• Need as much care and attention as dogs and cats.
• Should live indoors, as members of the family.
• Most children lose interest in a live bunny after only a few weeks.
• All bunnies need to be spayed or neutered even when living alone.
• Can learn to use a litter box.
• Are not "low-maintenance" pets.
• Are a poor choice as a pet for young children.
• Have a lifespan of 10+ years and require as much work as a dog or cat.
• Your home must be made safe for bunny so bunny will not chew cords and furniture.
• Rabbits must be spayed or neutered for health and behavior reasons. Unsprayed females have an 87% risk of cervical and uterine cancer. Males tend to spray if not neutered.
• Pairs of rabbit are fun but make SURE it is not a male female pair OR litters of bunnies will be born. Rabbits can have 12 every 28 days! Please do not add to the existing over population problem by breeding rabbits.
• Vet exams are required for rabbits too!

Call the Rabbit Haven 831 600-7479

We can help you learn all you need to know to properly care for a rabbit. We have rescued rabbits for adoption. Consider the adoption option when you decide to add a rabbit to your family, look at www.therabbithaven.org.

Our Rabbit adoptions come with complete rabbit care education, a booklet on rabbit care, spay or neuter provided, First free vet exam plus valuable coupons to use to purchase supply. Informed counselors are available to answer all your questions.

Email us at Director@therabbithaven.org

Happy Easter - the story.

Every year at Easter time children ask parents for rabbits and bunnies are often purchased at pet stores as Easter gifts. Little thought goes into this decision.

This year please think carefully before you decide to add a rabbit to your family. Remember that a rabbit is not a toy. The rabbit will need space, lots of care and attention, will need to live indoors with the family and require just as much attention as a dog or cat. They are not good "starter" pets for young children. Also every year thousands of rabbits are abandoned to shelters or released in the wild (a death sentence for bunny) often because of misunderstandings on the part of the parents who bought them for their kids. Unwanted rabbits begin to appear only weeks after Easter! It is so sad. Please learn all about rabbits before you decide to add a bunny to your family. Rabbits are physically delicate and fragile, and require room to play, special interaction and specialized veterinary care. Children are naturally energetic, exuberant, and loving. But "loving" to a small child usually means holding, cuddling, carrying an animal around in whatever grip their small hands can manage, precisely the kinds of things that make most rabbits feel insecure and frightened. Rabbits handled in this way will often start to scratch or bite simply out of fear. Please learn all about the proper ways to hold and care for a rabbit before you decide to add a rabbit to your family. Call the Rabbit Haven to learn more. Many rabbits are accidentally dropped by small children, resulting in broken legs and backs. Those rabbits who survive the first few months quickly reach maturity. When they are no longer tiny and "cute," kids often lose interest, and the rabbit, who has no voice to remind you he's hungry or thirsty or needs his cage cleaned, is gradually neglected. Then no longer wanted.

Parents, please help. Don't buy a baby bunny on impulse. Beware of baby bunnies sold during Easter. Sometimes the seller may say that he baby is 3 months old or a dwarf when the rabbit is not even 8 weeks and when they have no idea if it is a dwarf. Make an informed decision about adding a house rabbit by learning about rabbit care first. Consider adopting a rabbit from your local shelter or rescue group.

For the rabbit's health and well-being (as well as for your child's) make sure an adult will be the primary caretaker and will always supervise any children in the household who are interacting with the rabbit.

Domestic rabbits are inquisitive, intelligent, and very social by nature. A rabbit is a delightful companion animal as long as you remember: The bunny is not a child's toy. The rabbit is a real, living 10-year commitment!

So please, stick with a toy stuffed bunny when giving an Easter gift to a young child. Call us to learn more. Let's make Easter a happy time for everyBunny! 831 600-7479