Adam Sawatsky

Alina Junkala’s bedroom is filled with red pandas and broken lamps.

You just might find that although life has unfolded differently than you planned — it’s ended up feeling even better than you could have imagined.

While dogs have long been dubbed ‘man’s best friend,’ Alex Rose is walking his pup during a break from creating a companion for everyone.

There is also no doubt Justin Hewitt is grateful for how his father inspired him to fill his heart with song again.

A Nanaimo mom is on an unexpected mission to help parents facing loss.

When Shannon Ferguson first opened her thrift store, the first dog through the door was a dachshund who lived down the road. “I was focusing on survival,” Shannon says.

In the beginning, the breakwater near her home simply inspired Jean Paetkau to take pictures, until it captured her imagination in an unexpected way.

Syd Bosel was in the midst of a year-long motorcycle camping trip around Australia when she happened upon a handsome local.

Steven Telck never imagined he’d be spending his retirement travelling with a rescue cat named Miss Bunny.

Travis Stock is grateful to have grown up from a shy boy to a fearless man — who was inspired by his big sister to overcome adversity through giving back — by finding a creative way to spread joy and positivity.

When her son started showing an interest in basketball this year, after a lifetime of suffering from serious medical issues and being on the autism spectrum, Betty Wade was overjoyed.

When a Victoria senior is not making scones from scratch, and delivering them to neighbours up and down their building’s 21 floors, “just because” — she’s leaving thoughtful cards and gifts to surprise people on their doorsteps.

Bruce Campana never imagined he would grow up to solicit smooches from a llama named Fabio.

An 11-year-old Vancouver Island athlete came home from the World Dwarf Games in Germany with seven medals. He humbly says there’s nothing stopping any of us from achieving our goals, if we can just get out there and do it.

To appreciate why Betty John is walking towards a skydiving plane in a wedding dress, we need to go back to when the almost 80-year-old couldn’t walk at all.

Although the Little Pink Piano couldn’t be further from Carnegie Hall, one wonders if the anticipation of its upcoming concert at the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm feels just as momentous.

A group of employees at an A&W restaurant on Vancouver Island gifted their “work mom” their wages so she could spend more time off with her newborn baby.

Sharlize Yaranon will never forget the morning she was greeted at school by a giant Pokémon.