These three grocery store workers went above and beyond the call of duty to help a little girl who was heartbroken over the loss of her best friend: a small stuffed animal named Bunny.
3-year-old Madison had been out shopping with her mother, Jenna Rachal, at a Publix grocery store in Daphne, Alabama when they arrived home and realized that her beloved toy friend was missing. Since Madison has had Bunny since she was born, the youngster was understandably distraught.
So on Friday morning, Rachal returned to the store and asked if anyone had found the stuffed rabbit.
The customer service rep said that no one had turned in the rabbit, so the dejected mother went home and took to social media, asking if anyone had seen Bunny.
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The post was shared hundreds of times until it was spotted by Mike Gayheart, the manager of the local Publix. Unable to bear the thought of the heartbroken toddler being without her best friend, he told Rachal that he would be checking surveillance footage for the rabbit.
Gayheart looked over the security footage of Rachal’s visit to see that Bunny had been left in their shopping cart as they were loading their groceries into their car. He was then mortified to see poor bunny thrown in the trash, where it then made its way to the dumpster, and finally, to a compactor that was taken to the landfill.
Not to be discouraged, Gayheart got three of his employees, Alex Chandonnett, Jordan De La Rosa, and Bobby Barnhart, to go with him to the landfill and sort through the trash in search of Bunny – and they actually managed to find him amidst the garbage.
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Gayheart took the rabbit home, washed him off three times, and brought it back to Madison. Rachal – who had not known of the rabbit’s journey to the landfill, or the resulting rescue mission – was so shocked by Bunny’s homecoming, she made a post on Facebook praising the Publix workers for their compassion.
“I plan on calling Publix corporate to tell them and posting to news sites and radio sites to make sure everyone knows how awesome these people are,” wrote Rachal. “This is above and beyond, and a true example of the good people in the world!”
Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Perseverance With Your Friends – Photos by Jenna Rachal