Winter Rescue 2015

In the warm December of 2015, residents of a small city in the Southern Tier of New York noticed vividly colored domestic rabbits lounging under shrubbery in their back yards, running across busy downtown streets, and eagerly munching on broccoli and lettuce that neighbors put on their lawns. A single humane trap with some banana bait helped bring a total of six bunnies home just before the weather turned cold. A caring local vet took in the first two females and found them homes before Christmas. The next one named Cutie turned out pregnant with four wiggly kits born on January 11. Little Holly lost her three unborn babies and almost her life, but thanks to Dr. Barbara Roach at the Village Veterinary Hospital in Canastota, NY, in consultation with Cornell’s Dr. James Morrissey, she survived a long and complex surgery and came home with a great appetite and sweet demeanor. The two males, Chocolate and Star, stopped fighting after Dr. Roach neutered them and gave Star’s freshly wounded lower lip the “plastic” surgery he needed to stop resembling Angelina Jolie. If left outside in the cold and traffic, none of them would be alive today. 

Several of these sweet rabbits still need homes. Chocolate is ready for adoption right away, while Holly and Star are still taking antibiotics and will probably get along nicely if adopted together.  Cutie and her four babies will be happy in a good foster home that would give them the care and attention they deserve.