Where did you adopt your rabbit from?

[Madelyn L.]

Hey everybody (I hope this is in the right category) I was just wondering about how everyone got their bunnies(pet shop, breeder, etc.) I personally got my bun in an awful place where they literally gave the rabbits their no water and no hay. I only saw pellets in heaps on their cage floor. It was really, really bad. The whole place was really trashy, too. Luckily, my sweet bunny is out of there now, and doing well. But, besides my story, I was wondering if anyone else had stories of how they rescued or just adopted their bun. Feel free to post pictures too!

 

[ArtistChibi]

My husband took notice to my depressive anxiety and started looking at cute exotic animal videos. Then he began looking up bunnies available in the area. He pulled up a Craigslist ad from a breeder who had mixed Netherland dwarf and Holland Lops ready to find a home. We looked at them, discussed it, and even contacted the breeder for how much the fee was to get one. Well, next thing I know, I'm holding this beautiful black bunny with the adorable white specks on his forehead and nose.


Unlike most breeders in my area, the breeder we got Tu Shen from provided a care package as a beginner's guide to bunny parenting. Including enrichment, play time for binkies and zoomies, diet, litter training, and grooming. Also, Shen hates being brushed.

Ever since getting him, there has been a considerable change in my behavior. I'm more aware and chipper. Watching over him and being careful of his health has made things better. Especially since his needs is helping me break some old bad habits.

 

[Niomi]

Your rabbit is adorable! Two of my rabbits, a Harlequin Lop mix and a Netherland Dwarf came from the Humane Society. Both of them were strays. My Mini Rex came from a rescue organization. She was abandoned in a park, left in her carrier. My albino Holland Lop mix came from another rescue. His mother broke into a chicken coup and abandoned her 3 young babies.

My profile picture is my Netherland Dwarf. Here is my Mini Rex and my Lop mix. I don't have a picture on this computer of my Harlequin Lop so I can't post it right now.

 

[Juste]

So i wanted to get a pet for the longest time. But i was aiming for something more like a rats, found ad of baby rats, agreed on pick up, got a huge cage... then on the agreed day i was in the pet shop preparing to buy food, and go to get rats, but the lady disappeared, didn't answered her phone and everything.
Then my boyfriend suggested to get a rabbit, then and there i found cute baby bunny ad online, bought everything that she needed, and went to pick her up. We got her from the breeder. Pic of her 1st day when we got her:

Then, i really wanted to get a rex rabbit. Found ad of a breeder, showed it to my boyfriend. And got him on my birthday pic of him when we brought him home:

 

[NYAngela]

We have kids so had to buy ours from a farm from a woman that shows rabbits. I reached out to about a dozen rescues, only one even had the courtesy to respond (a month later). I provided a detailed letter that included our previous experience with rabbits, the supplies we had, living environment, HRS Vet reference, etc. This is our 2nd rabbit, the first I also got from a breeder same reason, I thought having prior experience/vet reference would make them consider us, but again no. I would never reach out to a rescue again.

 

[Madelyn L.]

All of these are amazing stories! @Niomi, I am so glad you finally got your buns out of that situation! It sounds like they went through a lot! @ArtistChibi your bun is sooo cute and I am so glad you are doing better. @NYAngela i am glad you were finally able to get in touch with someone. I can’t believe they took that long to answer you, even after all the information you gave them!

 

[NYAngela]

All of these are amazing stories! @Niomi, I am so glad you finally got your buns out of that situation! It sounds like they went through a lot! @ArtistChibi your bun is sooo cute and I am so glad you are doing better. @NYAngela i am glad you were finally able to get in touch with someone. I can’t believe they took that long to answer you, even after all the information you gave them!

Yes it worked out and we love our bunny he was meant for our family!

 

[Niomi]

We have kids so had to buy ours from a farm from a woman that shows rabbits. I reached out to about a dozen rescues, only one even had the courtesy to respond (a month later). I provided a detailed letter that included our previous experience with rabbits, the supplies we had, living environment, HRS Vet reference, etc. This is our 2nd rabbit, the first I also got from a breeder same reason, I thought having prior experience/vet reference would make them consider us, but again no. I would never reach out to a rescue again.

