Rescued rabbits with vet assistant Fiona Prentiss. Photo by Richard Crease.

Dave Bedford, an employee at a recycling bank in Bournemouth, England, was shocked after he unlocked and opened a bin meant for household electrical items.

Two grey lop-eared rabbits were staring back at him from the bottom of the bin. Bedford called his wife who rushed the flea-covered, bony rabbits to a nearby veterinary office for medical treatment.

The bunnies are now recovering and being cared for by veterinary assistant Fiona Prentiss.

For more info, see: Bournemouth Echo.

Sandleford in West Berkshire, England was home to the rabbits in Richard Adams’s novel, Watership Down. In the novel, the rabbits were forced out of their warren by developers.  Now, fiction may become reality as the West Berkshire Council has proposed Sandleford Park as a potential site for 2,000 houses.

Many people are opposed to developing on the greenbelt land, including Richard Adams, who was born in the area. “I am absolutely resolutely opposed to any development on that area. I am strongly opposed to it and would expect the planning authority to refuse any development.”

For more information, see:

BBC.co.uk
NewburyToday.co.uk
Say No to Sandleford Campaign

It was near midnight on a rural road in New Jersey when Sharon Coughlin caught a glimpse of a fluffy white object at the side of the road. She drove on, but the thought of an animal possibly in need nagged at her.

“I made a U-turn and slowly drove up to the white fluffy object. My headlights shone on it. It did not move. I pulled off to the side of road and got out of the car.

“It was a rabbit! A tan and white rabbit. It was just sitting there, apparently uninjured, looking terrified. I love animals, but knew little about rabbits. I wasn’t sure how to pick it up or how it would react, but I knew I had to rescue the little guy.”

You can read the full story at The Great Animal Rescue Chase website. This site features articles submitted by people all over the world who have a rescue story (big or small) to share.

Haviva Lush, founder of Rabbit Rescue, Inc. and daughter Anika help Pipkin with his new prosthetic bucket. Photo by Graham Paine/Canadian Champion.

Special needs bunny Pipkin was taken in by Haviva Lush,  founder of the Canadian charity Rabbit Rescue, five years ago.  Pipkin was born with several issues: his front legs were splayed, he was missing a hip joint, and one hind leg was shorter than the other (and was later amputated).

Yet despite all this, Pipkin’s temperament remained surprisingly happy.  So when the opportunity arose to be fitted with a prosthetic bucket to help stabilize him and keep him upright, Pipkin was a great candidate.

The device was created by Dr. Joyce Olynich, a Toronto-based vet who specializes in prostheses. It was the first prosthetic bucket made for a rabbit in Canada.

To learn more about Pipkin’s story, see InsideHalton.

Marie Mead’s Rabbits: Gentle Hearts, Valiant Spirits, a beautiful book filled with uplifting stories about rescued rabbits, has gotten even better!  A revised edition, being released this month, contains five new stories and two new articles.

From the author:

The impetus behind the revision is the excellent article titled “Modeling Love and Respect for a Classroom Rabbit,” written by elementary teacher Cheryl Rosemary Abbott. It provides interesting, down-to-earth guidance for teachers—and parents—about introducing children to a rabbit, bunny-proofing, rules for everyone’s safety, and the all-important issue of role-modeling love, respect, and responsibility.

You can purchase the book from the publisher or from Amazon.

To learn more about the book, visit:

Nova Maris Press
Celebrating Rabbits

Rowley the rabbit. Photo: Eloise Jonas.

Here’s an excerpt of a sweet story in the SF Gate about a temperamental, yet artsy house rabbit named Rowley:

Ten years ago, when Eloise Jonas and Frank White saw the handsome rabbit named Einstein at San Francisco Animal Care & Control, they also caught the warning on his cage: “For experienced rabbit handlers only.”

Seemed the sweet-faced bunny had bitten everyone at the shelter, except, that is, for the supervisor – proof of the intelligence promised by his name. Partly out of concern that the naughty 1-year-old wouldn’t find a home and mostly because he was quite the looker, the smitten San Francisco couple adopted the bunny and renamed him Rowley.

Read full story at the SF Gate »

Bunnicula, a large New Zealand rabbit, was the subject of the Rabbit Advocate's winning adoption story.

To celebrate Petfinder’s Adopt the Internet Day, the Rabbit Advocate (a blog run by an HRS educator) hosted a contest for the best rabbit adoption story.

The winning story came from Kelly S. in Boston, who volunteered at a local shelter and watched as a large white bunny waited and waited for her turn to be adopted.

“Everything changed when Bunnicula, a large New Zealand rabbit, was brought to the shelter. The sign on the window of her cage stated that her previous owners no longer had time to care for her. I opened the door to her cage that first day and Bunnicula hopped right over to me, giving my hand a little nudge to let me know she wanted attention.”

Read the full story at the Rabbit Advocate »

To celebrate its 15th birthday, Petfinder is launching a campaign to spread the word about animal adoption on March 15, 2011. There are many ways to get the message out including:

• Writing about pet adoption on your blog, website, Facebook page, or Twitter account
• Adding a badge (like the one shown on the right) to your website or blog
• Captioning a Petfinder adoptable photo on I Can Has Cheezburger

You can focus more on spreading the word about rabbit adoption in the following ways:

• Share your rabbit adoption story with the Rabbit Advocate, an HRS educator, who is hosting a contest on her blog
  (UPDATE: See winning story here)
• Link to our article, Benefits of Adopting a Pet Rabbit
• Print out and hang up “Did You Know” posters from the House Rabbit Society that educate the public about rabbit adoption and proper care

Paul Spereall with rabbit he discovered in trash bin. Photo by Jason Roberts.

In the past week, there have been multiple incidents of pet rabbits being discovered out with the curbside trash.

In Birkenhead, England (across the river from Liverpool), window workers Paul Spereall and  Paul Harvey went to toss a piece of garbage into one of the bins on the side of the road.  When they opened the lid, a cream-colored lop-eared rabbit jumped out at them.  The two men brought the rabbit back to their office and cared for it while they contacted the RSPCA.  The rabbit was dehydrated, but otherwise is good condition.

In Regina, Saskatchewan, the Hamel family discovered a pet bunny in a recycle bin out on the street with some hay and pellets.  With temperatures dipping to -16°F (-29°C) that night, the Hamels saved the bunny from a frigid demise.  After caring for the abandoned rabbit for the night, the Hamels contacted the Regina Humane Society.

This rabbit was discovered in recycle bin by Hamel family. Photo by Hamel family.

It is incredibly sad that stories of rabbits being abandoned out with the trash (or just set loose outside) keep popping up.  These two rabbits were lucky that a few good Samaritans discovered them, cared for them, and brought them to local shelters so they’d have a chance at a good life.

For more info, see:

Liverpool Echo
Leader-Post

Last summer, we posted about Benny, a Flemish Giant house rabbit, vying for the record of World’s Longest Rabbit.  Unfortunately, Benny recently succumbed to illness.

But while Benny lived, he touched the hearts of many people: the Heather family, who took him in from a sanctuary in 2008, as well as an incredible number of Facebook friends.

With encouragement from Benny’s fans around the world, Sharon Heather has shared Benny’s story in the book, Benny’s Fantastic Adventure.

You can buy Benny’s Fantastic Adventure from Lulu.com.