They’re cute, fuzzy and get dumped after Easter

Rabbit rescue working to give them furrrrever homes

Liberty, Rosie Posie, Dirty White Boy (Pretty White Boy after a bath), Bonnie and Clyde, Polka Dot and Periwinkle all have different names with a huggable cuteness, yet they were all dumped.

Their welcoming, fuzzy appeal is both their blessing and curse with owners who brought them home, especially at Easter, and then reality set in with the time and care required for a living creature.

“Unfortunately, it attracts kids and makes for wrong opinions about them because they look like a toy,” said Donna Rome, who started the BunnAgain rescue in Paradis when so many people asked her to take them in. “People don’t know how to handle them, and people end up bit or scratched or the rabbits get ignored or hurt. They live short lives because people don’t understand their dietary needs or watch for health issues.”

Rome didn’t either or at least until a few years ago when her daughter’s friend gave them a bunny and it died. Heartbroken over its loss, this animal lover set out to learn about rabbits – and that’s when she learned about their care and the variety of breeds.

She also learned about the abuse and neglect they endure with people when the “toy” matured and wasn’t spayed or neutered, which typically got them dumped when they became aggressive and territorial.

Some even starved to death when parents told Rome they expected their five-year-old to feed them.

Rabbits are the third most popular pet, yet Rome said they are the most misunderstood and abandoned.

The deeper her research the more she fell in love with them, and became more determined to start her BunnAgain Rabbit Rescue and Education nonprofit.

She does this in addition to her full-time job and with limited resources.

Rome is trying to raise $7,000 to take them out of her makeshift accommodations and provide a climate-controlled shelter, as well as provide education, vet care and promoting adoptions.

Rome has 20 rabbits in her care, six in foster care and eight on a waiting list. And it’s a growing list as more housing restricts having a rabbit as a pet.

“They really have to be observed and you really need to get to know their ways because they can be a real joy to have in your life,” she said. “They are very therapeutic, especially for people with PTSD or anxiety.”

Rome does have favorite breeds  – the lop-eared bunnies that looked like a stuffed toy – and the Netherland dwarf that she described as looking like perpetual babies with their chubby checks and little ears.

But she’s had at least six different breeds of rabbit in recent years and the neighborhood kids came by to see and play with them.

“I became known as the ‘bunny lady,’ and others heard about the rabbits,” she said. “Others heard about the rabbits and the first rescue came with my cousin who won a rabbit at a fair. She got too big and out of hand.”

Rome took her in and more people came along with the same problem of being unable to care for the rabbits.

When the number hit 10, she started looking into rescue work as a means of caring for them and finding homes for them. She researched Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue in Baton Rouge to see how they could re-homed, but lacking the resources for spaying or neutering, she had no choice but to find homes with the assurance they would not be allowed to breed or be used as food.

“With people calling me to take in their rabbits, I recognized a huge need for a rabbit rescue here,” she said. “I wanted to do my little part, but it became more than a little part.”

Rabbits require special care with some known to die from a heart attack from shock such as seeing a dog come in the yard or heat stroke even at 85 degrees or from sudden temperature change. Stress can scare them to the point of starvation, she added. Rabbits can even die from heartbreak if they lose a partner.

“They are sensitive creatures,” Rome said. “I just think people don’t know or care to know the proper need of a rabbit, but I’m hoping people can try to learn a little more before they run out and get a baby rabbit for their two-year-old for Easter, which makes me crazy. So many of our rabbits are Easter rabbits at two and three months old, and then, when they mature, they want to throw them away.”

Rome also learned that people also dump them in parks or the woods where reproduce and outnumber people who can give them homes.

What she learned convinced her these creatures were dying from public misconception and she also wanted to help through education.

“So many people don’t know they can use a litter box,” she said. “They can be attached to you. Some don’t want to be snuggled, but will allow you to pet them and some will even lick your face. They are all so different. They’ll give you what you put in them. If you allow them to learn how to trust you, you’ll feel so special because the bunny has picked you to be his friend.”

The rescue Gofundme is at https://www.gofundme.com/bunnagain-shed-project.