Willow's travels have come to an end. Everyone has watched Willow travel all over the USA. Her story began as a rescue who was given another chance and she has had MANY adventures!
When I started the travel program for Willow last year, I did so in hopes of showcasing the USA through the eyes of a doll who got a second chance.
It is with great sadness to announce that Willow has been UNRETURNED to LADL.
She left for Anchorage, Alaska on August 5th, arrived safely August 11th per tracking info and confirmation email from the host family. After eight days with no photos or activity log and despite ELEVEN emails and one phone call, Fran refuses to respond.
It has been 30 days and no contact with Willow. I do not know why Fran is refusing to return Willow, even though she is aware that Willow's next stop was NV and she is the property of LADL.
I want to thank all of the host families who were good to Willow and adhered to the honor system of the travel program.
Oh no, that's so sad! Poor Willow... I hope she gets returned soon. ;( I loved to watch willow travel.. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I'm so sorry! This is horrible. I hope that Willow is soon safely returned. And what a shame that she won't be going to Alaska! I went this past summer and it was amazing.
ReplyDelete-aginparadise
Thank you.
DeleteNo Willow IS IN ALASKA. The Alaska host family have refused to return her.
Oh! Oh goodness. :(
Delete-aginparadise
My glob! They stole a $25 used doll? That's just pointless.
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin to form thoughts. I hope calling out this thief publicly will shame her into returning your property. Who the heck does something like this??? I'm so upset that this selfish woman has ruined something fun for all your readers by stealing your personal property.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear Willow's travels are postponed! :( I hope this can get worked out and she can return to you soon :)
ReplyDelete*From Julie's doll mom:*
ReplyDeleteWow...really? I can't imagine someone being that desperate for a doll. Shame on you, Fran!
OH I am so sorry I always looked forward to Willow's next adventure. I wondered how she got around to so many wonderful places. I do hope the Alaska family will soon respond and it is just a matter of miss communication and that nothing has happen to Willow, causing them to be afraid to tell you. Wishing for a safe return.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry. That is so sad to hear! Hopefully things will work out.
ReplyDeleteOh! I am So Sorry for you! I hope that they give her back to you! We will all miss her greatly. I particularly like the France Trip.
ReplyDeleteWish you all the best,
Julia M. H.
Poor Willow!! I hope she does find her way back to you 😊
ReplyDeletePoor Willow! I hope this isn't the end of her travels and she makes it home!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so sad. How can someone do that? I thought that making Willow a traveling doll was such a great idea and I looked forward to photos of her travels. Maybe if Fran reads all of these comments she will realize that she must contact you Rhonda. IF YOU ARE READING THIS FRAN, DO THE RIGHT THING AND RETURN WILLOW TO LADL!
ReplyDeleteAw poor Willow. And poor you! That is so horrible to send out a doll in hopes of having fun pictures and stuff to share and not get a responds.
ReplyDeleteAs someone from Alaska, all I can say is that I really hope that Fran does the right think and at least responds to your emails and return the doll to LADL. We dont want things like this to give us Alaskans a bad name! And if you do not return the doll Fran, how could you do such a horrible thing?
This is so sad :(
ReplyDeleteI think that generally the doll community is a safe and trusting place. This just makes me sad to see someone hurting our community like that.
~Willow~
So sad.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry Rhonda, the paris visit was so wonderful I wanted to join willow so sad it is almost like a death it was such a cute idea of yours to follow her travels.
ReplyDeleteI was looking forward to having Willow in Nevada. I had some exciting travels and activities planned.The girls are sad, too!
