REUNITED WITH HIS BEST FRIEND
A 5-year-old’s lost stuffed animal turns into a communitywide search
Shadow Jordan has known his best friend, Sharky, for as long as he can remember.
“He got Sharky on his second birthday at SeaWorld in San Diego,” Melissa Jordan, Shadow’s mother, said. “He had a choice of anything in the gift shop and after a short consideration of other toys, he kept going back to Sharky.”
Sharky keeps Shadow company wherever he goes — even in a special bike-riding basket! Melissa recalls one particular story when the family was driving across the Golden Gate Bridge for Shadow’s fourth birthday. Shadow demanded that the family had to show Sharky the Golden Gate Bridge because it was “Sharky’s fourth birthday, too.” With all of the daily memories they make together, Shadow loves this stuffed animal with his entire being, Melissa said.
Everything changed this summer when Melissa took her son to UF Health Internal Medicine – Springhill for an appointment. After the appointment, Melissa and Shadow ran some errands.
“Shadow knows he isn’t allowed to have Sharky in stores because he may lose him,” Melissa said. “The only place he is allowed to go is the doctor so Shadow can feel protected, which is why he wasn’t with us during the errands.”
When the two arrived home, Shadow went to the car to grab Sharky for dinner, but he wasn’t there.
Immediately, Melissa called the internal medicine office to see if Sharky was still there. After learning that Sharky was nowhere in sight, Melissa shared a post on the Gainesville Word of Mouth Facebook group, desperate to find her son’s beloved friend.
Her initial post received 128 comments and more than 210 reactions.
“We never in our wildest dreams thought something so small to everyone else would turn into something so big,” Melissa said.
Several comments on the post included people around Gainesville who reached out to Melissa personally with special stories, personalized drawings and even an offer to give Shadow a real shark tooth.
Another comment that stood out to her was from a local pet finder who posted on her site about a missing shark stuffed animal.
Even though the family had the Gainesville Word of Mouth community searching for Sharky, Shadow felt immediate heartbreak realizing his best friend was lost.
“It was like losing a family member,” Melissa said.
A few days later, Merrik Neanover, Melissa’s husband, blew out the candles on his birthday cake. His “birthday wish” was that Sharky could make it home safely.
“If we have ever wanted a wish to come true, it was this one,” Melissa said.
After calling UF Health Internal Medicine – Springhill every day asking for updates, Melissa received a comment on her Facebook post that the internal medicine team had found Sharky.
Melissa was overwhelmed with emotion when reading this comment. It felt like the entire community came together to help her family and she was so grateful to the staff for finding Sharky.
“We were at the gas station when I saw the message on Facebook,” Melissa said. “I immediately showed my husband and started crying my eyes out with joy. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get him until the following morning because Shadow was starting his first day of kindergarten.”
Livette Baker, an environmental services worker at UF Health Internal Medicine – Spring Hill, found Sharky on an office couch in the facility.
Sharky’s rescuer was Livette Baker, an environmental services worker at UF Health Internal Medicine – Springhill. She came across the stuffed animal on one of the couches while cleaning the office.
“Based on my experience in the hotel industry, it’s a good practice to keep whatever you find for at least one week because guests always call back for things,” Baker said.
Melissa and Merrik knew they had to make Shadow and Sharky’s reunion unique.
After the couple put Shadow to bed, they decided to set up a scavenger hunt for the next morning. They thought it would be a fun idea to have Sharky send a letter addressed to Shadow because Shadow often picks up the mail as one of his chores.
“The first clue was a stamped ‘letter’ from Sharky, even with a return address from SeaWorld,” Melissa said. “Shadow doesn’t know how to read yet, but as soon as he recognized his own name and the word ‘shark,’ he got the mail and came running into the house.”
The letter said, “I miss you, Shadow! I am sending you letters to make you smile. To find your next letter, go to your favorite place.” The next clue said, “You found it, great! Now go to your snack place.”
After a few more clues around the house, the final reveal took place — Melissa and Merrik put Sharky in his car seat, where Shadow usually leaves him, with a note that said, “Shadow, I missed you so much I just had to come home!”
When Shadow saw Sharky, his face went from confusion to excitement, and finally to joyful tears. Melissa said, “Shadow’s world felt whole again.”
After Sharky was found, Melissa made another Facebook post in Gainesville Word of Mouth and it received almost 1,400 reactions.
“In these unprecedented times, it’s amazing how something so small can bring us all a little closer together,” Melissa said. “Finding this shark made our little boy’s heart heal and helped us realize that small miracles really do happen.”
