Another road trip for rabbits was well underway to donate hay to small animal rescues and shelters! After carefully making our way over the wet and icy roads through the snowy passes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Colt and I found ourselves at the House Rabbit Society (HRS) headquarters in Richmond, California. There we met Larissa, the HRS Communications Manager, who was hard at work cleaning pens and tending to the needs of the nearly 60 rabbits who resided there that day.
The first order of business was unloading the truck and trailer and filling the HRS Center’s hay sheds full with our donation of several Timothy Grass bales and a couple dozen 4-lb boxes of Timothy Hay. Our reward for the hard work done was getting to spend some quality time interacting with the bunnies as we chatted with Larissa and learned about the House Rabbit Society.
Founded in 1988, the House Rabbit Society rescues bunnies, adopts them, and educates the community about rabbits and rabbit care. HRS promotes responsible rabbit guardianship, including spaying and neutering, regular veterinary care, diet, and exercise. HRS takes rabbit care to the next level by being the only rabbit rescue in the country with a surgery suite and a staff veterinarian.
HRS partners with 35 shelters around the Richmond area and also takes in rabbits from people looking to rehome their bunnies for various reasons. Currently, HRS cares for 89 rabbits, 40 of which are in foster homes. Prior to the pandemic, HRS adopted out around 160 rabbits per year, but for the past two years they’ve only been able to adopt out 100 or so rabbits each year. This is challenging because while adoptions have declined, the number of animals admitted into shelters has risen, due in part to millions of missed spay/neuter surgeries during the pandemic. HRS continues to receive a very high volume of transfer requests and does their best to care and find homes for as many rabbits as they can.
Five of these rabbits in particular have been HRS Center residents for over a year: Kelda, Morsel, Tostada, Burrito, and Empanada (see their pictures below!). Kelda is their longest resident, living there since August 2020. These five rabbits all have a digestive disorder called megacolon, which is an inherited digestive tract disorder. It is an easily manageable condition and HRS offers special benefits for them. These bunnies are super friendly and loveable fur babies who are all very deserving of a good home! If you have extra love to spare and would like to adopt any of these 5 adorable bunnies, email HRS at rabbit-center@rabbit.org. We usually only do this for one rabbit at a rescue, but if you adopt any of these 5 delightful bunnies, please reach out to us at High Desert Small Animal Feed with an update and we will send you a complimentary box of Timothy Hay to help you get acquainted with your new family member(s)!
To see all of the adoptable rabbits at HRS, you can visit their website at center.rabbit.org/adopt. If you aren’t quite ready to make the commitment to a full-time pet, they also have a foster program available and more information for that can be found at center.rabbit.org/foster.
We at High Desert Small Animal Feed would like to thank Larissa for showing us around and letting us play with the bunnies at the HRS Center! We would also like to send a big shout-out and thank you to all of the HRS staff, volunteers, fosters, and adopters who make the House Rabbit Society a great organization and make a difference in the lives of countless rabbits in and around the Bay Area!
