A lost toy and a kind gesture demonstrates the magic of Christmas
Aaron Davis takes Captain to visit the Lee County Sheriff’s office. Jessica Henderson holds Captain.
BY MICHELLE KEY | PUBLISHER
LEE COUNTY — Friday, Dec. 20, started out as a normal day for Lucia Rogers and her family from Auburn. They never expected that their daughter’s beloved toy would soon become the center of a viral Christmas story.
The Rogers left home Friday morning to head to North Carolina for Christmas. Shortly after leaving their house, they pulled off the interstate to grab something from the back of the car and then continued on their way.
A while later, 20-month-old Lola asked for her pal “Captain”, a cute stuffed puppy that had been gifted to her by her aunt just a short time ago. Rogers said the gift was extra special.
“My dog Captain who was 12 years old just died not even three weeks ago,” Rogers said. “My sister-in-law got the stuffie that looks like him for my daughter to remember him.”
CAPTAIN
But when Lola asked for her doggie, her mom could not find him in the car.
“I couldn’t find him even though she had him when we left,” she said. “I figured he must have fallen out when we pulled over on the side of the road and I opened the door to get something from the back seat. We were far enough out that it didn’t make sense to turn around but we remembered which exit we pulled off on so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to post and see if someone passing by saw it.”
The post: If anyone happens to be taking the on-ramp to 85 N at the Bent Creek exit and sees a brown dog stuffy on the right-hand shoulder, please let me know. We pulled over to get something out of the car on our way out of town and I think it must have fallen out, but we are too far gone to turn around. If you could hold it for us until we get back, we (and my toddler) would appreciate it.
That simple Facebook post in the “What’s Happening in Auburn and Opelika” group went viral in the best of ways when Aaron Davis from Davis Plumbing saw the post and decided to go look for the pup.
It did not take long before he found Captain and posted a photo and said, “I just picked him up. I can get him back to you when you’re in the area. He looked a little bewildered but is in good spirits.”
Jessica Henderson, The Lee County Sheriff’s Office media & community relations specialist invited Davis to bring Captain to its office to visit with the mischievous elves known as Twinkle and Tinsel that visit every year as part of Santa’s Elf on the Shelf reconnaissance program.
“Does he need to have some adventures before going back to his family to explain his absence?” asked Henderson. “We have a couple of rambunctious elves that can take him on a few this afternoon if you want to swing by our office with him for a few minutes.”
Rogers commented in response, “This would be very fitting as our real-life dog that recently passed that this was gifted in memory of, was always escaping and going on adventures.”
So Captain’s adventures began.
Davis took Captain to meet Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, who hired Captain on the spot as a Honorary Holiday K9 Deputy and allowed Captain to use the elves jeep to tour the facility.
It did not take long for Twinkle and Tinsel to join in the adventure and show Captain all the good stuff going on at the LCSO.
Henderson was quick to reassure little Lola that her beloved Captain was not lost, but merely on a holiday adventure of his own.
“[Please tell Lola] there is no need to be upset,” Henderson posted. “Captain didn’t get lost; he just went on adventure with his friends at the sheriff’s office.”
First, the elves took Captain to see the lobby Christmas tree but he didn’t seem to be a huge fan of climbing up into it though. Perhaps he is scared of heights like Tinsel. However, Captain did enjoy looking at the presents under the tree. While making sure all the gifts were accounted for, he met JoJo, a K9 companion from the Lee County District Attorney’s Office.
JoJo and Captain hit it off pretty well and even had the chance to head outside to get some exercise playing some frisbee. Captain was quite hungry afterwards and went a little overboard — eating an entire box of donuts.
After the exercise and the snack, Captain went back inside to the dispatch center to meet one of the communication officers. Tinsel and Twinkle were really impressed with their new co-worker and rode around with him in the jeep while he finished his tour.
During his exploration Captain had the honor of meeting one of the full-time K9 deputies, K9 Wolfgang. Wolfgang was not all that impressed with the tiny pup but decided to give him a chance.
After the tour ended, Captain headed back to the sheriff’s office to enjoy a cup of coffee and discuss the plans for the rest of holidays. Jones suggested that he get a good night’s sleep with the elves so that he would be ready to work the next day.
Henderson made sure to update Lola by letting her know that Captain was having fun and was safe.
“Tinsel & Twinkle have Captain all settled in for a cozy holiday movie marathon,” Henderson posted. “They’ll make sure he’s taken care of until you return.”
Captain’s adventure went viral on social media and brought good cheer to the community.
Davis posted about how a simple gesture turned into something much bigger.
“Lucia, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Alabama and all the rest, I just want to express my appreciation to you all for all the nice words you have uplifted me with today,” Davis said. “I have to say that I spent much of the day with a grin. There really wasn’t anything heroic done but I was grateful for the opportunity to bring some joy and smiles to the community. It was definitely more than I expected. So glad Captain Stuffy is in good hands and enjoying his new position. When he gets reunited with his family, he’ll have a new level of respect.”
Perhaps this example of kindness is the true meaning of the Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas.
