Waterford police names lost bear: Leo McFuzz
Waterford -- Officer Leo McFuzz is reporting for duty.
A lost teddy bear that was taken in by the Waterford Police Department in December has officially been given a name. First name: Leo, for law enforcement officer. Last name: McFuzz.
The name was chosen after more than 170 people commented on a Facebook post in which the department asked for name suggestions for the lost bear. The last name came from a suggestion for Fuzz, a play on the slang term for police, "the fuzz."
The bear was found sitting along on a park bench by Charlie Maffeo, son of Waterford officer Gil Maffeo in mid-December. Nine-year-old Charlie, a fourth-grader at the Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in New London, rescued the abandoned bear and brought him straight to the police station, where he knew his dad would help him find his way back home.
Officer Maffeo registered the bear as found property at the department and has taken to social media a few times to try to find its owner.
The department has made the bear a popular character on their Facebook page, posting photos of it sitting in a holding cell, filing a police report and responding to a crash between toy squad cars from New London and Waterford. In one post, the department said the bear was being cared for with a steady diet of doughnuts and energy drinks.
Robyn Butler, of Ledyard, said she started following the department on Facebook after hearing about the bear and has loved watching the teddy bear's saga unfold on social media.
"I've really enjoyed following the Waterford Police Department and their stories with this lost teddy bear," said Butler. "It's been so much fun.'
Butler, who suggested the name "Fuzz", said the idea came from the slang term for police, "but also because it's a teddy bear and it's "fuzzy."
"A cool little play on words," Butler said.
Police announced the bear's name in a Facebook post on Feb. 29 after promising to name it if it wasn't claimed by Leap Day. Police are still looking for the bear's owner. It was found at Veterans Memorial Field around Dec. 19. and has a tag in the center that says "All the Gospel to All the World John Hagee Ministries."
If no one claims the bear, it will continue reporting for duty at the police department it now calls home.
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