ReplyDeleteCamille
Aww that is soo sad sorry you can't host her now. :(
DeleteRhonda, this is outrageous. To have one person spoil the Willow adventures for the rest of us should not stand. You might consider contacting the local law enforcement in the town where Willow was sent. I once had a situation on eBay, where I had paid for a doll, and even after a month and many attempts to contact the seller, I still did not have the doll. I worked for federal law enforcement and contacted the local sheriff's office. They were so kind, and since it was a very small town, an officer visited the seller, and I got my doll in a few days. The readers of LADL want Willow back home with you. Let me know if I can help.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that such a wonderful program has come to an end in such a sad way. It was an honor to be a host family and teach little girls all over the world about my neck of the woods through the eyes of Willow.
ReplyDeleteFawn
That's too bad. I enjoyed reading about Willow's travels and living vicariously through a doll :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the above comments!
ReplyDeleteIt was an honor to be a host family and teach little girls all around the world about our neck of the woods through the eyes of Willow. It was a wonderful program and it is sad to see it end in such a way.
ReplyDeleteFawn
I agree Fawn. This is such a disgrace on so many levels.
DeleteI am so sorry to hear about Willow. I really enjoyed hosting her myself, and was hoping for another visit. Fran, please do the right thing, and communicate with Rhonda. If something happened to Willow, at least please let us know. So many of us love Willow, and all the good that she represents.
ReplyDeleteoh poor willow i love willow i cant believe she took her
ReplyDeletethe family was so Des beret for a doll shame on her booooooooo she is so rude hopefully she gets returned :0 :(
Oh no! I AM SO SORRY RHONDA. Has the host family been in some kind of accident or did something tragic happened that would cause ALL communication to stop or for Willow to be stuck in Alaska? I would try to reach out to the town or city officials on this one. I think all of us who are fans want to see her returned home safely.
ReplyDeleteI would also contact the local hospital to see if Fran is there, or at least admitted. That way you can be sure that the family is not injured. Maybe someone there will be able to take your story to the local paper, Beloved Traveling Doll Goes Missing. I would not mind helping you contact the local newspapers out there. This story is very close to Rachel Fields Hitty. She is our modern day Hitty. We want her back!
ReplyDeleteLADL has contacted Fran via email, post and phone. No answer. Fran remains active on facebook and etsy.
DeleteOh then shame on her. There is no excuse for this. To violate someone's trust and take something that is not yours...not cool!
DeletePoor Willow!!!!!!!!:( I hope that Fran lady returns her right away!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! I am so saddened to hear that Willow has been stolen from LADL. How awful. I hope that Fran comes to her senses and returns the doll. How selfish to keep a traveling doll! Have you contacted the post or opened a case?
ReplyDeleteWillow arrived per tracking info and confirmation by the host family. She is in their possession.
DeleteThat's a tiny sliver of hope that maybe it was a misunderstanding, because surely if they intended to steal her they wouldn't have told you they had her?
DeletePoor Willow! This makes me angry that someone would just ignore you. Willow must be returned to you! May I get you a new Willow? Willow probally misses you.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad, as a doll collector myself, i feel your pain. If one of my dolls were stolen, i would be devastated, praying that willow returns to your care. -Sarah
ReplyDeleteWho would steal a doll with only sentimental value? I honestly can't believe someone would steal a $5 OG doll from goodwill... for the price of her shipping you could practically get a new one. I really hope there is a better explanation, but if the lady is active on social media there probably isn't one. Poor Willow, I hope she is being taken care of :( I'm sure the children (and adults) of the previous host families are devastated. She means so much to so many people, and I only hope Fran sees this and does the right thing by returning her.
ReplyDeleteThis is very sad.
ReplyDeleteI do hope all will turn out just a misunderstanding and Willow will safely return home. Though even if the host family had an emergency of some sorts, they could have dropped you a quick line to let you know.
If it turns out that it was intentional, you should strive not to let it darken your spirit or the good will you had in bringing this project into being. There are so many people in the world with problems of different kinds, some emotional, some mental that stem from experiences many of us can scarcely imagine. No well balanced adult would do something like this. Hope that if this person needed Willow that badly as to work against such a positive project or to steal and keep her for herself that Willow will have served others again by bringing this unfortunate lady some comfort and ultimately some insight into her self destructive, anti-social behavior. What you have is a mystery and Willow may for all you know be doing her most important work yet.
