It was the night before Christmas, and outside a Regina house, a pink teddy bear sat there, three times the size of a mouse.
The teddy bear is the replacement to a stuffed moose that brought Christmas cheer to the Arcola East neighbourhood.
It all started when Dale Ripplinger placed a large stuffed moose outside his home on a bench near a bus stop.
His neighbours took a liking to the plush animal, named Christmoose. People stopped to take pictures with him and began adding their own decorations to the bench.
“They all started contributing to his well-being. A scarf was put on him. We had a Christmas hat put on him. Someone put tinsel around the bench. Someone even put a bracket on the bus stop and placed a little swinging bear,” said Ripplinger.
“I have no idea where a lot of the stuff came from. It’s just been anonymous donors from around the neighbourhood.”
Christmoose was cabled to the bench but not securely enough. After a week on the bench, he was stolen.
“When he disappeared, I was really upset. I was upset somebody would do it, first of all, and because it became such a big thing in the neighbourhood. It was kind of disappointing that he was gone,” he said.
Ripplinger taped a missing moose sign up on the bench and children in the community added a milk jug with a picture of Christmoose on it with information of his disappearance.
A few days later, a replacement arrived for Christmoose: Paddy the Pink Bear.
“The doorbell rings and there was a big stuffed pink bear on our doorstep and a note attached, saying it was from the staff of the East Home Depot.”
He brought Paddy outside the next day, making sure he was tied tightly to the bench.
Since then, neighbours have added their own replacements for Christmoose. A plush snowman, a dog and a monkey have all joined Paddy the Pink Bear on the bench.
“The neighbours have just embraced the idea of having the animals on the bench,” said Ripplinger. “Every day I come to see what else is new on the bench, and it’s exciting.”
People have even sent cards to Ripplinger thanking him for the Christmas display.
“Thank you for putting a smile on my face every morning as I ride past your bus stop bench. Much appreciated,” wrote one woman.
The neighbourhood’s stuffed animal companions have made it a memorable Christmas for Ripplinger.
“It’s been kind of a cool neighbourhood Christmas thing, and I never expected it to go this way, but it’s gratifying that it has,” said Ripplinger.
He added “Merry Christmas,” to all, and to all a good night.
Source: cbc.ca
