Volunteer Spotlight: Dawn
Volunteers are the heart of HRN. This issue’s featured volunteer is Dawn Lewis who began volunteering in 2014. Dawn, who has always loved rabbits, first started following HRN on Facebook in 2011 after a friend shared a post with her. Dawn ended up adopting a bun in May of 2012. During that process, she went to HRN events and found a community of knowledgeable people who loved bunnies as much as she does. “My love of rabbits made me want to get more involved,” she said. “People need to know what wonderful companions they are.”
Dawn works on the HRN email team and loves being a first point of contact for people interested in adopting. Many adoption inquiries come from petfinder.com and adoptapet.com as well as social media posts. The team gives information about the adoption process and details on particular bunnies. Team members are always available to answer questions even after the adoption is completed and often give information on bonding, bunny behavior, diet, and health. “We’re the ‘free support’ you get when you adopt through HRN! We’re here to answer questions and help you with a new rabbit in your home,” Dawn said. One of the perks for her is getting emails and photo updates from past adopters whose bunnies are happy in their forever homes.
Rabbit rescue is an important personal issue for Dawn because of an experience she had as a child. When she was six, a man dropped off a hutch and two bunnies – a black one and a Californian – at her aunt’s house. “My uncle proclaimed, ‘HAPPY EASTER!’ We had no idea how to take care of rabbits and these two only lived with us for a short time before my parents re-homed them (thankfully!),” she said. This situation is still all too common and often ends with rabbits being abandoned, euthanized, or neglected. Dawn sees too many people who believe that rabbits can live in a hutch outdoors, and that they have naturally short lives which makes it okay to release them outside. The memory of her childhood rabbits led to a desire to “do right by the bunnies” and she now educates people so that other families won’t make the same mistakes.
Dawn feels that HRN’s work is essential in fighting neglect and abuse, rescuing strays, and reducing the overpopulation problem by spaying and neutering. Even something as simple as HRN’s social media does much to educate people and bring rabbit lovers together. Dawn received emotional support from the online bunny community when one of her rabbits had a rough night with stasis.
Dawn’s bunnies, Speck and Sprinkle, are a bonded pair. Speck is a seven-year-old female who reminded her of the black rabbit she was given for Easter. She’s shy at first but loves pets once she warms up to someone. Her mate, Sprinkles is a five-year-old “grumpy lop with a beautiful racing stripe down his back.” He’s prone to stasis so both their diets are highly regulated.
Working with HRN has made Dawn more aware of the impact living with a bunny can have on someone’s life. She hears some sad stories about childhood bunnies but also touching ones where someone’s bunny lived to old age and shared a bed with their human. “Animals change us and make us better people,” she said. “And living with bunnies you learn patience – and not to get too attached to your Xbox controllers!”
If you are interested in volunteering at HRN or adopting a bun, contact HRN at info@rabbitnetwork.org. We have several volunteer opportunities available like being a videographer, becoming a foster home, doing accounting work, responding to HRN phone calls, and much more. Check out the volunteer positions at www.rabbitnetwork.org/support/volunteering.
— A.A.