The Humane Society of Utah is encouraging bunny rabbit adoptions this month. Rabbits are surrendered to shelters throughout the entire year and they have a system set up at the shelter to select the perfect bunny for your family while adhering to the distancing guidelines that are currently in place.
With families sheltering at home, Deann Shepherd with the Utah Humane Society wants people who are considering buying a rabbit to instead contact them to adopt one. They’ve got about a dozen bunnies available for adoption.
Shepherd says there are several reasons it makes sense to adopt form the shelter compared to purchasing one at a pet store.
“It’s really important to control the pet over-population problem we have and with rabbits of course they are quite prolific. So are cats and dogs as well. So when you purchase a rabbit from a store you have to go to an exotic pet veterinarian and that can be quite costly. It’s a lot more expensive to have a rabbit spayed or neutered than it is to have a dog or cat spayed or neutered.”
She says rabbits are affectionate, intelligent and very quiet. They can be trained to use a litter box.
“They are quiet and clean like a cat and you can litterbox train them and allow them to run around a room in your home and they will return back to the litter box to use it.”
Bunnies need regular affection, exercise and attention. Shepherd says with the proper care, they live a long time and are great pets.
“But as far as clicker training, yes, a rabbit can be trained like a dog or cat to come when they're called and to do tricks. So they are a really fun pet to have they do take the same commitment as a dog or cat because they do live 8 to 12 years. And we as counselors at the facility can help set you up to care for your rabbit the best you can with the right diet, the right enclosure to keep them in. Just a few tips to help people remember you know what's best for the rabbit. They are very social. The more you play with them and the more you spend time with them, they will cuddle with you on the couch, so they're great.”
Go to the link Utahhumane.org/adoption to see photos of the bunny rabbits available for adoption.
