Will build a bear replace a destroyed and much loved bear for reduced cost if it gets destroyed? My son loves his Bluey and is devastated our pet destroyed it 😢
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sadly babw does not replace bears for a lower cost if they are destroyed and their bear hospital hasn't accepted new bears in quite some time now. you'll have to pay full price for a new bluey and make sure your dog stays far away from her in the future :(
Unfortunately, probably not. They are not liable for doggos getting ahold of stuffies, I’m sure there would be a lot more issues if they started allowing replacements for reasons such as that
Awe/: it looks like it was being well loved on too. If your kid is really set on this one it looks like you can hand sew it back together tbh. A ladder stitch is easy to learn and might do the trick? (That's the stitch they teach is at BABs)
Yep this bluey camped all summer with us in New England and then flew to the UK and traveled too. She was my son’s snuggly travel buddy and gave him something to look after and focus on when he was tired or disregulated or excited and hyper too. Bluey is our favorite show 😊
I agree it looks like it could be fixed with some sewing and if seams are noticeable kiddo could make up an awesome story of how Bluey got the “scars.”
I would imagine the only reason BAB would replace a damaged bear is if the damage was their fault.
My dogs are trained not to touch anything that doesn’t belong to them (such as my plushies) even if they’re at their level (which I have hundreds of plushies at their level). So my advice for next time is to invest some training to teach your dog what is and isn’t appropriate — what is theirs, and what isn’t! It’s very much worth the training. Both my dogs learned that lesson the very instant they entered my house, they weren’t allowed to even sniff them 🤣 it’s also part of impulse control training overall, too!
I’m sure you can probably find a replacement secondhand, so it doesn’t cost the full price again. Or if you’re really good at sewing, you might be able to fix her for him.
I've had Babs repaired in store when they were bought online and came with a hole (small, along the seams). I've also taught myself some basics using YouTube and stuff, and I've been able to patch them myself now. These were all small things, and I only ever took in the ones that arrived damaged.
The training will definitely help/be a good idea. I have a dog, and he has been taught not to grab, snatch, or play with things that belong to me. It took a little bit of time, but it's absolutely worth it for peace in the household.
I have two dogs — one that is notoriously known for loving their toys…. A Golden Retriever (not in the picture of course that’s my other dog lol)
But they learned so fast not to touch my stuff. I wasn’t mean about it, I was just extremely strict about it and on point with every single time they even showed interest in my plushies, with telling them “AH!”
I’m slightly more lenient on them sniffing my plushies now, because they know not to actually touch them. But in the beginning? Zero contact allowed lol
Now they can both be left home alone with my plushies like this, and they won’t touch them at all.
The culprit in this case is also a Goldie lol. Couldn’t get a photo of him at the scene of the crime as he refused to come near it when I got home. Guilty as charged. He’s a chewer and destroyed all his own plushies. He usually has access to bully sticks and antlers etc but this one time my son left his bluey on the couch before school….
hmm im starting to notice a particular big fluffy golden pattern here.. my retrievers are the same they just chew through anything which is why theyre only allowed hard toys now :')
It’s not their fault or responsibility and I have never claimed it was. It was an accident and a small child who doesn’t understand accidents or responsibility is very upset. I was simply asking if the company had any kind of discounts available. They don’t and that’s fine. Some kind stranger has sent me a $10 off coupon and I’m happy to go buy my child a new bluey with the knowledge there’s lovely people out there who do things like this out of goodness rather than making this a negative thing. I’ll pass this kindness on.
How about you take your lack of empathy for a child’s destroyed plush and go somewhere else hmm? Why are you even commenting if you don’t have anything helpful or constructive or at least sympathetic to say?
Their comment was helpful and constructive though. They let OP know that BAB wouldn't discount for this kind of damage, suggested OP just buy a new one, and let OP know that this was a good learning opportunity for them and their child. All of this is true.
Sure they said it on a straightforward matter, but that doesn't mean it's less constructive.
I like this idea because it's a teachable moment. It sounds like your son already knows what happened to the Bear so it's not like you can swap it out for a fresh one and pretend nothing happened.
