arthur. She would always play with him, always imaginary play with him and it’s just tea parties and stuff.”

She says the response to her first Facebook post looking for Arthur was amazing and people have been incredibly generous by offering their own toys.

But for Kitty, Arthur is the only stuffie that will do.

“I love him so much,” she says.

Katie knows it’s a longshot but isn’t giving up hope and just wants to know what happened.

“I just feel like that one lady that picked up that toy of Arthur, and she walked around with it. So she must be out there and she must remember what she’s done with it,” she says. “Worst-case scenario she popped in the bin because she couldn’t find the owner. Best-case scenario, maybe she’s given it to another child as a goodwill gesture. If that lady knows and can remember or someone knows that lady just maybe get in contact and maybe we find the missing piece of the puzzle.”