Many travellers faced cancelled flights at Vancouver International Airport this week due to severe weather conditions — including one fuzzy passenger.
Celia Taylor says she was waiting to fly from Vancouver to Alberta on Tuesday when she came across a stuffed bunny on the ground.
Taylor says there was nobody around the stuffed animal, nor was there anyone around who looked like they lost anything.
So she “propped it up on a sort of table nearby in the hopes that somebody walking past would see it and I went to my next gate.”
After finding out her flight was cancelled that evening, Taylor says she walked past the bunny again.
She says she decided to take it to staff, in hopes of reuniting the toy with its family. While waiting in line at the information desk, Taylor texted a photo of the bunny to her mom — Canadian Senator Paula Simons — who then posted it on Twitter, to try and find its owner.
Do you know this bunny? This well-loved fren got left behind in the frenzy at the Vancouver airport today. My daughter turned Bunny into the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/YVR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#YVR</a> lost & found this evening, after her own flight was cancelled. She’s hoping for a happy ending. (I am too.) <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yvrsnow?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yvrsnow</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vancouver?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Vancouver</a> <a href=”https://t.co/dbahayR8nd”>pic.twitter.com/dbahayR8nd</a>
—@Paulatics
As of Friday evening, the post has been retweeted more than a thousand times.
Taylor says she believes the bunny went viral because its story is something many can relate to.
“Everybody has a memory of losing a special friend, losing a doll, losing a stuffed animal, losing a blankie in an airport, in a mall, what have you,” she told CBC News.
“Or if they don’t have a memory of it happening to them, they have a memory of it happening to their kid and the ensuing trauma.”
She says she assumes someone who has already had a stressful travel day now has the added stress of losing their stuffed toy, or comforting a child who has lost it.
“I felt like it was important that if I could find a way to get this bunny back to its family, I would try to do that,” she said.
Seeing how much traction the tweet has gained, Taylor says it’s nice to know that people are rooting for the bunny to find its way home.
“I really hope that this can be a story with a happy ending, that all of this will result in the bunny making its way back to its family,” Taylor said.
An airport spokesperson told CBC News there are no reports yet of the bunny being claimed by its owner. As of 10 a.m. PT Saturday, the airport still has not found the bunny’s owner, according to the spokesperson.
