A heartwarming story is going viral this week that is sure to restore your faith in humanity and there is still good in this world.

Nico Lavallée is a 4 year-old boy from Ottawa, Canada who recently decided to take his stuffed Bambi toy out for a walk with his mother, Brenda Duke, and siblings 2-year-old Santiago and 6-year-old Sebastian. Wanting to see if Bambi could fly, Nico stopped to toss the toy over the railing next to the frozen waters of Ottawa’s Rideau Canal.

Unfortunately for Nico, he quickly learned that Bambi could not in fact fly, as the toy fell immediately in an area where the family could not retrieve it. Luckily, Bambi’s resting place was next to a distance marker sign, which made it easy for the family to find it again when they came back to visit in the coming days. Despite this, it was looking like Bambi would never be coming home, as it was too dangerous for them to get out on the frozen water to grab the toy.

After several days of snow, Bambi began to disappear into the white, leaving only a telltale bump behind. This was devastating for Nico, so his big brother Sebastian came up with an idea to save Bambi. Throughout the pandemic, social media has become a lifeline for their community, so Sebastian urged Brenda to reach out to neighbors to see if anyone could help.

Brenda, however, was skeptical at first.

“I didn’t want to bother anyone. I don’t think anyone would care,” she explained to CBC News.

Sebastian convinced her too give it a whirl, so Brenda took to Twitter to post a photo of Bambi’s last known whereabouts marked in red.

“If anyone happens to see a ‘stuffie’ reindeer (I think it’s a fawn actually) when the canal opens my kids would be grateful,” she tweeted. “Toddler brother threw it in. I know it’s unlikely since they clear snow now and it will be even more buried but my 6-year-old asked me to post here. They come visit it on our daily walks now; it’s the little mound you see.”

Believe it or not, a rescue mission was launched, and even the National Capital Commission (NCC) got involved. Sure enough, the mission was a success, and Bambi was saved!

After several hours of relentless searching, our courageous NCC Skateway team saved a stuffed baby deer from a most tragic end. He is now safe and sound while he defrosts!

We know a young owner who will be very happy to find him. 😉🦌 pic.twitter.com/mGcImYFV1c

— Rideau Canal Skateway (@NCC_Skateway) January 19, 2021

After being thawed and groomed, Bambi was reunited with Nico and the rest of his family at the NCC headquarters.

All thawed out and headed home! 💛
The stuffed deer heroically rescued by the NCC Skateway Team has now been reunited with its best friend. Smiles all around! pic.twitter.com/kSZqTpkaVv

— Rideau Canal Skateway (@NCC_Skateway) January 21, 2021

In the end, this entire situation has been enough to restore Brenda’s faith in her fellow humans.

“You just have to just have to ask,” she said. “People do care. Assuming that they don’t is something that adults do… [My kids] are growing up knowing that other people have our backs and other people care, and that’s really heartwarming.”

“This stuffed baby deer isn’t the only thing melting,” added one Twitter user, “so is my cold, cold heart.”