A Child Left Their Stuffed Animal Behind at a Holiday Inn. Then the Staff’s Attempts to Find Its Owner Went Viral

NEED TO KNOW

• A Holiday Inn has been trying to reunite a lost stuffed animal with one of their guests who left it behind during a recent stay

• The hotel started a series on their Instagram account explaining how they found the toy, which they’ve now named Jack, and what he’s been up to

• They noted that the traveler who lost Jack was staying at the hotel for Katy Perry’s Perth concert back in June, but they haven’t been able to track down the exact guest

A Holiday Inn in Perth, Australia is going to great lengths after one of its guests left their stuffed animal behind during a recent stay.

In an effort to find the toy’s owner, the hotel started a social media series on July 17 after finding the stuffed dog in their laundry room a few weeks earlier. The saga has since left many users hooked as they eagerly await for an update on a possible reunion between the owner and the stuffed animal, which the hotel named Jack and jokingly hired to be part of their staff.

“A few weeks ago, our housekeeping team found this well-loved stuffed toy in our laundry. We thought someone would come looking, but he’s still here! So we’ve named him ‘Jack’ and made him part of the team,” the hotel wrote in their initial Instagram post.

They added that the stuffed animal has been “training across the hotel” and “living his best life as our unofficial mascot.”

The post shows Jack doing a number of jobs around the hotel, from “greeting guests at the front desk” to “restocking the housekeeping trolleys.”

“If you recognize this little guy (or know someone who might be missing him), please get in touch – we’d love to get him back home to his family,” the caption added. “Until then, he’s living the suite life with us.”

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A week later, the hotel was still searching for Jack’s owner, so they shared more details about the stuffed animal in a July 25 post. In the caption, they noted that Jack was left behind the weekend that Katy Perry’s Lifetimes Tour came to Australia in June.

“It’s been a month since we found this little guy in our laundry, and despite our best efforts, we’re still searching for his family,” they wrote in the caption, adding, “We’ve reached out to all guests from that weekend, searched every message, and checked through our logs for any leads – but no luck yet.”

Most recently, the hotel shared another attempt at finding “Jack’s pawrents” after “countless emails, phone calls and database searches.”

The post, shared on Saturday, Aug. 2, shows the stuffed animal sporting a Holiday Inn nametag that says “Jack” on it as he explores the city of Perth in an effort to find his family.

In the slides, he’s seen traveling around the city and making stops at some of its famous sites, including the Bell Tower, Elizabeth Quay and Kings Park.

“From laneways and landmarks to bell towers and botanic gardens, he’s left no tree un-sniffed across Perth. No luck yet, but don’t worry – he’s safe, loved, and now a very important member of our Holiday Inn Perth City Centre team,” they note in the caption.

PEOPLE has reached out to Holiday Inn for comment.

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The sweet series has caught the attention of a number of Instagram users, with many flocking to the comments to express their hope that Jack gets reunited with his owner soon.

“As a kid who lost a favorite stuffed animal when I was 3 years old moving from Denmark to NY, I hope Jack finds his family. I bet his person is missing him too,” one commenter wrote.

Another adds, “We are so invested in this story at our home – I can’t imagine losing our fav puppy!!! Hoping for a reunion soon and loving his adventures in the meantime.”

One skeptical user questioned whether the series was a marketing ploy as they thought they recognized the stuffed animal from one of the hotel’s previous ads. However, the hotel assured them that Jack was found recently.

“Isn’t Jack in your ad for your ‘family getaway package’ on your profile dated 6th June? With the two little girls,” the comment read.

In response, the hotel wrote back, “Believe it or not, that’s a completely different dog! Those photos were taken back in 2019, and that puppy went back home with the two girls in the photo. Our ‘Jack’ showed up in our laundry last month and we’re still trying our best to track down his family to get him back home! Some followers on our TikTok have pointed out that he’s from IKEA, so he has many siblings out there!”

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