After the operators of the Rocky Mountain House Rabbit Rescue were told Tuesday they must vacate the Broomfield building they’ve occupied for nearly 20 years, the rescue is seeking emergency fosters ready to hop to it along with monetary donations and volunteers to help navigate relocating.
The organization — which is housing about 100 rabbits at the moment — rescues, rehabilitates and adopts out rabbits, and offers public classes to teach people about domestic rabbits.
“A house rabbit is different from the wild cottontails you see outside,” said Beth Skinner, social media manager at the rescue. “House rabbits need to live inside and are totally dependent on their owners. People get rabbits for Easter as a present for the kids and then realize how much work they are and let them loose outside. Then we get calls about strays and pick them up and spay and neuter them, and we like to pair them with another rabbit because rabbits are, ideally, bonded to another rabbit.”
Skinner said the news that they need to vacate the building they’re renting puts the organization in “dire straits.” The building’s owner wanted to “go in a different direction,” she said.
The rescue is looking for people, ideally with rabbit or animal rescue experience, to help care for the rabbits temporarily. The rescue also offers a free educational class about house rabbits, Skinner said.
Skinner said the optimal foster home and future location would be close to the bunnies’ vet, the Broomfield Veterinary Hospital, which is renowned for its rabbit care.
“We need help with moving, we always need volunteers and we always need donations,” Skinner said, noting that the rescue is entirely volunteer-run and nonprofit. “Depending on where we move, we may need contractors to modify the place. We’re working it out.”
Anyone with ideas, resources or professional connections to help the rescue is asked to email the volunteer coordination team at [email protected].
“This news is a difficult blow for so many of us,” the organization said in a post on its Facebook page. “But if we can pull together as a team to support our decision-makers, and support the bunnies we all love, we will get through this situation and emerge a stronger organization on the other side. With our mission and our forward-motion intact. The bunnies are counting on us!”
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