A HARE Raising Story

Abused and abandoned rabbits are cared for at the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group.

We’re all ears: Mitch, top, and Chloe are two of the fluffy friends cared for by the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group. Author, above, is one of the group’s volunteers. Courtesy Lindsay Uhr

by Lindsay Uhr

‘A www! What a cute bunny! Can we get him mommy, please?” A little boy or girl sees a rabbit and wants a cute little, fluffy pet with big brown eyes, droopy ears and white fur with brown patches to hug. Many of these families get rabbits, at least for a while.
When a child has had the rabbit for a few months he realizes that it is not a toy to be squeezed, but an actual living being that requires care. Rabbits are very delicate animals. They are naturally nervous because rabbits are creatures of prey. You have to make sure you don’t scare them. If you even pick up a rabbit in the wrong way it could hurt them or they could

get frightened, struggle and hurt themselves very seriously. A rabbit’s diet has to be carefully constructed of mostly hay, a few pellets, salad and occasional treats. They need fresh water every day and you must clean their litter boxes about every other day. Besides that, they generally need to be taken to the vet once a year. Most important, they need love and attention.
When a child realizes that a pet rabbit is a big responsibility he or she usually becomes bored and tired of watching the same old rabbit sitting there day after day. The family decides it’s time for a new or different pet. In most cases, the rabbit is dropped off at the local animal shelter until the shelter gets too crowded. Then the rabbit will have to be put down or sent off to a home where he may not be treated properly. In other cases, the rabbit doesn’t go anywhere but stays in the house and is forgotten. In the worst case scenario, a bunny is taken to the woods or a railway station and is abandoned.
Many people think they are doing the rabbit a favor by leaving it outside, but this is a very harmful experience. Wild rabbits are very different from domestic rabbits. If you let a domestic rabbit go free outdoors they would die and if you took a wild rabbit in and tried to domesticate it, it would most likely not adapt. The only time a person should take in a wild rabbit is if they are in serious need of medical attention.
The Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group is an organization that saves rabbits. I volunteer at the house in Thompson where the rabbits live. The house is not an animal shelter; it is the home of Nancy Schreiber, the founder of the group.
“I love rabbits,” she said. “They are affectionate and playful and truly capable of bonding to humans. They are also smart and inquisitive and do the cutest things like jump up in the air when they are happy. They really have personalities, each one is unique.”
The only money the group collects is from adoptions and the sale of pet supplies. The adoption fee is $65 and Nancy gets the rabbits vaccinated before they are adopted. Also the person who wants to adopt a rabbit must be checked out to make sure they can take proper care of the animal. A volunteer goes to the prospective home and tells them about bunny-proofing the house and other precautions. Then the potential adopter comes to Nancy’s house to socialize with each rabbit and pick which one they want to adopt.
Nancy founded the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group in May 2006. After her daughter’s pet rabbit died Nancy adopted two rabbits with medical issues and rescued another four. She started volunteering with Rabbit Rescue and Rehab, a New York metropolitan organization, and one day she got a call from people in Massapequa about many, many rabbits running around.
All 40 rabbits were saved and adopted. That was the start of the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group. Now there are about 15 volunteers. Nancy gets lots of calls from people who find stray rabbits, want to give away their rabbits, know of a rabbit in a bad condition, or just want information on how to take better care of their rabbits.
This group rescues rabbits from woods, roadsides and anywhere else a bunny can be dumped. They also go to animal shelters in Brooklyn to take care of the rabbits and try to bring a few of them back to Nancy’s house. Currently, 17 rabbits live in the house; five of them are Nancy’s and 12 are available for adoption. There are also foster rabbits living in volunteers’ homes. The group’s goal is to get as many rabbits adopted as possible and then take in new ones. “Rabbit rescue is very heart-breaking and frustrating work,” Nancy said. “Many people treat them like disposable objects. We get so many calls for rabbits in need of help and we can only help a small fraction of them because our resources are so limited.”
Lola, a Hotot rabbit, was dumped in a box in front of a house with her newborn litter, which included Tasha, Chloe and another rabbit. They were discovered by a woman who was walking her dog. The dog found the rabbits and killed one of them. The woman stopped her dog from killing the rest and they were taken in by Long Island Rabbit Rescue. Lola and Chloe were even adopted.
Volunteers clean the rabbits’ cages and give them food, water and attention. It is fun to play and socialize with the many rabbits at Nancy’s house. All they want is someone to love them and if you love them, they’ll love you back. When you play with a rabbit you can take them out of their cage and sit in a pen with them. They’ll look around a bit then come check you out. Sometimes they’ll come right up to you and ask to be petted or maybe they’ll give you a kiss! When they are happy they’ll jump up a little in the air or thump the floor. Every bunny has his or her own style.
Some people let their bunnies wander around the house like a cat or a dog. Bunnies can be litter box trained so those people just have to make sure that there is nothing dangerous for the bunny in the house such as electrical cords or poisonous plants the rabbits could eat.
When I am with the bunnies I can’t help but wonder how could anybody give this sweet bunny away? I always feel so much better after volunteering than when I came. It’s as if the rabbits are a special cure for having a bad day.
As Jews it is our responsibility to make sure every being created by God is cared for and respected. By honoring God’s creatures we are showing respect to God. According to my Talmud teacher, Rabbi Yechezkel Lehrer, the Gemara discusses whether it is permitted to inflict pain upon animals. From this we learn that we also have to be sensitive to animals and harming animals is prohibited. Since we have to be compassionate to animals we surely have to be compassionate to our fellow people. By being aware of animals’ feelings, we become better Jews and better people.
When most people think of animals that need help they think of cats or dogs or even whales, tigers and other wild animals but they don’t think about little rabbits because they appear so cute and cuddly. Rabbits need just as much love as other animals do, maybe even more.
For more information about the Long Island Rabbit Rescue Group, go to longislandrabbitrescue.org or call (631) 379-3914.
Lindsay Uhr is a freshman at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, L.I.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization