Rabbit Care: A Powerful Journey of Love and Loss

The care of a disabled rabbit can be emotionally, physically and financially draining, but this month’s compassionate caregiver has given multiple rabbits specialized care. Vashni Wyatt, along with her husband, have devoted so much time, love and care to multiple disabled rabbits over the years. Her story is a powerful one from rescue to loss and starting over again.

You may notice this article has a bit of a different format than the previous three compassionate caregiver articles. After reading how Vashni wrote her story to m, I felt compelled to allow all caregivers to tell their stories the way they wish. These are all her words from beginning to end.

April’s Compassionate Caregiver

Rabbit Care: A Powerful Journey of Love and Loss

Vashni Wyatt

“My name is Vashni Wyatt, @darbytheduke and @thedaintyduke on IG. In my free time, I create chalkware bunny decor and items inspired by St. Melangell, the patron saint of rabbits, for my Etsy shop, The Dainty Duke.  My workspace is set up right in our bunny room, so naturally, all the rabbits are considered part of the team and are listed as shop members on my about page. Rabbits are incredibly social and curious creatures, so they’re always involved—supervising my work, nibbling on boxes, and occasionally trying to make off with my tools and supplies.

I also work as the Chief Operations Officer for a small company, and I feel truly fortunate to be in a workplace that allows me to bring my rabbits with me. This has been especially helpful in caring for some of my elderly and special needs bunnies, making a big difference in their quality of life.

I also admin the Tripod Bunnies Group on Facebook with my husband Geoff. We created the group after our bun Darby lost her leg in 2016.  It was an incredibly scary and overwhelming experience- we didn’t know anyone else with a tripod at the time and didn’t know where to turn for advice. I never wanted anyone to feel the level of helplessness we felt so we created the group in an effort to help other bunny parents going through the same. A place they can come to find support, share experiences and access helpful resources. Most of all, we wanted to create a place where people could see that Tripod rabbits can still go on to live happy lives.

For the past 40+ years, I have been caring for rabbits. Unfortunately, 25 years ago, there were no exotic vets or specialized rabbit care options where I lived. Before the internet, it was nearly impossible to find reliable information about rabbit health. Most of the books available were full of misinformation, often aimed at breeders, and suggested outdated practices like ‘culling’ for issues that are actually treatable. During that time, I had rabbits suffer from conditions like cancer, EC, bladder stones, bloat, thymoma, and abscesses.

I’ll never forget the feeling of helplessness when I couldn’t find a professional who knew how to treat them properly. I did the best I could with what was available to me at the time. But in the process, I learned so much about rabbit care, and the knowledge I gained continues to guide me as I care for rabbits today. Thankfully I found our amazing Vets Dr. Adehlson, Dr. Lorig and Dr. Van Beveren at Community Animal Hospital in Morris Plains, NJ. We have been going there for over 2 decades now.

I’ve been blessed to share my life with 24 incredible rabbits over the years. Nineteen of them have since crossed the rainbow bridge, but each one left a lasting mark on my heart. Their names are:
Shadow, Tribble, Baby Binks, Sweet Pea, Thistle, Flopsy, Sophie, Angus, Sassy, Jasper, Albee, Delillio, Pixel, Bixby, Darby, Ollie, Opal, Boop, and Daisy. The ones still hopping by my side are: Sadie, Sam, Bartleby, Cosette, and Marcel.

Bartleby, who we estimate to be around two years old, was rescued after managing to evade capture for months. Bartleby survived the winter outdoors by hiding under porches and sneaking food from chickens in the neighborhood. He’s our third foster fail. He is such a gentle love bug, and looked so much like our bun Daisy that when I was trying not to get attached to him I didn’t want to give him a real name so I called him Daisy boy.  

Cosette and Marcel are a bonded pair, both around four years old. They recently became our fourth and fifth foster fails—thanks in part to Marcel’s heroics. One evening, Marcel began thumping like crazy, alerting us to smoke filling the kitchen from an appliance that had started to melt on the stove. He started warning us before the smoke detectors even went off. Thanks to him, I had just enough time to get the item outside before it caught fire and to close off the rest of the house, preventing the smoke from spreading. How could we not keep him after that?

Cosette came with a broken leg that had been left untreated and healed on its own. At some point, a bone had even poked through the bottom of her foot, leaving a large calloused area we now monitor closely. Her foot is deformed, but she’s regained her range of movement and gets around beautifully. The only special care she needs is plenty of soft surfaces and regular foot checks. While our vet says she might need an amputation in the future, for now she’s doing well.

