October 24, 2025

Dr. Jane’s stuffed animals were part of her family

by Caitlin Russell

Photo: Katherine Holland

Just a few short weeks ago, Jane was with us here in Toronto for an event. For anyone who has had the privilege of attending one of her lectures, you’ll know that Jane never travels without her beloved collection of stuffed animals.

After the lecture, a few staff members and I were walking the backstage corridors of Meridian Hall, helping carry her cast of characters along with her. I turned to Jane to ask her where she’d like me to put her “stuffies” in her dressing room.

She looked at me with mock incredulity and responded: “They’re not my stuffies. They’re my family.”

Now, if you’ve ever had the great honour of being corrected by Jane, you’ll know she always did so with warmth, levity, and good humour – never truly chiding. But from that moment on, our entire team made sure to refer to, and treat, each of these precious beings as Jane’s family.

I think this moment speaks beautifully to Jane’s sense of humour and the levity she brought to so many situations – and also to how deeply her storytelling was woven into who she was.

These animals helped her share her message and reasons for hope with audiences all over the world. Of course she thought of them as her family.

Whether Jane was asking me to discover which animal lived in the burrows we found outside our Calgary hotel (“Who do you think lives in these holes? Can you find out?”), making time for her friends in every city we visited, kissing the new trees she planted, answering hundreds of letters from fans, telling our team how much she enjoyed her time with us at the end of every tour, or simply pausing to admire the dogs she saw on the street, Jane brought the utmost care and love into every relationship she had – human, animal, plant, and, yes, even stuffed friends.