Way back in 2005, Frannie and I (Jamie) met while we were becoming certified therapeutic riding instructors. We quickly bonded over how similar we were, including the fact that we both had companion rabbits! Hers was Bumbalina, mine was Bella. Both of our ladies were rescued under extreme circumstances (Bumbalina after being released in a dangerous park, Bella from being fed to a snake) and we couldn't believe that they both started with the letter "B!"
We were both (and still are) long-time vegetarians and extreme animal lovers and we've always helped out other rescues and shelters on a small scale. We've always wanted to help out where we were needed since every animal is precious to us. After we became good friends, Frannie and I always talked about starting up our own rescue. We knew there were so many advocates out there for dogs and cats and we saw how many rabbits in our area were ending up in shelters and on the streets, and there was no one to do anything about it. It wasn't until one hot day in the summer of 2006 that we found our calling.
Frannie's boyfriend overheard someone he worked with asking another man if he would take his family's companion rabbit since his kids were sick of it and he no longer wanted it. He told the man that the rabbit was big enough to eat and he wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. There was a comment made about "Sunday night dinner!" Alarmed, Frannie's boyfriend called her and we convinced the man to give up the rabbit. It was obvious what the fate of this rabbit was if we didn't jump in. To our disgust, when we got her she was in a tiny cage with no room to move, but she trusted us immediately. Even with her hard past, she was stunning and the sweetest rabbit in the world. We named her Lily and took her to a vet to have her spayed. At the time, since we weren't a formal rescue, we paid $400 out of our pockets to have her spayed. Amazingly, we found her a foster home, and just a few months later in November we found her a permanent home! Lily was our first rescued rabbit, and our first rabbit to find a loving, forever home. Hug-a-Bunny was born!
Seeing how much we were needed, Frannie and I immediately started our rescue! We began on a small scale by making connections with new foster homes (some of them are still fostering for us!) and we started saving lives. Even though in the past we were able to lend a helping hand to dog and cat rescues in our area, no one was an advocate for the rabbits. One of our first rescue cases involved Apple, who was found in a taped shoebox with three other rabbits and put in the middle of a parking lot. In the past, a rabbit like Apple would have been immediately put to sleep, but now she had a fighting chance. She was taken to a vet and had intense medical work done. She was horribly skinny with a severe upper respiratory infection. While the first few weeks were rocky, Apple pulled through and made a full recovery. Luckily, Apple is now healthy, happy, and in a loving home...which happens to be my home! Here's a picture of her now! You can also see Apple featured in our profile picture, kissing her bonded mate Basil.
Lily taught us a very important lesson. She showed us the resilient spirit of animals, rabbits specifically, who forgive and move on from their past. Lily is now living a happy life in her new home, as seen in the picture of her snuggling with her Beagle friend.
Lily also showed us that two people can make a difference, no matter how small it may start out to be. Three years ago, we were just two best friends with a dream to start a rescue that could save lives and never imagined that Hug-a-Bunny would make such a difference. Looking back, we can't believe how far we have come and we find it amazing how it all came together. We've been connected with amazing people and we are happy that we can make such a difference. Each adoption still feels like yesterday! Since we find most of our rabbits in such horrible condition and rehabilitate them, it's natural that we get very attached to them all. We look at Hug-a-Bunny as an extended family for us, and we keep in touch with most of our adopters! We cannot believe that we've had over 170 adoptions in just 3 years! We're happy you can follow and support our journey!
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