With Easter round the corner: Show us the bunny!

Easter is fast approaching, and that means many parents are considering surprising their children with a real live Easter bunny. Unfortunately, a majority of these rabbits end up in shelters as their owners quickly realize they are unable to care for them. At CVHS, we like to use this time of year to educate potential adopters about rabbit care in hopes that they will rethink whether their family is best suited for a live rabbit or one that is made of chocolate.

Rabbits are actually wonderful pets. Not only are they incredibly social, they’re smart, as well. Much like a dog, your rabbit will be thrilled to play a good game of fetch. If you roll a ball for them, they will likely chase it. And you can train them! One of the first things the rabbits at the shelter learn is how to use a litter box – just like a cat. One rabbit even came to us clicker trained.

So cute, but a lot of work.

But if rabbits are such great pets, why don’t more people own them?

Truthfully, they’re a lot of work. They’re pretty much the equivalent of having a dog or cat in the house. Bunnies need a lot of different foods in their diets to keep them healthy. In addition to hay, which forms the base of their diet, bunnies also need plenty of fruits and vegetables. Supplying your pet rabbit with a variety of fresh foods every day can be costly and definitely requires more work than opening a can of cat food.

Bunnies also need to have mental stimulation so they’re not bored. The shelter bunnies love tossing around balls, digging for treats hidden inside cardboard tubes, and even playing with baby keys. Despite popular belief, rabbits are not oversized hamsters that live for two years and are content just playing alone in a cage. Rabbits can live for 16 years (sometimes even more!) and require daily out-of-cage time. In fact, a lot of bunny owners only put their rabbits in cages at night or whenever they are not home. Unlike a cat or a dog, bunnies cannot be left to roam free without supervision. Not only are rabbits very curious, they can also be destructive and will chew through wires and cords if given the chance.

Expect to take your pet to the vet at least once a year for a wellness exam. A rabbit’s teeth will continue to grow all their life, so your vet may need to use special dental tools to trim them. Rabbits should also be spayed or neutered, even if they are the only rabbit in your home. Male rabbits that are not fixed often tend to spray and display more aggressive and destructive behavior while female rabbits that haven’t been spayed run a high risk of developing reproductive cancers. Most veterinarians do not work with rabbits, so be sure to check with your vet before bringing a bunny home.

As wonderful as rabbits are, they are not the ideal pet for families with young children. In fact, when most people come in looking for a rabbit for their small child, we like to ask, “Have you considered getting a cat?” At least the cat can get away when it’s had enough attention and – even better – land on its feet if a child should lose his or her grip. Young children and rabbits often don’t mix well because bunnies are incredibly fragile and yet, at the same time, very powerful.

Have you ever looked at a rabbits back legs? A rabbit’s best defense is to kick – and those back legs are strong! In fact, a rabbit’s kick is so powerful it can even break its own back from the force! It’s hard enough for adults to properly handle rabbits, let alone children who do not have the same amount of strength. Should a child (or anyone of any age) lose their grip on a rabbit and drop it, it can cause some serious physical damage to the bunny. Of course, every child is different and yours may be the exception to all this. In the end, as long as YOU are knowledgeable about handling bunnies and can enforce the rules about proper bunny handling, any child should do just fine in a home with rabbits.

So, do you think a bunny is a good addition to your home? Be sure to stop by the shelter to meet the wonderful bunnies we have available for adoption. Even if you’re not ready to adopt, the rabbits would love to have some one-on-one time with somebody new. For anyone really interested in learning more about bunnies, we are always in need of volunteers to help clean cages and socialize with the animals. This is a great way to gain bunny experience without committing to a new pet. For some really great information on rabbits, visit the House Rabbit Society at www.rabbit.org.

And don’t forget, if what you’re really looking for is an Easter bunny, be sure to get one that’s made of chocolate!

Alaina Goodnough is the Promotions Coordinator at Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH. She lives in Sanford, ME with three parrots, two cats, and two dachshunds. She can be reached at CVHS at devassist@cvhsonline.org