Social media comes together to help reunite toddler with his favorite sloth plushie named Sammie

As exhausting as social media can be at times, with its sensory overload of news, TikTok dances, DIY tips, thirst traps, funny animal videos and ads for things you didn't even know you wanted, it has also been known to do some real good from time to time. We've all marveled at the collective power of the internet when people from far and wide come together to change the lives of others pretty much overnight. A family from Monroe, Wisconsin, was recently on the receiving end of one such heartwarming experience.

Theresa Robertson and her family were on a camping trip last month when her son lost his favorite plushie, "Sammie Sloth." Although she usually leaves Sammie at home when traveling, Robertson made an exception this time as she felt her toddler, Everett, might feel more comfortable sleeping in the camper if he had his beloved plushie with him. "I broke my usual 'Sammie Sloth doesn't leave the house' rule and brought him with us," she told Sunny Skyz.

Robertson explained that the family first noticed Sammie was missing when they returned home from Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay late last month. "We thought maybe he got tossed in a bag or something so we didn't panic right away. When we got home and completely turned the camper inside out and there was no Sammie," Robertson said. Knowing how much Sammie means to her son, she took to Facebook with a plea for help tracking down the soft toy. "If anyone visiting Bay Beach Amusement Park or Lambeau Field on Thursday, July 28th found this sloth lovie anywhere, please contact me! We're not sure where it was last seen. It was Everett's first Christmas present and he takes it everywhere and sleeps with it every night. We have a backup, but he knows the feel of 'the' sloth. Long shot, but worth a try," Robertson wrote.

To her surprise, it wasn't long before the internet users stepped up and launched a mission to track Sammie down and reunite Everett with the plushie. Robertson's post was shared more than 3000 times and within a couple of hours of her posting the plea online, someone contacted her to let her know that they had seen Sammie in a parking lot. Robertson immediately contacted the park with the new information but was disappointed when they told her there was no sign of Sammie in their lost and found or in the grounds garage. "I let them know where he had been sighted and a little while later I got a picture of Sammie safe and sound," she said. "A worker had placed him on a fence post in case whoever lost him returned."

The Robertson family received yet another heartwarming surprise when someone reached out with an offer to drive Sammie to them. "A very kind woman who lives near the park was going to be traveling to our town in Monroe, WI, for a family reunion and offered to escort Sammie home!" Robertson said. After a little over a week apart, Everett reunited with his plushie on August 7. "Thanks to someone who remembered seeing him, thank you to everyone who shared, thank you to Bay Beach Amusement Park for driving around and finding him setting on a fence post, and THANK YOU to whoever put him there!" a grateful Robertson wrote on Facebook, thanking everyone who helped bring a smile to her son's face.