Sadie and Sam were rescued after being abandoned outdoors. They’re around four or five years old. When found, Sadie had taken shelter under a car with a severely broken leg, which ultimately had to be amputated. They ended up at a dog shelter that did an excellent job getting Sadie the medical care she needed—but it wasn’t the right environment for rabbits. We originally planned to adopt only Sadie, but once we learned she was bonded to Sam, we knew we couldn’t leave him behind.

Despite being a tripod, Sadie gets around wonderfully. Her mobility is impressive, but rear-leg amputees often experience extra strain on their remaining joints, making them more prone to spinal issues and arthritis. Her only specialized care at the moment involves ear cleaning. Every weekend we do a thorough cleaning with Zymox, especially on the side where she’s missing a leg. During the week, we do “spot cleaning” with a dry baby washcloth or soft paper towel.

If she starts biting hay and spitting it out, digging excessively, or tries to scratch with her missing leg, it usually means she has an itch she can’t reach or a wax buildup. Rabbits typically use the toes on their back feet to clean deep in their ears, so without that leg, Sadie needs a little extra help. She will even come over to us with her ear down to let us know she needs our help. I also gently comb her face using a cosmetic eyelash comb—it helps remove loose fur from her ears, cheeks, and neck where she can’t groom herself anymore.

I credit Darby, who passed away in December 2019, with teaching us so much about the care of elderly and disabled rabbits. She was our first tripod and the one who began our journey into special needs bunny care. Darby was eight years old and already showing early signs of arthritis when she lost her leg in a freak accident—she caught it in the latch of her exercise pen. Our vet wanted to give her the best possible chance at saving the leg, so she arranged for us to take her to Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls. The team there provided outstanding care, but despite their best efforts, her leg couldn’t be saved.

In time, Darby lost her mobility and developed head tilt due to ear base abscesses—something lops are unfortunately prone to. The experience of caring for her taught us so much and prepared us to care for our second head-tilt bunny, Daisy, who we rescued from Craigslist.”

Darby’s Story

“Darby’s journey as a tripod was a profound learning experience for all of us.  I’m endlessly grateful I was able to take her with me to work every day during the last two years of her life. Our bond grew so strong in her “down bunny” years. She was sweet from the very beginning, but that time together strengthened our connection to one another.

Darby is also the reason we started the Facebook group for Tripod bunnies nearly a decade ago.  When Darby broke her leg we were totally unprepared and didn’t know what to do and felt so alone and had no support we were going into everything blind. I’ve had rabbits since I was a child in the early 80s and to hear your rabbit broke it’s leg used to be an automatic death sentence, So we had no idea what to expect when it happened to us.

My husband was my greatest support during that time and still is. He is an expert in cleaning rabbit ears and expressing bladders. He has a special touch with the buns. Darby was his first introduction to rabbits and he soon became her favorite person. I joke that he only married me for my rabbit. We had only been married 2 weeks when Darby broke her leg.  He did not hesitate to do everything in his power to get her the best care possible.

After her surgery, we took shifts watching her and keeping her clean. Eventually we learned to express her bladder to keep her from getting urine scald.  Urine scald was our biggest challenge.  Learning to express her bladder and getting her on a schedule to do it was an absolute game changer.  We also learned about Sheepette, which we layered over pee pads and it wicked most of the urine away if she did have an accident. We kept her fur around her bottom trimmed short and used A&D as a barrier cream. 

Those first two weeks of her recovery period were exhausting. She was on a lot of medication and it made her like a zombie so we had to force feed her. Because she could not stand to pee, she would just pee all over herself.  Before we learned about expressing her bladder we would take her to the sink and run a luke warm tap over her bum area and she would usually pee after a few seconds.   

About a month after her amputation, Darby needed a second surgery to remove necrotic tissue from her stump—likely caused by a blood clot. Our vet removed what she described as the size of a chicken breast in muscle. After that, Darby was never able to balance herself or hop again, but she remained happy, scooting and dragging herself with determination.

Our vet put us in contact with another one of her other clients who ran a rescue and she brought over a wheelchair for Darby. Darby wasn’t a fan of it, but I was so touched that someone we’d never met showed us such kindness, and even a bag of special hay for Darby. I’ll never forget Irene for that. It was my first glimpse into how incredible the rabbit community truly is—a place full of generous, compassionate souls who step up to help however they can.

