By Oliver Cuddles Edison Rabbit
April 2003

 The decision has been made: You are ready and willing to take one of us rabbits into your care. Even better, you have decided to give a rabbit a second chance at a loving home by adopting one from a rescue or a shelter!  But aren’t the bunnies that come from a shelter well, different than the young one’s at the pet shop?  And you still don’t know about the experience of adopting a rabbit from a rescue organization or shelter? What is that like?

 Never fear, I’m here to tell you all about it!

Adoptable Bunnies vs. The Pet Store 

So isn’t a bunny in a rescue a bit different from a pet store bunny? Well yes, we are different, for all the right reasons! 

When rabbits like me first arrive at a rescue or shelter we were in a sorry state. We were most likely, hungry, thirsty, in need of some sort of medical treatment and just wary of humans for a variety of reasons. Perhaps we were abandoned or abused or just didn’t receive the level of care that we should have had.

 Our medical needs will first be taken care of. A foster home, rescue or shelter, will then attend to our needs and take us to a rabbit-savvy veterinarian for evaluation and even a spay/neuter if its needed and we are old enough!. Then the fosterer will make sure we are well socialized and even litter box trained! 

By the time we go up on a bulletin board or a web site, we are transformed from a scared, hungry, and hurting creature to a rabbit that is ready to become a member of a family!    

A store bought bun, is a blank slate. You would have to do a lot of the socialization and litter training once he/she is home, and yes you would have to take him/her back to the vet when the bun is old enough for a spay/neuter procedure. 

The adoption fee is sometimes a bit higher than purchasing a rabbit from a pet store. My pet human has seen pet store bunnies go for as little as $20.00. My adoption fee was $60.00 but you are paying for all the hard work done by the foster family on your new arrival’s behalf. The adoption fee given to the rescue or shelter is money that will go towards continuing the care for the other bunnies still at the shelter. 

Also If you adopt a shelter or rescue bunny, you will not only be giving one bunny a second chance but actually two! The place vacated by your bringing your new friend home will be opened up so another bunny can take it's place!

The pet store, well for some shops, it’s simply profit for their bottom line. On the other side of the story, there are some good pet stores out there that do promote responsible pet ownership. These type stores care enough about the animal to make sure that the prospective caretaker knows exactly what they are getting into when they take one of us bunnies home. 

One just needs to do their homework and find those types of pet shops that promote responsible pet ownership.

So we are a bit different than a pet store rabbit! Most of us have been litter box trained. Most of us have had our immediate medical needs looked after, including being spayed/neutered. Most of us have been socialized and our personality quirks identified. Most importantly we’re all ready for a real home! A pet shop rabbit is indeed ready for a new home, but you will need to do the litter training and socialization yourself plus make the appointment for a spay/neuter of your new friend once the rabbit is old enough. 

What to Expect

Once you have decided that you want to adopt a rabbit from a shelter or rescue, what’s next? First thing is to find a shelter or rabbit rescue in your area! The Petfinder web site is a great resource! It’s a database of available shelter and rescue pets throughout the United States. All one has to do is put in the proper information. What kind of pet you are looking for, what age, and in what region of the country.    

Once you have browsed the website and found that special rabbit, Your next step would be to contact the shelter or rescue organization by e-mail or by phone saying that you are interested in adopting a particular rabbit that is in their care. When contacting rescue organizations, please keep in mind that some rabbit rescues are NOT large offices but the private homes of caring individuals.

 Once you do get a response back from the rescue or shelter, there may be an adoption form to fill out and sign. You may also be asked to provide a veterinary reference. If this IS the first pet you have ever had and can’t provide a veterinary reference, there may be some more questions that need to be filled out and perhaps someone form the shelter or rescue may ask you some other questions other than what is on the form.  Please don’t be intimidated, be understanding. The rescue or shelter has invested a lot of time, energy, donated funds, and a LOT of love into the rabbit. The want to make sure that it is given a good home.

Before giving the veterinarians information to the shelter or rescue, you may want to contact your vet’s office first, as a courtesy just to ask permission to use them as a reference.  

The questions and the reference may seem odd or imposing, please be understanding. The rescue or shelter have put a lot of time, donated money, and love into the rabbit. This is just the rescue’s attempt to make sure that their rabbits are going into a good home and not a potential abusive situation.

