House Rabbit Network

It was a cold, bitter winter day and I knew there was a severe snowstorm approaching. I was thinking about this poor, helpless bunny in the outdoor hutch, and I was concerned for this little rabbit.

Every day on my drive to work I would pass this home with the hutch in the driveway. Sometimes I would see the bunny, sometimes I would not. But this was an exceptional day; the temperatures were dropping and the storm was due in before the next day.

That evening, after I got out of work, I went home, changed into my jeans and packed a bag of hay. I drove to the house and it was dark. There was no front light on, but there were three cars in the driveway. I took my chances. I pulled up in front of the house and parked in the driveway. I walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. It took a while before someone answered. The front lights came on and the door opened.

A man in his late 50’s, with an average build and grey hair, opened the door. As I spoke, I started to get tongue-tied. I said, “Hi, I know there is a storm coming and I see you have a rabbit in the hutch. I have two bunnies myself and I am concerned for your rabbit. I thought maybe the rabbit might want some hay to keep warm from the storm.” I’m sure he must have looked at me like I had three heads. He said, “It’s my daughter’s rabbit.” The daughter then came to the top of the stairs. She said, with a smile on her face, “It’s my rabbit, you can have her if you’d like.” She said her name was Snuggles and she had had about 30 babies. The father said, “I take care of it, she doesn’t. I go out every other day to chop the ice so that she has some water.” (I was stunned—thinking they put that rabbit through such conditions!) “I’d like to give the rabbit some hay”, I said. The father offered to take me out to the hutch.

As we walked to the hutch he said, “You can have him if you’d like. I was going to give him to my sister.” (The father didn’t even know what sex it was.) I took one look at her and my heart went out to her. I asked if I could hold her, he said sure. I picked her up and held her. I said, ”I can really have her if I want?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “I’ll take her!” I brought her over to my car, put her down on the floor of the back seat, grabbed the hay and thanked him and drove away.

I set up a cage in the basement as it was a bit cooler than the upstairs and I didn’t want her body temperature to overheat. I hugged her for the majority of the evening, feeling very thankful to have her. And she, I’m sure, was relieved to be out of those extreme conditions. As I held her, I noticed how bony her spine was. She had a thick dewlap under her neck and she also had extra skin/fat around her hips/back (due to being overweight at one point in time). The fur around her eyes was stiff and frozen.

I put her in a cage so she would feel secure. I wanted to have her contained for a while for her own protection and internal security. I noticed in less than 12 hours she finished an entire bottle of water (she must have been dehydrated). I gave her pellets and a litter box filled with hay and she ate like a pig.

After a few days, I took her to the vet for a complete exam. Dr. Astrid Kruse, one of the vets at VCA Animal Hospital in Wakefield, MA looked her over and said, “It’s a good thing you got her in her when you did, as she would have been dead within the next 6 months.” She had an infection, so Dr. Kruse immediately put her on antibiotics. Her molars were in bad condition.

They needed to be filed down. Dr. Kruse said her teeth would have given her pain and eventually she would have starved to death and died. We set up an appointment to have her spayed and to get her molars taken care of. I was concerned for her health —she was an older unspayed rabbit and the chance for uterine cancer was likely.

Fortunately, after she had the surgery she had no signs of cancer. She did have to have a tooth removed, but the vet didn’t want to put her through any more stress. Dr. Kruse said she did quite well, and she recovered faster than the younger, overweight bunny she spayed earlier that day.

Snuggles lives up to her name. Every evening she sits on my lap as I work on word puzzles and watch television or listen to the radio. She has an incredible personality. Every time she hears my husband come into the room her right ear rises as she knows he will give her treats! Snugs is safe now; she is protected from the elements and other animals. She is no longer neglected. She must feel secure as she sleeps in such a deep sleep. (I’m surprised she doesn’t snore!)

Snuggles is a love bug, she is a real cuddle bunny.

by Barbara Foye