My Take: No live bunnies as gifts for children, please - HollandSentinel.com

My Take: No live bunnies as gifts for children, please - HollandSentinel.com

My Take: No live bunnies as gifts for children, please - HollandSentinel.com

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:00 AM PDT

opinion

By Judith Schneider  |  Saugatuck Township

Thirty-one years ago, I did a dumb thing. While visiting the local pet store to buy a fish for my son's aquarium, I stopped to look at three rabbits in a cage for sale. It was a few weeks before Easter. One was pushy. One was scared. And one, the chocolate Dutch with the white nose, came over and licked my finger, and I was smitten and we took her home.

Fluffy brought sweetness and sass to our home for 11 years. And if anyone would have told me that 31 years later, rabbits would still be hopping around the house, I wouldn't believe them. I am living proof that rabbits are wonderful companions and worthy of our love.

I can't say that the bunny life is always without its downs. Bunnies' teeth grow their whole life and therefore they gotta chew ... shoes, books, clothes, the couch, baseboards and spicy hay — otherwise known as electrical cords. It's hard to find a knowledgeable vet, since many vets know only dogs and cats. And that vet can be expensive. They are prey animals and can hide illness until it's an emergency, and must be carefully watched over. They need exercise and yes, intellectual stimulation. They will not do well in a cage. They can live for 10-plus years and are a long-term commitment. 

I can say they are worth the trouble, but they are not for everyone and not for small children. I became a fosterer and adoption interviewer for my local House Rabbit Society chapter and one of my foster fails was Lively, a small bundle of sweetness. He was rescued by a vet when a mom brought him in covered in makeup, with his front teeth knocked out because her daughter dropped him. Rabbits are ground animals and don't like to be carried around by children. These are living creatures that feel pain and fear. They are not toys.

What saved Fluffy was that the same weekend she came to our house, I read about a new organization, The House Rabbit Society. Founded in California in 1988 by a woman who rescued a dumped rabbit from her yard, it is a national and local organization which rescues and finds good homes for rabbits and is a source of information gathered from hundreds of rabbit parents, vets and rescuers. They helped me find a vet who could look after Fluffy, helped me with behavioral issues, diet, litter boxes and lots more. They also have helped me find 10 of my 11 adopted shelter buns. Harbor Humane, gave me the 11th  rescue. And it's the house, not outside hutch, society.

Which brings me to the point of all this. Rabbits are not an Easter gift for your child. As with any companion animal, parents need to do research about that animal, and wait until a suitable time when the children and house are not holiday frantic. This is true for any animal whether it's a dog, cat or hamster. And to quote our favorite slogan "Adopt, don't shop." 

Shelters have wonderful animals who have been abused or neglected or in the case of buns, dumped outside to die by starvation or attack. Shelter animals are a bargain. They have been seen by a vet, neutered and often box trained. The adoption fee includes all that and socialization and any medical care needed. Neutering alone can cost more that the adoption fee.

In other words, do your homework, wait until after the holiday, wait until your children are older and, in the meantime, give children a stuffed or chocolate bunny, please.

— Judith Schneider is a resident of Saugatuck Township.

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