Most parents know that when a child spots a toy in a store, it’s a potential catalyst for a meltdown.
But Colby and Alyssa Hacker’s 3-year-old Owen was happy knowing he would go home with at least one of the three dinosaurs he was eyeing at a Fort Smith, Arkansas Target.
That’s until they met a gentleman who treated Owen to all three dinosaurs for a very heartbreaking reason.
Alyssa Hacker was overwhelmed by the act of kindness and took to Facebook to share her experience.
“This Momma just cried in the middle of Target,” she wrote. “We were at Target waiting on Grammi and we found some dinosaurs. Owen grabbed all 3 and we were trying to pick out which one he wanted when Owen abruptly yelled ‘HI’ at this older man walking past us.”
The older gentleman was excited by the greeting and got close to Owen to play with him and the stuffed toys.
“He turned around and said ‘hey sweet boy’ he proceeded to play dinosaurs with Owen,” Alyssa explained. “With this crazy world we live in I was a little hesitant as to how close he was with Owen.”
Alyssa’s hesitation quickly melted away when the gentleman offered to buy Owen all three dinosaurs so he wouldn’t have to choose just one.
However, the reason why he offered to do such a thing is what made Alyssa break down in tears.
“The man got his wallet out and pulled $20 out, he put it in Owen’s pocket on his shirt and said ‘I just lost my 2-year-old grandson last week,'” Alyssa wrote. “‘You take this money and buy this boy all three dinosaurs’ and rubbed Owens back, wiped his tears and walked off.”
Thankfully, Owen wasn’t about to let their encounter end on a sad note.
“After Owen yelled ‘thank you’ the gentleman turned around and yelled ‘boomer sooner!'” Alyssa wrote. “There is still some good in this world!”
Their post has gone viral on social media where it has gotten more than 128,500 shares on Alyssa’s Facebook page and more than 14,000 shares on the Love What Matters Facebook page.
The post inspired many to share their own similar stories on social media.
“Owen has been such a blessing to us, and I love being able to share that blessing with others!” Alyssa told TODAY. “I pray he continues to be that light in someone’s day, every single day. These three stuffed dinosaurs have more meaning than I ever thought a stuffed animal from Target could have,” she said. “We will hold on to these memories forever!”
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