ReplyDeleteWillow would not want this process to end. There are many dolls looking for a new home and a lot of adventure. We can't replace Willow, but we can choose to love a new friend and keep up the good work Willow started.
ReplyDeleteReading the posts, great to see so many good-hearted people. But I can tell you this woman is not going to read the comments and she won't care about us. A few months ago happened something similar to me: I bought Rebecca and the 'lady' was so kind, but after the payment she didn't answer any letters. Days passed and my heart was broken: not specially for the doll but to know that there are people around me behaving like this. And I blamed myself being so naiive. Now I don't want Rebecca anymore, because she reminds me of my naivety. Oh Rhonda, I'm crying writing this to you:(( Big-big hugs to you!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's so mean! I was thinking about having her come here, but I guess that won't happen. It's not fair for this person to ruin the fun for everyone! Willow does belong to you, so hopefully you can get her back.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! How awful! We hope Willow will get returned to you!
ReplyDelete~The OurAGDollhouse girls
I pray that Willow will be returned to you soon.
ReplyDeleteRhonda - what else can we do? Write letters and send them to you to send to Alaska? Do an video campaign asking for Willow's return? Have you contacted the local authorities in that region - because Willow is your property and they should be able to look into it for you.
ReplyDeleteLet us all know what else we can do to help get Willow returned safe and sound- because that is the ultimate goal here. Don't let one, bad apple ruin the barrel of good ones.
And perhaps something happened to Willow and the host family is afraid to come forward because they are ashamed...
Shosy - I sent Rhonda a legal suggestion. We can't, as a community or a bunch of individuals, harass Fran without the legal reprecussions of such actions. What we can do is post here, get the word out and then not support Fran McGuire's etsy shop. Karma (and dollma) catches up.
DeleteNo, Nonna - certainly that is not my intention - I meant to send Rhonda our letters and have her mail them as one. Demonstrations have been done in the past and will continue, some may be successful as long as they remain non-violent. But if we do nothing to help - then we can expect nothing to be done.
DeleteAs a society, too often we close our eyes to the atrocities happening around us and here is one, small thing we may be able to prevent, at least from happening in the future.
Thanks for listening as I air my thoughts & for the above info - for boycotting.
And for being such a good friend to Rhonda when she needs friends the most.
Take care ^_^.
Oh real quick Nonna - the name of this shop is interesting, isn't it? I do believe that what you do or don't do usually comes back to you - sometimes right away.
DeleteWouldn't want to be known as the one who took Willow, that's for sure!!
Let's rally the troops - here is a quick video I put together to share - please send it to every one you know - https://youtu.be/RH-tqSMYjxc.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe we can bring Willow home to Rhonda.
Thanks for help doll folks ^_^
This is SOO sad! I enjoyed watching Willow return from her travels!And especially since she was a rescue,as I too have an Og rescue doll.This is shame to the doll community!Who would steal a Beloved traveling rescue doll!?!?Me and my doll were always so happy when Williw went somewhere new!-Me and my doll,Ruthie
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with Willow and saved many of the well done pictures of her on her travels to my computer. I never had interest in OG dolls until I saw Willow. Something about the way she looked, her haircut and eye color combination, brought out something in OG dolls I didn't see before. I now have my own version of Willow (not a Willow doll, she was a Aura and I cut her hair shorter). She is a dead ringer for Willow but with redder hair and grey eyes. I named her Wendy. Willow was the inspiration for my beloved doll and I'll always remember Willow who had so much personality and shined around dolls 10 times the price. She was very loved and will be missed. Thank you for bringing Willow into my life and helping me to see something in OG dolls I didn't before.
ReplyDeleteAww this moved me to tears....thank you! Please send in photos of your precious Wendy.
DeleteWillow IS greatly missed by the LADL community.