So full of people who are willing to come together with strangers to try and catch a bun, or donate time or resources to help a bunny owner in need. People who open their homes to buns that have no place to go. People who educate others about rabbit care. People work in rescues. All coming together to advocate for rabbits. The rabbit community truly is an amazing place, and is one of the only places that renews my faith in humanity.

Our bun Ollie had chronic respiratory issues for 10 years. We kept on top of it with long term
antibiotics, nebulizer treatments and using a humidifier in the bunny room and giving him low
dust hay like grass hay. He was a Chinchilla Mini Rex that was rescued from a meat auction. He
was living colony style with 100 rabbits at a sanctuary before we adopted him as a friend for
Darby.

We brought her to the sanctuary and let her pick a friend. She chose Ollie. He was the
sweetest most laid back mellow guy. He outlived 4 girlfriends (including Daisy) and could tolerate the sassiest of rabbits without losing his cool. Ollie was a little guy at 4lbs and they told us at the sanctuary he would hang out with the New Zealands in the back and he could hold his own!

Darby was 8 when she lost her leg and already had early signs of arthritis. Over the next two years, she gradually lost mobility. Her spine twisted, and her posture put pressure on her lungs. We set her up in a pack-and-play lined with a memory foam crib mattress and Sheepette. Bolstered cat beds helped contain her hay, and she rested her front paws on the edge to eat.

We gave her soft dolls to lean on and snuggle. I even wrapped exercise weights in towels and slipped pillowcases over them so she’d have stable, non-rolling supports—these worked great for our tilty bun too. Adding a poly cotton or cotton pillow case over top of unscented puppy pads on your hop and flops is also great. So you can wash the pillow case instead of having multiple hop and flops to swap out when one is dirty.

I had a camera on her that gave me alerts at work when she moved. At this point I was not bringing her to work every day because she didn’t like the car. She later grew so used to the car she would snooze or nibble her greens. I had to bring her road snacks for the one hour commute. 

Before our daily commute, Darby had just enough mobility that eventually she could get herself into trouble and flip over and not be able to right herself.  Once I saw her fall on camera when I was an hour away at work and no one was home, she had her head stuck in the corner of the pack and play and she was upside down. I remember racing home that time with my heart in my throat, it was the longest drive ever. 

Darby always knew we would come to her aid so once I got her upright she was no worse for wear and went right back to eating hay. After that incident I took her to work with me every day. I had a small folding bassinet that I could zip her inside of. I was always so worried about flystrike or bugs getting to her when I had to take her out of the house. Thankfully I have a very understanding boss.

She came to work with me every day for 2 years. She would eat her road snacks and I’d sing to her. I changed all the words to the songs on the radio to make them about her. Darby was the greatest antidote for road rage.  I miss my little co pilot. The attendants at our local gas station still talk about her. She was a good co worker. Her adorable little snores got me through the day. I would pack her a little lunch along with mine. She had her own drawer of supplies in my desk.

Because she handled the car so well, we found a chiropractor experienced with rabbits, and Darby responded beautifully.  We also took her for Acupuncture and laser therapy it made a huge difference for her. (We ended up taking Ollie for arthritis and chronic upper respiratory infections and Daisy for head tilt, it really helped both of them). Darby became such a good traveler we got her a stroller and took her to Bun-Nanza 4 years in a row (this was before RHVD). She met so many people and such a great time. She would get first dibs on all the willow and other treats we bought!

Around age 10, Darby developed head tilt due to ear base abscesses—common in lops. We flushed her ears twice daily with saline, used an otoscope and long cotton swabs to remove pus, and managed to keep her comfortable. She overcame the tilt, but nerve damage left her unable to eat pellets or hay. Eventually, she could only eat mush, which I made from Critical Care, ground-up Science Selective, and pumpkin. I hand fed her every few hours. She was able to eat little logs of critical if I hand fed them to her. 

She’d let me know when she was hungry or needed something—honking or craning her neck and slapping her front paw when she wanted to eat, and  turning away when she was done. She couldn’t drink on her own, so I offered water from a syringe throughout the day. She had her own little communication system—she would get antsy and start kicking her remaining back leg when she needed to pee, rubbing her face on her pillow if she had an itch, or if her down eye was bothering her.

I always knew when I saw her tail pop up my hand placement was correct in expressing her bladder. You learn to read their cues and their schedule. We learned when her cecotropes were and, her bladder would usually need to be emptied every 4 hours or so. Caring for a disabled bun teaches you to read the tiniest cues—the position of their whiskers, the brightness of their eyes, their breathing rate.

The Rabbit Grimace Scale is a great tool for learning these signs. Knowing what their eyes, ears, and noses look like when they’re in pain or happy is crucial. (Big, bright eyes with white showing in the back = happy. White in the front = scared.) Normal respiratory rate is 30 to 60 breaths per minute. So if it was faster than that or slower I know something was wrong.  We became fluent in her language.

Keeping track of barometric pressure is very helpful to care for rabbits with arthritis.  Low barometric pressure can worsen pain and stiffness as well as high humidity. When you have an elder bun and they are acting off or not eating it could be related to the weather and you can possibly adjust their medications or other things to keep them more comfortable. I started keeping track of the daily barometric pressure in the log book we had for Darby’s care.

The Arthritis Foundation for humans has information about how atmospheric pressure affects joints, and a page that will show you the pain index for your area. There are several apps you can download as well that will tell you what the real time barometric pressure is in your area.

In her final year, Darby mostly slept. But she was comfortable, and she was happy. One morning I woke up to find her back leg purple and swollen, we got her into the vet and she became stressed and started mouth breathing.  Geoff was at work and I knew she could not wait. So we made the decision to help her over the bridge. I have a jar of whiskers that I collected from Darby and after she passed. I would find them in the most random places like the edge of the kitchen sink, the middle of the floor. I took them as signs that she was still around.

I miss her little snores beside my desk or in the car. We had her for nearly four years after her amputation. Her life was different, but full of joy, love, and purpose and she loved all the attention she got being out and about. I had 12 beautiful years with her. She was nothing but pure love. Darby changed our lives and we try to honor her memory everyday. She is the reason we do what we do.

During her years coming to work with me, she met so many people, becoming a true bunny ambassador. She had always loved people, and did her best to befriend everyone. Darby changed people’s minds, not just about rabbits, but about elderly pets in general. She had a way of leaving everyone she met with a little bit of joy. Her presence was immense, she had the sweetest personality. All her life she had always been such an outgoing little social butterfly, going up to everyone she met.  She had to be in the thick of things. When she was immobile towards the end she still lifted her head and craned out her neck to greet everyone she met.

She never once felt sorry for herself. Rabbits don’t dwell on loss.  They live entirely in the present—and that’s one of the most beautiful things about them. They adapt so well. Our current Tripod Sadie is the perfect example of this Our current tripod, Sadie, is proof of that. She’s the bossiest bun in the house and lets nothing—not even one less leg—get in her way. She rules with an iron foot and has no problem stealing Sam’s snacks or keeping the rest of us in line.”

Daisy’s Story

“Daisy was elderly and had been living in a tiny cage  with kitty litter  and  no room to move. Left alone in a garage for god only knows how many years.  Her joints were atrophied, and she was extremely thin and had infections in both eyes from the kitty litter. The woman said her kids lost interest in her a few years ago and they were afraid of her, and she was aggressive.

The woman admitted she would just throw the food into the cage. There was also a big plastic igloo taking up the majority of the cage so she really had to place to stretch or lay down properly. Daisy was the opposite of aggressive. She was starved for love and attention. She never bit or growled, she simply wanted out of the tiny lonely prison she was in. She was so sweet and trusting right from the beginning.

Daisy developed severe head tilt 2 days after we rescued her. Despite several vets telling us her prognosis was grim, and that no one would blame us if we put her to sleep we still kept trying. She was so sweet and we could tell she wanted to live so we said we would care for her and fight as long as she wanted. She was such a strong bunny.

We kept her in a Sheepette lined bassinet and then a folding net play pen for months, until she was able to right herself after rolling. She was always tilted and could only go in circles, but she was so happy. We fattened her up enough to eventually get her spayed, because an x-ray showed a large mass in her abdomen.

Daisy made it through surgery beautifully even though we were warned she could pass. We wanted to give her the best chance to live a long life. It turned out she had Adenocarcinoma and had the biggest tumor the vet had seen on such a small bunny. We set her up in a kiddie pool lined in Sheepette to keep her safe. She still only moved in circles, so she would run laps, but she really enjoyed finally having space.

Daisy’s teeth were in terrible condition. Misshapen and overgrown like a jack-o’-lantern, but after a dental procedure under anesthesia, she woke up and immediately began eating hay.  She likely never had hay in her previous home. Once her mouth was sorted, she even managed to wear down some remaining points on her own.

Daisy had more surgeries to remove mammary tumors and each time she woke up she recovered beautifully. They were also Adenocarcinoma, but each time the margins came back clear. The vet told us it would return so we just tried to make Daisy’s life as happy as possible.

We let Daisy hang out with our bun Ollie because he was so gentle and got along with everyone. You could tell she was over the moon about having a friend. She would lay her head on him and furiously groom him. She didn’t do well in open spaces with her tilt and would just freeze in place, but when she knew Ollie was around she would do her best to seek him out.

She finally had love, space to move, soft places to lay and a full belly. I fed her supplemental mush twice a day to keep her weight up, and she adored it. Even with her tilted head and stiff little legs, she’d try to climb out of the pool to get to it—but once the spoon was in front of her, she always waited patiently. We tried to give her everything she had missed out on in her earlier life.  She loved nothing more than being held and snuggled, she loved to lay her head on your lap after she had mush and get her belly rubbed. She gave the sweetest little kisses to show her gratitude.

One night, she began open-mouth breathing, and we rushed her to Oradell Animal Hospital. I knew we were likely nearing the end, so I fed her all the blueberries she wanted during the hour car ride, they were her favorite. She started to slip away on her own, and we made the decision to help her cross gently. Daisy left this world with a belly full of blueberries, surrounded by love. Right to the end Daisy was gentle and trusting, even after all she had endured.

We only had 18 months with Daisy, but from the very beginning, it felt like I had always known her. I wish we could have given her more years… she deserved it more than anyone. Her little face peeking out from her cardboard house every morning brought me immeasurable joy.”

Tips For Disabled Rabbit Care

One practical tip that helped us care for Darby was keeping a logbook. My husband and I took shifts, so we wrote down everything in a notebook. I drew some lines for columns and we tracked: the date, time of care, food and water intake, output (color, size, amount of poop), bladder expressions, meds given, and any behavioral notes, barometric pressure.

It helped us track patterns and gave our vet accurate insights. It also helped us communicate for continuation of care because my husband and I essentially had opposite schedules. We also had a baby monitor on her in her bassinet, and discovered, nystagmus is much easier to spot on infrared at night. The footage and our logbook were an invaluable tool for vet visits.

Tips for Self Care

It’s important to remember that you matter too. The time you spend caring for them is finite, but it can take a toll. Make sure you carve out time for yourself: get rest, stay hydrated, eat nourishing meals. You can’t pour from an empty cup. When you take care of yourself, you’re better equipped to give your bun the love and support they need.

It can feel isolating at times—being a bunny parent isn’t something everyone around us understands. But you’re not alone. There’s an entire community of people out there who love and care for their rabbits just as deeply. Connecting with others online, especially through Facebook groups and Instagram can make a world of difference. Sometimes, just knowing there are others walking a similar path brings a great deal of comfort. Our two recommended groups are Disabled Rabbits and The Tripod Bunny Group

Product Recommendations

When it is time to care for a disabled or elder bun, you may need to invest in some items for your everyday routine.

Baby Monitor: there are so many on the market at so many different price points. Amazon is a great place to start especially with blink cameras or maybe ask a friend whose baby has outgrown the need for one.

Washable PeePads: these are great because hay does not stick to them as much as the fleece top ones, and they provide good traction for our tripod bun.

Sheepette Faux Sherpa: Its very thick, provides cushion and has good traction, wicks away moisture. You can find it on amazon. To keep it fluffy put it in the dryer on low for 20 minutes with dryer balls. You can also hang it to dry and brush it to fluff the nap. It dries pretty quickly. It’s also easy to cut to size. Never bleach. And wash it in a laundry bag to prevent any bits of hay etc from clogging up your washer and dryer.

A Baby Bassinet: They make memory foam mattresses to go in them as well, this is well ventilated and they are still able to look out and see the world. It helps to keep rolling ec bunnies contained safely, you can zipper it so that no insects or anything can get in there. You can also lay a blanket over the top to block out light since EC buns are sensitive to light (and noise). They are the perfect height to keep next to your bed or your desk. And you can remove part of the legs to make them lower.

Portable Pack and Play: Great for buns who have limited mobility or other issues where you are afraid they could get their limbs caught in the bars of a pen. We used one for Darby when she was still mobile and got a memory foam mattress for it to keep her extra cushioned. We put disposable pee pads on the cushion then a fitted sheet for the mattress size to hold them in place and them Sheepette on top. Crib bumpers tied around the pen are also an alternative to a pack and play.

Chenille Bathmats: These are my favorite they come in a whole range of sizes and colors. They provide excellent cushioning and traction and help buns maintain normal foot posture like they would in the wild
digging their feet into the soil when they move. I used a brush or lint roller to remove hair before
I stick them in a laundry bag to wash them.

Laundry Bags: When you have a disabled bun you usually have lots of laundry. These will keep all the hay and fur and stray bits of stuff that stick to your bunny laundry and save your washer and dryer. Once
I take the laundry out I take them outside and turn them inside out and shake out all the bits left
behind. I wash their laundry with vinegar and an extra rinse along with unscented detergent.

A Massager: If your bun is belly pressing or has gas (having a stethoscope really comes in handy here) you
can put a towel over this and lay the bunny in to massage their belly. Down bunnies have a harder time with digestion because they aren’t moving which can lead to gas and stasis.  Holding them and gently rocking and using a massager really helps. Their organ tissue is very delicate so you have to be very gentle if you are massaging them by hand.

Pillows: foam bead neck or travel pillows are handy for a bunny who has very limited mobility or none at all. These pillows are great for providing them support and the foam beads also keep them from getting too hot laying in one place. A cotton pillow that you can change helps keep them clean.

Silvadene Cream: prescription or non-prescription is great for healing sore hocks and urine scald.

A&D ointment: (plain) is a great inexpensive barrier cream to prevent urine scald and help heal it.

Optixcare Pet Eye Lube Plus: This is great for protecting head tilt buns down eyes and for buns with weepy eyes it helps keeps the lids moist so they don’t get a buildup of crystalized tears.

Eye Wash: This was recommended by our vet it’s great for washing out a buns down eye or a bun that has
chronic weepy eye. Moistening a cotton pad with it and holding it against eyes with crusty build
up with soothe and loosen all the debris.

Eyebrow/lash Comb: These are great for combing cheeks and ears and faces of buns who aren’t able to reach them. Always be very careful around their eyes the skin is very delicate

Silver Embedded Cloths: These cloths are great for buns who lay on one side. The embedded silver helps reduce skin infections around their eyes etc… Wiping them down with a slightly damp one also helps keep their fur clean and smelling fresh.

For Ear Care:

Long Handle Cotton Swabs: The cotton is the perfect size for cleaning rabbit ears. Make sure to consult your vet so they can show you how to safely clean your buns ears.

Non Hydrocortisone Enzymatic Ear Cleaner: This works great breaking down wax.

An Otoscope: This will allow you to be able to see wax, pus etc.

For Chronic Upper Respiratory Infection Care (and snotty noses):

Electric Nasal Aspirator: I found that adding a drop of nasal saline helped loosen the mucus so it can be removed with suction. Only do one nostril and wait to do the other nostril at a later time, you don’t want to put saline in both nostrils at the same time since rabbits are obligate nasal breathers.

Nasal Aspirator Bulb

Nebulizer: Any nebulizer works as long as it has a pediatric mask or you can create a nebulizing chamber

Final Thoughts…

“Being elderly or disabled should never be a death sentence for a rabbit—if you’re able to provide the care they need. Yes, it can be challenging at times, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. The bond that forms through that level of care is something truly special. Their lives are already so brief compared to ours, and as their caregivers, we owe it to them to be there through every stage—right up to the end.

Darby was, and will always be, my little soul bun. She’s the reason we foster. Her resilience just like Daisy’s inspired me daily. Both of them taught me to live in the moment, to find joy in life’s smallest things, and celebrate every little victory.

Every rabbit has something to teach us—not just about how to care for them, but about ourselves and what we’re capable of. Rabbits have taught me patience, and how to really listen—not just with my ears. When they were disabled they always showed me what they needed; I just had to slow down and pay attention to see what it was.

They helped me realize that it’s okay to live a life others might not understand. When people say things like “it’s just a rabbit,” I’ve learned that more often than not, those comments come from a place of ignorance—not malice. They simply haven’t had the joy of experiencing the love of a bunny.”