WEST LOOP — A West Loop mom is so desperate to find her 3-year-old's missing stuffed animal that she resorted to posting several signs in the neighborhood late Wednesday.
Jo Tracy Krolopp said her 3-year-old daughter Olivia is devastated that her stuffed cat "Phyllis," which has been at her side for two years, is missing. Olivia calls the toy cat her "best friend," her mom said.
The homemade flyers, which are posted near the family's home at Jackson and Racine, include a photo of the stuffed and spotted cat, read: "This beloved stuffed animal was lost of 4/1/15. Please call Jo if found... Please!!!!" The flyers are a last resort, Krolopp said Friday afternoon.
"I know it's insane to put up signs, but I'm certain someone picked it up," the mom said. "I'm hoping some mom or dad, some other kids picked it up, but no dice so far."
Although the toy animal went missing on April 1st — April Fool's Day, when pranks are prevalent — Krolopp said the signs, and her daughter's tears over the missing toy animal, are not a joke.
"I wish I was kidding," she said.
Phyllis the stuffed animal went missing on Wednesday during Olivia's walk home from the Montessori Academy of Chicago, Krolopp said. Krolopp's husband, and Olivia's dad, John had the day off and picked Olivia and her younger sister up from school. At some point, the parents think Phyllis the cat fell out of the stroller.
Krolopp, who is an attorney in the Loop and "part-time crazy mom, apparently," got home late from work Wednesday, but arrived home in time to tuck her kids into bed. While she was tucking her in, her daughter began to ask where Phyllis was.
She checked the family room, the kitchen. Then the stroller, which was the last place John saw the stuffed animal during their walk. It was empty.
After turning the house upside down looking for the lanky, spotted stuffed animal, Krolopp realized it was missing.
"I was nuts. I had pictures (of Phyllis) on my phone, so I printed them up and I was hanging them up like a crazy person that night," she said.
Olivia's grandmother gave the stuffed cat to her as a Valentine's gift in 2013, when Olivia was 1-year-old. Ever since then, Olivia has taken the stuffed animal everywhere and "Phyllis" was one of her first words.
"She's obsessed with it. She calls Phyllis her best friend," Krolopp said. "I've been weary (of losing the toy) since then."
Krolopp called the toy's manufacturer, who said they haven't manufactured the stuffed animal since 2011.
As she saw her daughter's bond grow with Phyllis, Krolopp actually bought a backup one after finding it on eBay a year ago. The parents tried to give Olivia the "new" Phyllis, but she's not buying it.
"She's sad. She was still crying this morning about it," Krolopp said. "She'll say, 'Phyllis is my best friend' or 'Phyllis is alone in the dark.'"
If anyone does find the stuffed animal "Phyllis," who looks like a cat, with colorful flower spots and long arms and legs, call Jo Krolopp at 312-307-2497.
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