help me identify my childhood bear?

by amarillo
(south bend, indiana)

hello there! this is my best friend, Buttons. he's been my partner in crime for upwards of 20 years. i'm autistic, and he's my special comfort friend- i've taken him everywhere i go for years and years now. unfortunately, that means he's been through a lot. i'm terrified something is gonna happen to him, because as my special comfort friend, he is literally THE most important thing in the world to me. the thought of anything ever happening to him is my biggest fear- i've nearly lost him once before and i was absolutely ruined. i want to find out what kind of bear he is so i can obtain another one of him- a "travel Buttons" if you will. this way, i can still bring a comfort friend around with me without having to risk him getting lost or damaged. i know carrying around a whole different bear won't be the same, of course, and that having a "travel Buttons" might not even work; especially because part of the reason i carry him everywhere is because if he (specifically Buttons) is out of my sight, i get stressed. but if it means not risking him, i'll give it a shot. i'm getting close to giving up and settling on a similar bear i've found, which is something i'm okay with, but i'd like to at least try finding the exact bear to see if that helps with the separation anxiety.

he's about 20 inches tall
he's mostly filled with fluffy stuffing, but he has beads in his paws
he's made of red velvet, but his paws and ears have felt (?) accents
he's from around 1996-2001 ish, i can't get an actual date placed quite yet but i'm working on that. i most likely got him around christmas or valentine's day
the closest match i can find is a russ berrie lil crumpets bear in burgundy. it's not an exact match, but that's a start
he was gifted to me in either northern indiana or southern ohio
he used to have a tag, but it's long gone. it was on his butt, and it was white/tan
i can't remember if he's always had button eyes
he might have had a bow that was removed
his nose used to be triangular, but the string has broken over time
he's pretty floppy, but i can't tell if that's because he's old or not

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