A family moving from a rental home slated for demolition left their five “pet” rabbits behind. A concerned neighbour said multiple litters had been born over a couple of years and most had been killed by predators. She warned us that somebody was shooting a pellet gun at them and that the neighbourhood wasn’t safe. The SPCA had also been called on numerous occasions regarding the neglect and illegal abandonment of the rabbits but never came out to help.
When we got there we saw three of the rabbits in her front yard but as soon as we stopped the car they bolted into the bushes. We then went to see where the rabbits had been kept and it was a tiny dilapidated hutch at the back of the property. The whole place was a run-down mess and the lane was strewn with hazardous waste materials. Most homes had a “Beware of Dog” sign on their gate.
Over the course of time only one rabbit was caught and the woman who reported them to us said the others just disappeared, perhaps taken by a coyote or dog. We named our little rescue Walley. He was a quiet little fellow, blind in one eye, and quite sick. Sadly, he couldn’t be saved and died one morning not long after joining us.