I used to foster rabbits for a rescue. Some were so inbreed that they had to have expensive dental work done often. Others were feral and I could not trust them not to bite. I would often discourage people from adopting from me. Sorry the rescues did not reach out to you, but if they did not respond to your inquiries, I doubt that it was you that they had a problem with. I kept most of my fosters because the rescue would pay the medical bills. There is nothing wrong with getting a rabbit from a good breeder. Without good breeders, we would not be able to enjoy so many wonderful breeds.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Mr Apollo is from a local(ish) RSPCA centre. I had owned two rabbits before him (both of which sadly passed), and before I got him, I did so much more research to rabbit care, because I could tell something wasn’t right . While researching, it seemed that rescues seemed to be the most popular place to get rabbits, and so, I looked for a few and then contacted one, for a little rat bunny named Philip, a chinchilla Rex. They didn’t have much information on his previous home, just that the family were scared of him and he won’t bond with their male. When we got him, can I just say that he was the most antisocial little brat I have ever met. He would hop away, flick his feet, come back for food, hop away, thump. The volunteer eventually closed the door to his run, so we could actually meet him. And what did he do? He hopped into his hutch and wouldn’t come out (not because he was scared. He happily munched on the hay in the hutch). And for some reason, I told my mum, “I want this one”. We reserved him, and a week later I took him home, and stroked him for the first time .
So yes, that is how I got my little rat brat (he loves his nickname, don’t worry). Also, long story ik

 

[gelliebean]

I was going out to eat lunch with a coworker. As I stepped out of the car, I noticed a little black ball in the small green space in front of the restaurant. I went over to inspect it and suddenly I had the cutest bunny I had ever seen sitting at my feet. She was young, vet said 3 months when I brought her in. I left the bun outside for just over an hour while we were eating. I came back and she was still sitting there all alone, so I picked her up and brought her into my car. Never wanted or planned on getting a rabbit. But some things just happen.

 

[NYAngela]

I used to foster rabbits for a rescue. Some were so inbreed that they had to have expensive dental work done often. Others were feral and I could not trust them not to bite. I would often discourage people from adopting from me. Sorry the rescues did not reach out to you, but if they did not respond to your inquiries, I doubt that it was you that they had a problem with. I kept most of my fosters because the rescue would pay the medical bills. There is nothing wrong with getting a rabbit from a good breeder. Without good breeders, we would not be able to enjoy so many wonderful breeds.

Terrible there are so many in such horrible condition, you’re an angel for helping them! The ones I reached out to were advertising specific rabbits looking for homes I think many are opposed to homes with kids. I get it the concern but I had hoped the 2nd time given our experience, reference and described living situation/supplies on hand, huge pen, 16hrs of free roam, hay, pellets, pet insurance, etc they would have made an exception. Oh well! We got him from a woman who had an amazing set up, a whole house pretty much dedicated to her buns, we’re happy it worked out!

 

[DelawareRunner]

Precious (my avatar) was adopted in 2017 from a rabbit rescue. I was very depressed after my previous bunny died and she helped heal my heart. She was less than a year old and had been seized from a pretty bad rabbit hoarding case in PG County, MD. She was not in bad shape when seized due to being very young, but others were not so lucky. She's a dwarf mix and was just the sweetest thing from the day I adopted her. I was amazed how tame she was given what situation she came from, but she did not do well with other rabbits and could not be bonded. She has always allowed me to pick her up and sit her in my lap or somewhere to pose for pics.


My previous bunny before Precious was a twelve year old lionhead mix from the local SPCA, she was two when I adopted her. I had her for almost ten years and she was always a sweetheart. Love adopting rescue bunnies!

 

[Mac189]

When I got Willa I had previously decided that I was not interested in getting another rabbit following the death of my beloved old man rabbit Neal. I was NOT looking for a rabbit at all, but my sister was and asked if I would be her co-bunny parent if she found one and I agreed, albeit without much enthusiasm. My sister got her very spur of the moment from a pretty sketchy place that had lost three of her littermates to predators in the past week. The day I saw her I was in love, but it wasn't until I took over care for a few months when my sister went abroad that we became best friends and I choose to take over full time barring an emergency. I got Foxwell from a local animal shelter when perusing the page about a year and a half after Willa to see if I could find her a friend, as I was feeling increasingly guilty about how much time was being taken up by school and work.

The picture is of my first meeting with Willa. We were equally surprised by each other and she doesn't look very impressed. Took us a long time to be good friends, but it was well worth the wait.

 

[bunny34422]

I got Timmy in October, a family friend knew I was looking to adopt a rabbit and they introduced me to this family who had an accidental litter. I wasn't emotionally in the best place and my mom finally agreed to adopting a pet. Originally my sister wanted a lop, but when I met Timmy and his siblings I knew I had to bring one of them home. Wish I could've taken them all, but we decided to go with a buck. I think they didn't know that even siblings will try to mate and reproduce soon. So I told them but they didn't have the space to keep mom, dad, the does and buck in 4 separate enclosures until the parents got fixed and all babies were rehomed so we decided to help out by taking in their last male

Timothy a week after I brought him home Last patch of brown hair on his head has recently disappeared and he's now all black and white!

