Tauranga mum's desperate hunt for replacement toy dog for her sick son

Micah, 10, slept with his friend Blue until the toy disappeared. Photo / Supplied

Tauranga mum Karen Stoodley is preparing to have a brain tumour removed - but mostly she is thinking about a little lost toy dog named Blue.

Blue belonged to her son Micah, 10 - the youngest of her four boys with teacher husband Micheal- she told the Bay of Plenty Times from Waikato Hospital yesterday, where she was preparing for surgery to remove her tumour today.

She said Blue went missing after Micah's last stay in Tauranga Hospital's paediatric ward about a month ago. It was his second stay since he began experiencing chronic pain in late April.

For months her little boy had been feeling random pain without injury. It might be a sore little finger, a throbbing eye, his back on fire.

Outside he looked healthy and whole but inside it was a different story.

The pain kept him up at night and Stoodley said Blue was one of the few comforts she could give Micah to distract his mind enough to sleep.

"He sleeps with him right up under his chin, it's very cute."

The Stoodley family moved to Tauranga in 2005. Photo / Supplied

Losing Blue had been devastating for Micah, she said. Between his pain and her brain tumour, he needed every little bit of comfort he could get.

She was not sure what happened to Blue but assumed the toy got wrapped up in the hospital sheets and left behind.

Calls to the hospital have not helped track down the little dog. She said she even contacted Waikato Hospital after discovering the laundry might have gone there - no luck.

"I feel like I've failed as a parent. The hospital staff must think I'm mad, calling all the time about a blue dog."

This week she took her hunt online, asking on Facebook if anyone had seen Blue or had an identical toy they could spare.

She thought Blue was bought from Pumpkin Patch 10 or so years ago, and that the toy had come in a pack with washcloths.

"I thought long and hard about putting the post up. But even if nothing comes of it, in a difficult time anything positive is good - even just knowing other people are out there looking for Blue."

Have you seen a Blue?

• Light blue dog soft toy
• Floppy dark blue ears
• 10cm to 15cm long
• Possibly bought from Pumpkin Patch 10 or 11 years ago

If you've seen Blue or think you might have his twin, please find Karen Stoodley on Facebook and send her a message.