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The Great Easter Rabbit Roundup of 2008 came to a close (we hope!!) the week of May 25 with the last of the dumped rabbits being caught in the woods near the railroad tracks in Wilmington. This made the total number of rabbits saved 25. Here is the breakdown: 8 rabbits to Greenville, NC to Friends of Rabbits Rescue - 6 currently adopted 7 rabbits to Avian and Exotic Animal Care, P.A. in Raleigh - all adopted 10 rabbits stayed with Cape Fear House Rabbit Society - 8 adopted, Groucho available for adoption, Harpo working on her social skills in foster care All of these rabbits were healthy, and once indoors and safe, quickly became friendly and active little bunnies. They came in all shapes and sizes, and will live happy lives in indoor homes thanks to the following people, without who's help we never could have managed such a large scale rescue: 1. Dr. Adam Hurlbut and vet techs at College Road Animal Hospital in Wilmington for donating their time on a Saturday afternoon to neuter 10 bunnies free of charge for us. 2. Jeannie Leonard and the folks at Port City Animal Hospital in Wilmington for allowing us to use their facility as temporary foster headquarters for some of the bunnies. 3. Angela and Bradley Johnson and Sean Morse, dedicated rabbit lovers and volunteers who helped us tangle with bramble bushes night after night catching these little guys. 4. WECT for getting a news story on immediately about the bunnies - hopefully to raise awareness of the dangers of turning your bunny loose outside. 5. All of the young boys with fishing nets whose young legs were such a great help to us in chasing down some of the more wiley rabbits. 6. Dr. Dan Johnson and his staff at Avian and Exotic Animal Care in Raleigh for helping us out with free spays and neuters and adoptions of some of the rabbits. 7. Bonnie Pulver of Greenville, NC for volunteering her rescue for 8 of these bunnies. 8. All others who volunteered their homes for temporary fostering of these bunnies - we appreciate the help as we were desperate for homes! For the most part, this story has a happy ending. There were a few we could not save, and of course, it never should have happened in the first place. Domestic rabbits are absolutely not safe outdoors - their survivial skills have long been bred out of them, and it was only only a matter of time before predators, summer heat, bot flies or other illnesses would claim them. One of our missions as part of the House Rabbit Society is to constantly raise awareness of the dangers of the outdoors to a domestic rabbit. |
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Website and Contents Copyright Paula Watkins 2003 - 2008 Page Updated July 6, 2008 |