 

[HalaBuns]

I’d been casually talking about getting a bunny for years, but never looked into actually doing it. I must have mentioned it to a friend over dinner one night, because the next day, she forwarded an appeal from a lady on Facebook, searching for a forever home for 2 bunnies she had rescued.

My buns, plus Gigi’s 3 babies and another bunny (presumably the dad) were dumped out in the April heat behind a shopping mall. A couple of lovely ladies were able to catch my girls and the babies, but the dad ran away unfortunately. I hope someone else found him

Other than as a kid, I had no experience with bunnies, but I messaged the lady to say I was interested and then researched the heck out of bunny care and bonding. I went to meet them and decided I wanted to help. The lady that rescued them already had 2 buns, plus then 3 of the rescues with her in a 1 bed and they were not all getting on, so it was stressful for all concerned!

After bunny proofing every cable in sight, I picked them up the following evening. Knowing now how stressed they get when they travel, they were incredibly calm when they arrived. They watched me set up their area from their carrier and once it was ready, they hopped on out, had some food , went off exploring and then were completely chilled for the night. It was like they immediately felt right at home.

They are totally amazing. They completely adore each other, I’ve had pretty much no behaviour issues with them and all my furniture is in tact .

They were treated appallingly, so what I’m really enjoying is seeing how they trust me more day by day and seeing them relaxed and happy. It’s a long process, but I’m in no rush.

I’m very grateful to this group for helping me on my bunny mum journey. We also have a great bunny FB community here in Dubai and I saw one of G’s babies on there this week. She looks identical and is in a lovely home

This is how they were when they were found



And this was about 30 mins after they got to my place



That rug has been theirs ever since haha

 

[kksdad]

Mordecai (the Dutch) we found in our garden in 2013. Ava came from a friend of a friend who had lost interest in her and exiled her to a cage in their garage.

 

[ArtistChibi]

Mordecai (the Dutch) we found in our garden in 2013. Ava came from a friend of a friend who had lost interest in her and exiled her to a cage in their garage.

Well, at least Ava and Mordecai have a better life, thanks to you. They're beautiful.

 

[Madelyn L.]

I’d been casually talking about getting a bunny for years, but never looked into actually doing it. I must have mentioned it to a friend over dinner one night, because the next day, she forwarded an appeal from a lady on Facebook, searching for a forever home for 2 bunnies she had rescued.

My buns, plus Gigi’s 3 babies and another bunny (presumably the dad) were dumped out in the April heat behind a shopping mall. A couple of lovely ladies were able to catch my girls and the babies, but the dad ran away unfortunately. I hope someone else found him

Other than as a kid, I had no experience with bunnies, but I messaged the lady to say I was interested and then researched the heck out of bunny care and bonding. I went to meet them and decided I wanted to help. The lady that rescued them already had 2 buns, plus then 3 of the rescues with her in a 1 bed and they were not all getting on, so it was stressful for all concerned!

After bunny proofing every cable in sight, I picked them up the following evening. Knowing now how stressed they get when they travel, they were incredibly calm when they arrived. They watched me set up their area from their carrier and once it was ready, they hopped on out, had some food , went off exploring and then were completely chilled for the night. It was like they immediately felt right at home.

They are totally amazing. They completely adore each other, I’ve had pretty much no behaviour issues with them and all my furniture is in tact .

They were treated appallingly, so what I’m really enjoying is seeing how they trust me more day by day and seeing them relaxed and happy. It’s a long process, but I’m in no rush.

I’m very grateful to this group for helping me on my bunny mum journey. We also have a great bunny FB community here in Dubai and I saw one of G’s babies on there this week. She looks identical and is in a lovely home ☺

This is how they were when they were found

View attachment 53469View attachment 53470

And this was about 30 mins after they got to my place

View attachment 53471

That rug has been theirs ever since haha

So glad you saved those super cute buns! They looked so relaxed in your home.

 

[HalaBuns]

So glad you saved those super cute buns! They looked so relaxed in your home.

Me too, they make my life better . They run this house now, I just get in the way

 

[Nancy McClelland]

All of ours(50) have been rescues--pound or neighborhood notification. We had a 1.6 pound Netherland up to a 20 pound Checkered Giant.