Okay, it might not be an actual, living, breathing bunny, but it means the world to 3 year old Sophia Ottaway. Her mother has been placing fliers all over Hobart, Tasmania seeking out Cryie, Sophia’s stuffed bunny.  Cryie is one of a trio of rabbits that accompany Sophia everywhere she goes. The other rabbits are Roughy and Smiley.

Cryie fell out of a pram while the mother was walking her children to meet their father for lunch.  Upon discovering her bunny was gone, Sophia said ‘Mum, I have lost my rabbit,’ and started to cry.

A retracing of their steps turned up nothing, so her mother took to the streets with fliers.

A reward has been offered for Cryie’s return.

For additional information: http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/02/25/57551_tasmania-news.html

For whatever reason, we received multiple emails this past week pertaining to pet rabbits having messy bottoms.

So check out our new article, Poopy Butt: Causes and Treatment.

An estimated 7000 feral rabbits are currently living in Helsinki. These former pets and offspring of former pets are spreading into other regional areas in efforts to find land enough to sustain them. The rabbits have been destroying park land and local vegetation in their quest for food.

Few natural predators and mild winters have added to the population growth. Arno Kasvi, head gardener at Turku University’s Botanical Gardens, has called for a culling of the rabbits before the population becomes unmanagable.

Additional article: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/02/urban_rabbit_population_explodes_554379.html

If you’ve got accounts on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or Bunspace, join us! You can click the buttons on the sidebar to the right or you can click the following links:

• Become a fan of My House Rabbit on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Friend us on MySpace
• Become Cosette’s buddy on Bunspace
• Become Coco’s buddy on Bunspace

Professional massage therapist Chandra Moira Beal, the author of The Relaxed Rabbit has created a companion DVD. The DVD explains the benefits of massage for rabbits, including reducing stress and enhancing health, and show how to properly massage your rabbt.

The DVD teaches anatomy and physiology of rabbits to better help their owners understand rabbits and work with them safely. No prior massage experience is necessary as Beal teaches a full range of techniques.

You can watch a preview clip or order the DVD from Beal’s website: http://rabbits.chandrabeal.com/dvd.htm

By applying three stickers to these plastic bags, Japanese company MAQ, Inc. has made these normally disposable items into something cuter. In turn, people may be a bit more inclined to keep reusing them.

For more info: http://inventorspot.com/articles/cute_rabbit_trash_bag_its_white_go_green_17397

Warner Bros. will be releasing a deluxe DVD offering of Watership Down in November of this year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the film’s release. Watership Down is a great story for anyone, not just a bunny fan.  If you’ve never read the book, this summer would be a great time to get around to it.

Big Buck Bunny is a recently released film about a large bunny and his run in with some pesky forest creatures.  What is interesting about this film is that it was released online in addition to DVD under a Creative Commons License, making it free to distribute. So go and watch it. If you like it you can purchase the DVD.

More info.

Well, even though rabbits are the third most popular pet, and there’s certainly a strong rabbit owner community that has developed, I guess the world isn’t ready for bunnies on buses.

I came across this entertaining article from the UK’s The Independent which describes the author’s experience while riding the bus.

“I was sitting on a bus yesterday when a woman came down the stairs clutching a rabbit on a lead. The woman was delicate-looking and rather beautiful, and on the spectrum of eccentricities, I’d say she was in the zone of colourful characters rather than rum coves. Nevertheless, the rabbit was wearing a pink lead and a pink bow in its fur, and as she staggered down the steps with it, all the other passengers sized her up, decided she was probably a dangerous oddball, and did what British people do in such a scenario – they pretended she wasn’t there. I watched with interest because, apart from the fact that the rabbit wasn’t a dog, there was nothing odd in her behaviour at all. I found myself admiring the self-confidence of someone who was prepared to be branded “weird” and damn well wasn’t going to apologise for it.”

I can’t say I would ever bring Coco or Cosette on a bus with me just on a leash. I think I’d spend the whole time trying frantically to keep Cosette from bolting out of my arms and attempting to wriggle free of the harness. And she’d probably pee on my seat out of spite. (She’s used that tactic before.)