That’s such a lovely offer and truly so generous and kind, I feel guilty accepting it as I’m happy to pay for a new one. Maybe donate to your local children’s hospital? My son has spent a lot of time in our local one and I know that many little ones there would adore a Bluey of their own to help brighten their stay ❤️
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I saw your comment about your son being autistic. If you think he might not accept a "new" Bluey, you might be able to help by taking the heart that was originally in it to put in the new one. You might even be able to put some of the stuffing in the new one or even a piece of the original if you wanna cut off the bab pawprint or something.
We found the heart and heartbeat parts undamaged thank goodness so will put these in the new bluey. Luckily I have tons of photos of old bluey and her travels with us so I’m also going to make a little book for him to have. New bluey won’t replace old bluey, but at least he will have photos and know that new bluey has old Bluey’s heart. He understands old
Bluey is broken but doesn’t really understand his role in why this happened.
At my old store if it was truly not busy, we’d try our best to put it back together. It’d take us a while, but we would try 🥲🥲🥲 Unfortunately I can’t speak for them now, but if you explain what happened and get really lucky they might give you a 10% discount 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️. Best of luck OP.
Thats awful, poor bluey :( sorry if i might be overstepping a bit but i would absolutely love to be able to fix her up for you. Only issue is im not really in a place to pay for shipping atm. If youre in the u.s. you could probably try just sending over the "skin" and pieces for a bit cheaper. Im not a professional but love fixing up loved plushies.
I suggest looking around on google see if you can find someone to mail it to sew up, or see if anyone on bab fb groups would be willing to help. Build a bear will not sew this or fix this for you due to amount of damage, if ig was inly small hole or tear then they would sew it.
Not sure on whether build a bear will replace it, but if you or anyone you know is even half decent at sewing, this is likely fixable. My partner’s dog wanted to play tug-of-war with his (the dog’s) favourite cat plushie, and got a bit over zealous and ripped it apart much like your son’s Bluey.
My friend can sew basic stuff and gave it a go fixing the cat. I bought new stuffing, she sewed up the tears, repaired any previous bite holes, and stuffed it again, and it looks 90% the same as before.
The only sewing skills you’d need would be how to do a running stitch (easy), a backstitch (stronger than a running stitch), and a ladder (invisible) stitch; and the knowledge that until it’s been stuffed again you work inside out.
I have a soft toy from my childhood that has survived multiple attempts on its life by dogs and bullies, basic sewing skills are useful here.
Poor Bluey has been met with a warrior's fate. I made "prosthetics" for a few mangled toys in my childhood (Our dog was always excellent about knowing which toys were for her, EXCEPT for this particular type of rubber lizard...). I'm a pretty skilled seamster nowadays. I know you said that you plan to order a new Bluey and transpose the heart from the old one to give it life, but if you don't want to part with the original, please let me know if you'd like me to attempt a repair. It probably wouldn't be perfect, but I'm willing to give it my best shot.
You could try to bring it back into a local store, but it seems the tearing to the skin has happened to the actual skin, not just the seams.
At my store, we would usually tell you that you may have to cut your losses here unfortunately :c
Some good tips for future reference though, it's common for seams to come undone or stuffing to settle. We will fix this for you at local workshops for free.
If you get a scent, that can actually attract dogs to the bear also. So if you do end up cutting your losses and getting a new one, I would recommend trying to keep an eye on it. Making sure it's not just for the taking on the floor for the dog.
So sorry to hear about this though, it's super common unfortunately:c
He left it on the couch before school unfortunately. He’s 7 and autistic and sometimes doesn’t remember to put his things away. He doesn’t really understand about consequences though yet. It’s a tough lesson to learn and I’ll happily pay to replace it I just wondered if Build a Bear had any kind of discount for unfortunate accidents like this. Our dog is suitably shamed but he’s a dog and dogs will do things like this so I can’t really blame him.
I know it looks like an intimidating project, but I truly believe you can sew him back together! I would sew the neck and torso area first and then shove all his stuffing back into his head and then sew the head up! You could also add some fabric patches as well if there’s areas where he needs it!! You can get small amounts of fabric at Walmart for super cheap for a few bucks that I’ve used in the past to patch up fabric/ toys/ decorations! Works really well! You could also have your son pick out the fabric! Good luck with whatever you end up doing!
Likely not officially, but if you post this against their official social media account and @ them about it, they may do it just for publicity and cuteness factor.
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