Publix Employees Searched Landfill To Find Girl's Stuffed Bunny

A three-year-old girl was devastated when she lost her stuffed animal named Bunny after a shopping trip to an Alabama Publix with her mom. The girl's mother, Jenna Rachal, told WKRG that there were thunderstorms brewing in the area as they left the grocery store and in the hustle to beat the rain, Bunny got left in their shopping cart. 

The next morning Jenna called the store hoping the lost stuffed animal, which was given to Madison by her grandfather, had turned up, but an employee told her nobody had seen it. Jenna then decided to post a plea for help on a local Facebook group. Mike Gayheart, who works as a manager at Publix, saw her post and jumped into action. 

He reviewed security footage and managed to find a video that showed Bunny had ended up in the dumpster and was taken to the landfill with the rest of the garbage. Gayheart wasn't going to let that stop him from tracking down the stuffed animal. He organized a search team and they headed to landfill, where they managed to find Bunny buried under piles of trash. 

Gayheart thoroughly washed Bunny and called Jenna, asking her to bring Madison down to the store. When Jenna and Madison arrived, the employees handed her a wrapped gift box which contained her beloved stuffed animal.

"She opened the gift and immediately grabbed Bunny and hugged him," Jenna told the Tampa Bay Times. "I never imagined they’d actually go out to the landfill to dig through a heap of trash in 90-something degree heat.

Madison was grateful and wouldn't stop hugging her beloved stuffed animal on the car ride home. 


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