Friends of Rabbits

BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY: FRIENDS OF RABBITS

Friends of Rabbits treat their bunnies to a little R&R during Rabbit Spa Day. Above, Dusty gets a pedicure. Photos by Mark Finkenstaedt for washingtonpost.com

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People underestimate how wonderful rabbits are. We want to spread the word on what great companions rabbits can be.
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Friends of Rabbits founder Vineeta Anand

Never a Bad Hare Day for Northern Virginia Bunny Lovers

By Dana Rawls
onwashington.com staff writer
Nov. 16, 2000

Sure, they're cute. And yes, they're cuddly. We all know the M.O. on rabbits and their furry ways.

But to Friends of Rabbits, bunnies are much more than adorable critters. They're a passion.

"People underestimate how wonderful rabbits are," says Vineeta Anand, who founded the Alexandria-based group in 1997 to support rabbit owners scattered throughout Northern Virginia. "We want to spread the word on what great companions rabbits can be."

"I was involved with the House Rabbit Society, but their closest chapter was in Baltimore," explains Anand. "I wanted a presence in Northern Virginia because so many people here had rabbits and needed information on how to care for them. That's how Friends of Rabbits began."

Friends of Rabbits takes bunny care very seriously. The group provides workshops about nutrition, exercise and overall maintenance for domesticated rabbits. It even offers "Take Your Bunny to the Spa Day," a day of leisure and luxury for house rabbits that includes grooming, manicures and a full-bunny massage.

"Because rabbits are small animals and are often prey, they have higher stress levels," says rabbit masseuse Aileen Hudspeth. "There are certain points you focus on with rabbits, just like with people. For example, with a rabbit, I focus more on releasing tension from their hind legs, which are usually stressed and very tight. When you relive the tension out of the rabbits, they become a lot more social and bite and kick much less."

Group member Valerie Moore swears that the massages have turned her rabbit, Bayley, into a different bunny.

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Rabbits make wonderful pets. We don't like to see them used for food or fur and we especially don't like to see them mistreated.
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Friends of Rabbits member Joe Monaco

"My rabbit didn't like to be held at all, but after 10 minutes with Aileen, Bayley was lying in my arms like a baby," says Moore. "And what's great is that Aileen teaches all the owners how to massage their own rabbits. It helps build a bond and a stronger relationship with your rabbit."

The group's concern for rabbits goes beyond daily care and occasional pampering. Members also rescue endangered rabbits and work with several rabbit sanctuaries in the greater D.C. area. In its efforts to save lives, Friends of Rabbits has boycotted restaurants that serve rabbit on the menu and has worked with groups like PETA to protest animal research. But the group says breeders are rabbits' biggest threat.

"We are trying to put the breeders out of business," says Anand. "Right now, there is an incredible overpopulation of rabbits. Millions of rabbits are put to death every year at shelters. We don't need more animals being bred."

"Easter is the worse time," says Moore. "Everyone runs out and gets rabbits and then they're abandoned a few weeks later. We've rescued rabbits from the side of the road and out of restaurants. The ones we can get, we put up for adoption or in our foster care program to place them in good homes. We also have a wildlife rehabilitator for rabbits with special needs who can't be adopted."

Members tell of one rescue case in which a rabbit had a foot cut off with a pair of shears by its owner. The owner wanted a rabbit's foot for good luck.

"My wife and I have collected about 140 mistreated rabbits and placed about 60 in caring homes in the area," says Joe Monaco, a Friends of Rabbits member who also owns his own sanctuary, Monaco House Rabbit Sanctuary in Centerville. "We've had some so neglected they've died hours after we get them here. Rabbits make wonderful pets. We don't like to see them used for food or fur and we especially don't like to see them mistreated."

After the rabbits are rescued, the group provides medical care as needed to nurture the animal back to health. Friends of Rabbits also has a strict adoption process to ensure rabbits can find homes where they will receive top-notch care.

"We do home interviews for prospective parents, have them sign a contract and we charge an adoption fee ($50 for members, $60 for non-members). All of the fees go into a fund for medical expenses for the rabbits," says Anand. "In the contract, we ask that the rabbits be kept indoors, get plenty of food and medical care and we ask that if at any point they want to give up the rabbit, to please turn it back to us."

"We try to adopt very carefully. We put a dozen rabbits in homes every year and we've never had a parent give one back to us," says Anand. "We look for the emotional level in adoptive parents. We look for people that will say 'whatever it takes' in caring for their rabbit. When we see someone who feels the same way about rabbits that we do, we know the rabbit will be in excellent hands."


	Left, Founder Vineeta Anand massages a rabbit. Above, Sheri Komaron cuddles a 4-year-old Netherland Dwarf rabbit.

Please send donations to P.O. Box 1112, Alexandria, VA 22313

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