The Adventures Of Orange Ted

This touching tale of Orange Ted, a one-eyed 50-year old teddy bear and seven-year old Jaimee Armstrong may sound like fiction, but the entire story is true. It all began in Girona, Spain on April 23rd, when Jamie, returning from a family vacation, forgot her bag of toys at the airport.

By the time she realized it, she was in the airplane, flying back to Britain. The bag had many of Jaimee's prized possessions, including her Nintendo DS, an MP3 Player and her favorite books. But most important of all, it contained her trusted friend, Orange Ted.

Orange Ted was not just any stuffed bear. He has been part of Jaimee's family since he was born 50 years ago. He was first bought for her dad's great-aunt Vera, who passed it on to her Pekinese dog when she grew up. Jaimee's dad inherited him in 1970, when he was a baby. He kept the one-eyed bear with thinning fur for many years, before giving it to Jaimee in 2002, when she was just one-year old. Since then, Jaimee had never let him out of her sight until now.  Needless to say she was really distraught.

As soon as the family reached home, they called the airport authorities, who confirmed that they had found Jaimee's bag. However, due to security rules, the bag would have to be picked up in person.

The Armstrongs, unsure of what to do, contacted a travel agent friend. She in turn, set the ball rolling by sending out a message to the 1,000 members of her company, to see if any of them was passing through Girona, Spain. This is when Orange Ted's adventures began!

The first leg of Orange Ted's journey lasted 16 days when he traveled by car from Girona, Spain to Toulouse, France, after being picked up by one of the agents. He was then handed off to another agent who passed him on to her parents, who were visiting.They flew Ted to Bolton, New Yorkshire, about 200 miles from where Jamie lived. The last leg of Ted's journey was by mail and he arrived back home on June 5th, a little weary from all his travels but happy to be re-united with Jaimee.

However, we hope he had fun in his adventures, for this will be the last time this bear gets to leave home! Jaimee and her parents have decided that Orange Ted will never again be taken on family vacations because they just couldn't 'bear' to lose him!  Do you have a favorite stuffed animal story that you would like to share? If so write to us at editor@dogonews.com or tell us your story in the comment section below.

Sources: Telegraph.Co.UK, Daily Mail.Co.UK