Saving Neo
like Finding Nemo - but different!
In December 2005 I noticed a beautiful rabbit in my neighbor’s front yard. Over the next week, I saw the rabbit a few more times and decided to put some food and water out for it as it was pretty clear by now that it was a stray. Since I didn’t know anything about what rabbits eat, I investigated the matter on the Internet. While I learned what rabbits eat, I also learned about the multitude of things that can kill them, most of which were present in our neighborhood. Horrified, and with the support of my wife (Mary), I began a campaign to save “The Christmas Rabbit” (as I referred to him then).
After a little more Internet research, I came across Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue and contacted them for assistance. They sent BHRR volunteer Steve Guida to the rescue with a humane trap that I could use to try to capture the rabbit. I followed Steve’s instructions, but after a few days without success felt like Elmer Fudd trying to capture Bugs Bunny – the rabbit was just too smart for me! Finally, on the 8th day of trying I succeeded in trapping “The Christmas Rabbit” on December 22nd. Since the shelter was full, we agreed to keep him for 30 days and Steve brought by a cage and some food.
My goal all along was to save “The Christmas Rabbit” from what certainly would have been an unfortunate end, but after trapping him I took time to carefully reflect on things. Neither Mary nor I had ever considered a rabbit as a pet, nor were we looking for a pet of any kind, but sometimes things happen for a reason. We named him Neo and thought long and hard about keeping him, but doing so would require many changes in our lives.
Neo adapted to our house quite easily and we learned about him. We had no idea that a rabbit could make such a wonderful house pet and in a few weeks had become quite fond of him. So, we made the decision to adopt him. Then we bunny proofed our home so he could have the run of the house.
We wanted him to be happy, so we tried getting him toys to play with. Unfortunately, he didn’t play with any of the toys we bought him, but he had played with an empty cardboard box. So, we tried 2 boxes with cutouts for him to go in and out and he played in the boxes each day. Now, we have several boxes bunched together that we call “Neoville”. He plays in Neoville every day. If it ever seems like it is getting old to him, we move it around a little and he hops in and out and all about.
We consider the decision to adopt Neo as one of our best ever. He makes us smile every day and has brought more joy to our home. We are grateful to Steve and Brambley Hedge for helping us save our Neo, “The Christmas Rabbit”!
Eric Goo
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