After everything checks out you will get THE phone call or note saying that you have either been approved or disapproved. If the answer is no, the person doing the adoption review will most likely say why and thank you for your interest. If you have been approved, you can arrange for a time to meet your new friend and bring him\her home! Some rescues, like the one I came, from will only adopt out to residences within a descent driving distance. My foster mom likes to bring her rescues to our new home in person. Not only to see where the rabbit will be living but also to bid farewell to a rabbit that was cared for so much and will now begin a new life in a loving home.

The First Days In A New Home

 Now don’t expect the rabbit to be warm and friendly right out of the pet carrier. We will be tepid at first, just trying to get to know the new surroundings and yes, trying to get to know you. We may even “mark” out territory a bit by leaving some droppings here and there. Remember the new arrival is a “stranger in a strange land”, be understanding for the first few days. Let him/her get to know your house and the surroundings and yes the boundaries. In turn, you should adapt to the new arrival’s personality.

 You will most likely be contact by the shelter or rescue during those days to see how things are going with the new arrival. If things are working out, great! If not, please say so. This way the bun can indeed be surrendered back to the shelter or rescue from where they came.

 Most contracts with a shelter or rescue will ask that if  the adoption isn’t a good fit that the rabbit be surrendered back to the SAME rescue organization or shelter. This is so that the rabbit will be returned to the shelter or rescue that invested the time and care into the animal. The rabbit can be returned to familiar surroundings and can be placed with another family.

My Adoption Story! 

As I had said in my bio, It had been about six weeks since Edison’s passing. Although there was still a pall hanging heavy over the home, there was also a decision made. It was time to bring a new rabbit into the house.  Not just one rabbit but two. It was going to take two of us to ease Edison’s loss.

Efforts to adopt Lucy, my step-sister, were already in the advanced planning stages. By this time, it looked like for certain she would be coming to her new home. Lucy had been bonded before so she seemed that she might want another friend to share her new life with. Instead of going to the local pet store and buying a bunny there, my pet human decided to adopt a rabbit from one of the rabbit rescues located in New Jersey.

 The first stop was the Petfinder web site. After scanning a while, my pet human came across a little 2 year old Holland Lop-Dwarf mix named Cuddles that looked a bit like Edison. There was just something else about this rabbit. There was just a sad look in the rabbit’s eyes that’s said “I need a home, please?” The write up seemed favorable: a little rabbit with a pleasant disposition. 

That little rabbit was me! I loved my foster mom and the wonderful care I received while at the rescue but I really wanted to find a permanent family.

 My pet human then contacted the rescue group, Kind Heart Rabbit Rescue, first leaving a message on the telephone and following that up with an e-mail stating that he was interested in finding out more about me for possible adoption.

 He received a reply e-mail later that same day asking for a reference from a qualified veterinarian and some other information. My pet human contacted both of Edison’s doctors to ask permission to use them as a reference. Both offices agreed and the references were submitted. 

A few days later, I got the great news: I was going to a real home!

 Arrangements were then made via phone and e-mail and on Sunday 17 November, 2002 my foster mom brought me to my new home! My foster mom was even nice enough to offer my room (or cage) along with some of my favorite toys, a packet of rabbit food pellets, and a crock of my water. My new pet human did take my toys and the crock but since I was going to move into Edison’s old room my original room stayed with my foster mom. 

For the first few days I was a bit withdrawn but curious about my surroundings.  I also forgot where my litter box was and had a few accidents, most likely because I was a bit nervous.  My new pet human fixed that problem by placing some of my hay along with some of my droppings inside the litter box. After a short time, I caught on and my litter training kicked in again.

There were a few follow up e-mails about how I was doing. I think my foster mom knew she had found the right place for me. The following week I was taken to my new veterinarian just for a check up to make sure I was OK and passed with flying colors! Today, I’m a happy house rabbit! I have free run of my pet human’s rabbit resistant living room. I have a large cardboard tower to play in along with all my toys. I get all the timothy hay I can eat, two good salads and two servings of OxBow rabbit food a day and fresh water changed out twice a day. 

Most important I get a lot of attention, care, and love from my new family! 

Now if ONLY Lucy would get along with me…. But that’s a story for another time! 

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!

 easons to
 Adopt a Rabbit From a Shelter or Rescue