Amy, a Continental Giant rabbit, who measured 4 feet and weighed in at 42 pounds, died the night before a scheduled appearance on an Italian TV program.  Thought to have died of a heart attack, the enormous rabbit had packed on pounds with a diet high on starches and sugars: two apples, a handful of carrots, half a cabbage, fresh hay and a dog-sized bowl of rabbit mix every day.

Although Annette Edwards, Amy’s owner, insists that Amy was not overweight and was fed a proper diet, I think Amy would have benefited from a more fibrous diet with limited starches.  Hopefully, Ms. Edwards will learn from this experience and give a proper diet to Amy’s offspring, of which there are 32.  But the outlook is grim, as Ms. Edwards speculates that Amy’s daughter Alice will set a new record for largest rabbit. According to Edwards, “We think Alice is two inches longer.”

For more info:
The Telegraph
The Sun
Natural Environment Blog

Inspired by rabbit show jumping videos on YouTube, two brothers, Mathew and Thomas Haslam, from Doncaster, England, have been training their two rabbits to participate in the rabbit agility competition at the Ultimate Pet Show in Birmingham. The two bunnies, Bubbles and Lilac, are a favorite to win the competition. To prep the rabbits for the contest, Mathew and Thomas set up obstacles in their backyard and initially used leashes to guide the rabbits over the fences.

For more info: The Daily Mail

At Pennywell Farm in Devon, England, an unusual friendship has blossomed between William, a miniature piglet, and Charles, a giant rabbit.  According to Chris Murray of Pennywell Farm, “The cheeky  piglet seems to have no fear of something so much bigger than he is and he will also help himself to any food that Charles has.”

For more info: news:lite

The rabbits sat by my computer chair yesterday afternoon (usually they rest under the coffee table), so I had a chance to capture a few of their sleepy poses on camera.

(Notice the tail being completely smooshed up.)

The following is a guest post by Dominika, owner of Hoppy and Clover (seen on the photo pages). Her story demonstrates the positive effect a pet rabbit can have on a family.

There is nothing like having a bunny friend, in the best of times and in the worst of times. My bun, Hoppy helped me get through a very difficult time in my life.

Two years ago my son, who was 13 months old at the time, became very ill. He had to stay at a hospital that was two hours from our home, and I stayed there with him. It was devastating not knowing what would happen with my baby, and my husband and other son could only come on the weekends to see us.

After a couple of weeks I was very depressed, and the hospital staff kept on asking what could they do to make me feel better. So I told them I would love to have my bunny stay with us, and to my surprise they allowed her to come over. At first it was going to be only for a few days but once they met her, she was allowed to stay for as long as we wanted and ended up living in our hospital room for over two months.

Having her with us was good not just for me but for everyone, all the nurses would stop by to visit with Hoppy, and some would bring other children to see her too. When my son was more sick and had to stay in the ICU, I had nurses and even doctors offer to take care of Hoppy for me and some wanted to take her home. It really was nice to have her with us.

One reason why I wanted to tell this story is that I have come across people who feel that they need to find a new home for their bunny because they are having a baby and believe that being around a rabbit would be harmful to the baby. Obviously that is not the case and even though my son takes medications that suppress his immune system, he is perfectly safe being around our (now two) bunnies.

My son is now three years old and loves his two bunnies. Hoppy is now six years old, and she has a new friend named Clover who is about four years old. Although bunnies are not recommended for children that young, I am very careful to always supervise, and my kids have been taught not to pick the rabbits up and to interact with them on the floor. The activity that both the kids and the bunnies enjoy the most is “treat time”.

Happy Easter from your friends at MyHouseRabbit.com!

Here’s a cute photo we came across today.

When three baby bunnies were orphaned by a dog attack and brought to a wildlife rehab center, they were given another chance at life.  Noah, a one-legged resident pigeon, has taken on a protective, nurturing role for the kits.  Now, they all live together and the bunnies snuggle under Noah’s wing.

For more info: Boulder Pets Examiner

The Vancouver Rabbit Rescue & Advocacy, a chapter of the House Rabbit Society, is looking for photos for their 2010 calendar. The theme, in honor of Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, is “The Olympic Rabbits.”

They are looking for photos of rabbits doing natural rabbitty behavior like yawning, stretching, binkying, digging, bulldozing, standing, grooming, and snuggling.

Does your bunny have what it takes?

Learn more: http://www.vrra.org/photo_info.htm

And while we’re on the topic of cute bunny photos, don’t forget to check out the latest additions to our rabbit photo gallery!

Be sure to check out the latest additions to the Cute Rabbit Photos page.  We’ve got cute dwarfs, lops, and lionheads, including Hoppy, the little cutie pictured below!

The Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary in Willis, Michigan is the largest rabbit rescue in the US, housing 550 rabbits. You can read more about the sanctuary in an earlier Rabbit Rescue Spotlight post on our bunny blog or at the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary website.

I love seeing photos of the place with all the permanent residents hopping around in their fenced-in rabbit pastures.  Here is a recent photo from The Ann Arbor News. Celeste Defellici had called out “TREATS!” and all the bunnies came running.

The Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary is in need of donations – leafy greens or a monetary contribution.  If you would like to help, call 734-461-1726, or visit the website at www.rabbitsanctuary.org.