Sentimental dad carries his daughter's toy to work- for 18 years

20-year-old Samantha Holmes was writing a college essay in her room when her dad Pat walked in. 

In his hand was a stuffed toy, one that she hadn't seen in a very,very long time. It was a stuffed beluga whale, which she'd given to him 18 years ago in case he felt lonely at work. 

For 18 years he had been bringing the toy into work every day. He also took it with him on business trips. 

Overwhelmed with emotion, Samantha snapped a picture of her dad and the toy before posting it on Reddit. 

When I was two I gave my Dad a stuffed beluga whale to keep in his work bag so that if he ever missed me he could hold it and think of me. 18 years later, my Dad has just informed me he still brings my beluga whale to work with him every day. from r/pics

Speaking to The Washington Post, the 56-year-old from Vancouver, Canada said that he finds comfort in having the toy with him as a reminder of his kids.

“I’ve taken it to work every single day I’ve gone to work. I’d put it in my suitcase and not tell anybody it was there. And then I’d put it back in my gym bag.”

Neither remember how Samantha gave her dad the toy, but they know it was after a visit to the aquarium. At the age of 2, Samantha was convinced that the toy was a beluga whale, until commenters pointed out that it was a turtle.  

“When she gave it to me, she told me to take it out if I felt lonely. I don’t like to be away from the kids, so I like to have it,” Pat said. “I think of it as a part of them being with me.”

The turtle made a reappearance however, when Pat's gym bag "bit the dust". 

Samantha was surprised by how long he'd kept the toy. 

“He’s always been very sweet like that,” she said.“But that’s a long time.”

Pat says that he didn't expect a shocked reaction, because he's known for being sentimental. 

“I like the family being together,” he said. “If a month has 30 days, we have dinner together 28 of them. It’s important to me.”

For that reason, he's vowed to keep bringing the turtle to work with him. Something that Samantha thinks is adorable.

 “You hear a lot of people don’t have a close relationship with their dads, or their dads aren't really expressive,”she said. “I’m really grateful for how close we are.”