Not a Toy. Not a Lesson. A Life.

By Jennifer Lee

"You never think it will be you..."

You don’t think you’re going to be that person—the one who brings an animal into their home with good intentions… only to relinquish them to a shelter. But then life changes, and reality hits.

We hear it all the time:

• “My child lost interest.”

• “They got too big.”

• “They’re too messy.” (Often because they were never spayed or neutered.)

• “We’re moving.”

• “We have too many animals.”

• “We just lost interest.”

• “This rabbit's behavior didn’t meet my expectations.”

And one we hear far too often:
"We wanted a baby bunny."

Many people specifically ask for baby bunnies—drawn in by their tiny size, their soft fur, their adorable faces. But baby bunnies grow up. And when they do, they often exhibit hormonal behaviors that people didn’t expect. Spraying, nipping, aggression, chewing—normal behaviors for unaltered rabbits.

But instead of seeking proper veterinary care and getting them spayed or neutered, people give up. The cute baby they once wanted becomes “too much,” and back to the shelter they go.

Please, be patient with our adoption process. We understand it might seem long or overly detailed—but it's built on years of hard-earned experience. We’ve learned that when we take the time to prepare a family before an animal comes home, the outcomes are better—for the family and for the animal.

People often put so much pressure on animals to behave a certain way, to meet expectations they never agreed to. But trust has to be earned. Love has to be built. A safe home doesn’t magically exist—it’s created intentionally, by responsible adults who choose to do right by the animal they brought into their lives.

That’s why we ask to meet the whole family. We’ve seen what happens when we don’t: the animal returns to us, unwanted because they weren’t everyone’s choice. We like to meet the children too—not to judge, but to understand the dynamic. Because so often, people want an animal to teach a child responsibility.

That is not the animal’s job.

And when the child loses interest—as children often do—back to the shelter the animal goes. Heartbroken. Confused. Unwanted.

We do home visits, at least virtually, to make sure you’re set up for success. Rabbits need space, enrichment, and time out to play. They are not starter pets. No animals are.

Take Goose, for example. When she left us, she was healthy and robust. Just two months later, she came back almost two pounds lighter, her hips protruding, starving. Why? Because “life changed.”

It's easy to neglect an animal when we stop caring. When we lose interest. When we never took it seriously in the first place.

Stop putting the burden of perfect behavior on the animal. The responsibility is on you—on the adults in the home who made the decision to bring that life in.

Animals should never be surprise gifts. They are not toys. They are not teaching tools. They are living, feeling beings who depend on us.

Adoption is a leap of faith.
We trust that our process will work. We trust that you will provide a safe, loving home for an animal we've invested time, money, and emotion into.

Please—do right by them.