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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Easter and bunnies go hand-in-hand, but before you think about buying a new fury friend for yourself or your child this holiday, one Grand Rapids rescue is asking you to do your research.
“Easter can be a rough time of the year because a lot of people just go into that impulse buy, rabbits and Easter tend to go together and so we get a lot of calls and messages saying you know ‘I am looking for a starter pet for my six or seven year old and what kind of rabbits do you have?'” said David Luther, the director at the Grand Rapids Rabbit Rescue. “Rabbits are not starter pets, they are quite often a 10-12 year commitment, they can live even longer 12 years with proper medical care, they need to be spayed or neutered, they need to go to the vet every year.”
The Grand Rapids Rabbit Rescue is a specialized rescue in West Michigan that concentrates on the care and adoption of all breeds of rabbits.
“What we do at Grand Rapids Rabbit Rescue is we’re interested in acting kind of like a shelter domestic rabbits that don’t necessarily have a place to go,” Luther said. “We see a lot of people who have rabbits and for one reason or another can no longer care for them and rather then just releasing a rabbit into the wild these are domestic animals they need human interaction and human care so we take in a lot of the domestic rabbits in West Michigan.”
Luther said that rabbits can be great pets but people need to know that they are just as much of a commitment as a dog or a cat.
“One of the biggest things that breaks our hearts is we often have to tell people who are looking to surrendering a rabbit that we just don’t have space for them,” Luther said. “So we are always looking for people who are willing to put in the time and energy to open their homes to a rabbit or two on a temporary basis until we can find them a new home.”
Those looking to adopt or volunteer can contact the Grand Rapids Rabbit Rescue via their Facebook page.
