It all began with Harvey... Ten Easters ago I did what thousands of people do every year: I visited my local pet store and bought a bunny. Harvey was intended as a gift for my 3-year-old nephew, but I fell madly in love with the baby dwarf rabbit before I could give it away. My common sense also kicked in and told me that this frightened, lonely animal would not be an appropriate pet for such a young child, especially one who already had a very big dog! I didn't know a thing about bunnies at that time and believed the pet store owners when they told me that Harvey was a male (woe betide those who buy two bunnies from the pet store!); this was proved wrong by the end of a year as Harvey made nests of fur from her dewlap, preparing for babies that would never come.

In the beginning I also had no real idea about what kind of space and environment a bunny needed.  I kept Harvey in our spare bedroom in a cat carrier, with her food and sippy bottle and a lot of hay sharing the space. I let her out several times a day and locked her in at night until she began rattling the cage door out of frustration with the confinement and lack of room to move. My four cats initially saw her as prey, so I had to work daily with them (and a handy water spray bottle) to train them to live peacefully with the bunny. Soon cats and bunny were all sleeping on the bed together at night.

Saved by the bunny...

Like many rabbits, mine was quite destructive, chewing everything she could get her teeth into, but she was also the most loving little bunny, licking and grooming my face, hands, and bare feet whenever she got near.

The summer after I got Harvey I had a very bad horseback riding accident that injured my brain and spinal cord. For almost a year before the problem was clearly diagnosed, I was bedridden and would have seizures several times a day. Before and after my seizures, Harvey would hop down the hallway to my bedroom, jump in the bed, and lick my face endlessly. She began sleeping with me every night and only went to her room to eat and use her litter box. During the darkest months of my life, when I couldn't move and my husband was travelling for his work, Harvey kept me company and gave me a reason to live.

...to saving bunnies

I wish for her sake that Harvey's story ended happily, but as an inexperienced bunny owner a decade ago, I knew nothing about GI stasis, the belly ache and gas attack that silently takes thousands of bunnies every year. After visiting friends for a couple of days and leaving Harvey in the care of someone else, I came home to find her crouched in the living room corner refusing to move. She died a painful death that evening.

My heartbreak and awareness of my own ignorance led me to volunteer at the local shelter. I couldn't believe how many unwanted bunnies lived there, how complex they were, and how many of them died from GI stasis and fear and from mishandling, eating the wrong food, and being dumped by their owners.

Being a massage therapist and animal lover, I was easily talked into bringing home bunnies that would have been euthanized because of health or behavior issues. As I learned more and more, I was able to rehabilitate bunnies with hind leg problems, neurological issues, and territorial and biting problems, and many have stayed with me, never to return to the shelter because there simply is no room.

The Rabbitat is born...

When I moved from Scarboro to Walpole, Maine, I used my savings to build a 10,000-square-foot predator-proof outside "rabbitat" that provides a safe, active, and socially rich life for my rescued rabbits. At over 100 bunnies, the rabbitat (and my barn and my house!) is at capacity, and I spend an average of three hours a day--much more in times of difficult Maine weather--to ensure that every rabbit is thriving physically and emotionally. I am sustained in this work by my strong commitment to maintaining the rabbits' high quality of life, volunteer veterinary assistance, help from family members, and very importantly, generous donations and sponsorship of the Rabbitat bunnies by people like you. 

Experience has shown me that bunnies can be given a proper environment indoors or outdoors, but the reality is that most people who buy or adopt bunnies do not give them a good life outside (this list of Ten Reasons NOT to put your Bunny in a Hutch  sums it up well). Then there are bunnies like my Harvey who present a different but equally significant set of challenges when housed inside (read more about why an indoor bunny can be a hare raising experience and what you can do to bunnyproof your home). Whether they were originally kept inside or outside, the bunnies at Rabbitats for Humanity come mostly with sad background stories of boredom and loneliness (at best) or neglect and abuse (at worst).

The bottom line...

Rabbitats for Humanity is my way to give back to Harvey and help as many other bunnies as possible have the happy, healthy lives they deserve. If you would like to sponsor a bunny at the Rabbitat or learn how you can set up an appropriate indoor or outdoor living space for your own bunnies, please contact me directly by email or phone at (207) 563-7122,  and I will do my best to help you.

Thanks for visiting the site and for making a difference to bunnies!