A chance find by the side of a road in Worrigee will soon result in an emotional reunion.
Samantha-Claire Randall was taking her son Rogan for a walk along Old Southern Road recently when she noticed something unusual among the dirt and weeds.
"At first I thought it was a dead animal, because it was black but it was also a little bit white," she said.
"It wasn't what I was expecting for a Monday morning walk."
But what she thought might have been a puppy tossed aside into the bush turned out to be a teddy bear.
Ms Randall said she knew it was special when she saw the Bears of Hope label on one of the feet - and she knew the significance through family experiences.
Bears of Hope are designed as a gift offering comfort to bereaved family members after the loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy.
"If it was a standard teddy I probably would have just left it, but I thought 'I can't leave this here'," Ms Randall said.
"It had been out there for ages, getting run over by cars and hit by the weather."
She took the bear home to clean it up, before posting the find on social media sites.
It took six days but the owner was finally found - only after the picture was also shared through the Bears of Hope page on social media.
Ms Randal said she was contacted by a woman saying, "That's my Isabella's bear."
It turned out the woman and her family had moved last year from Worrigee to Canberra, and her young son had been playing with the bear in the back of the car before it disappeared.
"When I sent her a video of the bear she just burst into tears - she was just so appreciative that I had kept it safe, she couldn't stop thanking me," Ms Randall said.
"It was very emotional for both of us."
The woman even offered to buy a gift for Rogan as a way to show her gratitude.
Ms Randall is in the process of arranging to have the bear transported to its owner in Canberra.
"Hopefully she can be reunited with it soon and find some comfort in having it back," she said.
