Lost Jellycat Bunny Reveals Heart of WestJet

When a pink Jellycat bunny was left behind at Vancouver International Airport, no one imagined it would travel more than 30,000 kilometres, go viral on social media, or spark a community-wide effort to reunite it with a little girl newly arrived from China.

But behind the scenes of the “lost bunny” tale was a WestJetter quietly working every angle to bring the story home.

TravelPulse Canada reached out to the airline to find the employee at the centre of the reunion— the 18-year WestJet veteran who embodies the airline’s culture of kindness sat down with us to share the story behind the story.

The First Clue

It all began when an RCMP officer reached out to a friend, a long-serving WestJetter: “I think you guys might be able to help with something.”

All he knew was that an international passenger — a mother travelling with her young daughter — had left behind a stuffed bunny.

With limited information and no confirmed contact details, the trail had already started to go cold. But after almost two decades with WestJet, the employee who took on the case knew that solving it was more than just returning a toy.

That WestJetter is Jacky Lam, Manager of Baggage at Vancouver International Airport.

“I’m an immigrant myself,” he explained. “And what better message for a child coming to a new country than knowing there are caring people here? I really wanted her to experience that.”

A Search Across Systems, Provinces… and Airlines

The initial phone numbers on file led nowhere. So Lam dug through booking records, cross-checked names, and looked for return flights that might offer updated information. That’s when he found something promising: a scheduled return flight.

“It gave me hope that the daughter was in Canada,” he said. “I kept thinking, maybe we can still make this happen.”

Still unable to reach the family, he contacted another airline involved in their itinerary. That extra step made all the difference.

After multiple attempts, someone finally picked up.

The father spoke almost no English, so a Mandarin-speaking WestJet agent stepped in to help with the translation. They were connected to the child’s mother in Edmonton — and the search was over.

She confirmed it: the bunny was theirs, and the little girl had been heartbroken for days after losing it.

The Beginning

The story first gained attention thanks to Alberta resident Joey Gibbs, who found the bunny while waiting for a flight to Seoul.

As reported by CTV News, Gibbs decided not just to safeguard the toy, but to take it travelling — photographing its long-haul journey while posting updates to social media. His travelogue quickly drew thousands of likes and messages from across Western Canada.

After weeks of back-and-forth with potential owners, the RCMP, and airline staff, WestJet eventually contacted Gibbs with the news everyone had hoped for: the owner had been found.

A Reunion Made For The Movies

There were privacy protocols to navigate. Addresses couldn’t be shared. Direct contact wasn’t permitted. But with thoughtful coordination, a plan came together.

As luck would have it, Gibbs — the Edmonton resident who had originally rescued the bunny — was also in the same city as the family. So Lam began facilitating the meetup at Edmonton International Airport. A safe, neutral space. 

Joey Gibbs and his daughter meet the bunny’s young owner at YEG, a reunion arranged by WestJet. (Photo Credit: WestJet)

And on a Sunday afternoon, the little girl was finally reunited with her beloved Jellycat.

Gibbs went a step further: he printed every photo he had taken of the bunny during its journey and created a small album for the child. The mother, moved by the effort, brought a gift in return.

“It was such a heartwarming moment,” Lam told TravelPulse Canada. “Stories like this don’t come by often. It was all timing, luck, and the relationships we’ve built over the years.”

More Than Branding 

“We’re a company that allows people to step outside the box to provide those miracle moments,” he said. “These things happen every day. You just don’t always hear about them.”

Lam recalled a similar moment from last year that highlights the airline’s culture of care. “One of my agents found a lost stuffed animal,” he said. “She took a photo of it with her WestJet scarf on, and mailed it back to the child, telling them the bunny was helping out during Christmas. 

“That’s actually what we do on a regular basis.”

He shared various stories of colleagues helping passengers with disabilities, volunteering in vulnerable neighbourhoods, and performing countless small kindnesses, encouraged by the airline.

“It’s ingrained in who we are because the people before us did the same. That’s how the culture continues.”

Why It Matters

For Lam, the reunion wasn’t just about returning a toy. It was about shaping a young girl’s first impression of Canada — one that might stay with her for life.

“My hope was that she would see Canada as a caring place. Not everyone she meets will be like that, but I want her to know people are out there who will go above and beyond.”

And who knows? She might even grow up to join the airline one day.

“It’s happened before,” He said. “We’ve had kids who were unaccompanied minors, or who had memorable experiences with WestJet, come back years later and apply to work with us. It’s full circle.”

A Reminder of Who We Are

At a time when headlines are often dominated by conflict, cost-of-living pressures, and the challenges of modern travel, stories like this cut through the noise.

They remind us that kindness still happens quietly, behind the scenes — in airports, among strangers, through people who choose to be decent simply because it matters.

And sometimes, it all begins with a lost bunny.

“These things happen every day. You just don’t always hear about them.” (Photo Credit: WestJet)

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