Toddler receives two very special bears for the most heartbreaking reason

Losing a parent at any age is heartbreaking, so we can only image what two-year-old Malachi is going through.

The youngster lost his dad, Blake Snyder, last year, following a shooting incident in St. Louis County Missouri.

Blake, a police officer, had been on duty when the tragedy occurred. 

In order to help the youngster deal with his loss, friends of the family decided to give him a truly wonderful gift: two teddy bears – but they aren't just any kind of bears.

The cuddly toys are actually made from Blake’s police uniforms and are a permanent keepsake and reminder of his father.

Thanks to the kind gesture, Malachi will always have a part of his dad close to him, and, unsurprisingly, loves them already.

Malachi's mother, Elizabeth, was left devastated by the tragic incident, struggling to cope with her grief.

However, thanks to her son, Elizabeth has been able to get through.

“This pain that hasn't subsided, that hasn't alleviated, is unbearable and unending," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"But this child here – he has been the hope in my heartache. He is the reason I get up each day.

"The reason I keep it together as best I can. The reason I push through.”