Couple finds 115 stuffed animals hidden in walls during B.C. renovation

A Vancouver Island couple is connecting with people around the world following a delightful discovery in the walls of their home.

They bought a home last October and started renovations.

Owner Connor Nijsse was on the last spot in the corner of the garage when he removed the drywall and made a startling find.

“Just this one spot is where we found all the stuffed animals. About five studs worth of them,” he said.

Nijsse said the previous owners used the stuffies as insulation.

“I was working one evening or one afternoon, (my partner) was out with her horse and I was just removing some drywall and I had a pair of eyes staring back at me after I ripped off a piece,” he added.

“I quickly sent her a video and said, ‘You won’t believe me if I don’t put this on video’. And we waited until she got home before I revealed the rest of it and (to) get her full video footage of what was going on.”

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Nijsse decided to post the find on his TikTok account and it has delighted millions.

He said they receive between 20 and 30 messages a day from people asking to buy one of the stuffies, which are all from the late ’80s and ’90s, and are nostalgic for many people as it reminds them of a childhood stuffed friend.

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Nijsse and his partner Brianne Hinkkuri have now been trying to make peoples’ days by sharing the love.

“We’ve been posting some follow-up videos,” Nijsse said.

“I shipped off seven or eight. I think I’ve shipped off, so far, some to as far as the UK. And we had a bunch go down to the States yesterday and shipping off another one tomorrow.”

He said they mostly charge people for shipping and if there is a rare one they may charge a little more.

“Mostly we’ve been trying to fulfill some people’s stories,” Nijsse said.

He added that the most expensive stuffie they have found is a rare goose that sells for about $200 on eBay.

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“The plastic wrap was some type of vapour barrier that they were using,” Nijsse explained.

“It’s very common with insulation to have a vapour barrier up there. They were remarkably well-preserved, actually, just to be sitting in the walls with a bit of plastic. And this garage isn’t exactly heated, but they, other than some staining and some, you know, wear and tear, that probably came from having them as kids, they’re actually pretty well preserved.”

Hinkkuri said they counted 115 animals in total.

“We found some weird things in this house but that has to be the weirdest,” she said.

For Hinkkuri, the best part has been reconnecting people worldwide with a favourite stuffed toy from their childhood.

“One in particular that kind of stuck with me, we had this bear (and) when we looked into it, it’s from about 1980 and this lady had it as a child and it was lost in a move,” she said.

“So we were able to ship that one out to her and she lives in the States. So yeah, just crazy.”

The couple is continuing the renovations and have no idea if more stuffed animals await them in the walls of their home.

“It’d be hard to find something to one-up this one, though,” she laughed.

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