Bo and the bunnies
Responsible rescues multiply with the increasing popularity of rabbits as house pets.
Slow and steady may have won the race for the tortoise, but rabbits are happily and quickly hopping up the popularity ladder as household pets. One source cites rabbits as the third most popular pet in the United States, behind cats and dogs, with a low estimate of three million living in U.S. households.
The number of rabbit rescues is multiplying, too, with more organizations taking the responsibility of providing care to the delicate little animals, matching them with appropriate humans, and educating potential adopters. The Bunny Bunch locations in Fountain Valley and Montclair are longtime templates for what a rabbit rescue should be.
Sunshine Rabbit Center, located on Atlantic Avenue in comfy-cozy Bixby Knolls, more than lives up to that standard. The Center serves as a rescue, adoption and community center for people who have rabbit roommates or are thinking about getting one or two and want to learn about what bunnies’ needs.
To visit the Center, go upstairs to the second floor (just follow the outsize pawprints on the wall). You’ll find yourself going the other direction in a tumble down the Wonderland rabbit hole into a bright, cheerful, bunny-oriented group of rooms. It smells good, too — could be the fresh hay in the kennels.
Bo Ruberg, a University of California Irvine professor of film and media studies with emphasis on gaming, pulled the Sunshine Rabbit Center out of a hat with a lot of help from their friends and colleagues. Ruberg is the owner and president of the center but prefers the term “team lead.”
“We’re a team here — we have staff and volunteers,” they said.
Ruberg and the team have several years of experience in rabbit rescue. A few of them were volunteering at a rescue in Paramount and got the idea to open their own rescue. They opened Sunshine Rabbit Center as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on June 1, and it immediately hared on with events, projects and finding homes for their furry little residents.
The Center’s adoptable bunnies are rescues from the Los Angeles public shelter system.
“They don’t have capacity for rabbits,” Ruberg said. “The rabbits can spend as long as they need here, and we can take the time to find them the right home.”
Finding the right home for a rabbit is the topmost mission of Sunshine Rabbit Center.
“People don’t realize how smart and curious they are,” Ruberg said. “They think rabbits can live in a small cage in the backyard, but they need attention and enrichment. They can be as affectionate as a cat or dog.”
Ruberg said that they’re seeing younger adults with no children turning to rabbits as pets. It’s not that little kids shouldn’t have rabbits, but they have to behave with bunnies like idealized children from a Victorian-era book of manners. Rabbits are sensitive and delicate and can’t be hauled around the house. They can and should be able to run free in the home as long as there’s enough room to bunny-hop and anything you don’t want chewed on is out of reach of teeth, plugged-in electrical cords in particular.
“We create opportunities for education,” Ruberg said. “We’re out on First Fridays, and we have an open house to meet people. We get out to communities for adoption and outreach. We want the bunnies to be adopted, but we also have a bigger mission: we want people to understand them and make the lives of bunnies better.”
Each room in the center lends itself to the mission.
If you take a bunny or two home, you’ll find anything they could want or need in the Sunshine Shop. The shopping area is crammed with toys, treats, little hidey-houses, stuff to nibble on to wear down their teeth (rabbit’s teeth actually grow, and they need roughage to chew on to keep them from outgrowing the mouth), litter boxes and special litter, and hay. Hay is the shop’s biggest seller, and it’s ordered fresh daily. Three kinds are sold: timothy; oat, wheat and barley; and orchard grass for picky eaters.
The Center also offers services such as grooming and boarding. The Bunny Hotel can accommodate up to 20 guests.
“One of the things that makes us unique is that we have a lot of community-oriented events,” Ruberg said.
Community events involve the public in education about rabbit care and sharing resources with rabbit roommates. The Center offers a support network that can connect people who live with rabbits so that they can exchange information and get tips about things like veterinarians, health and odd rabbit habits. People who don’t have a house rabbit or are considering adopting one can hang out with rabbits during Veg with Bunnies, where they can cuddle with them, feed them leafy greens, and find out exactly what makes bunnies ear-risistible.
The Center offers social events for house rabbits themselves. Ruberg said that rabbits are social and their humans must spend time with them, but playtime with other rabbits can be just the thing for a lonely or bored bunny. Rabbits can visit the Center for play dates and bunny socials. On Valentine’s Day, rabbits and their humans can take part in a photography session at the Center.
Any house rabbit visiting the Center must bring proof of vaccinations and spay/neuter. They can carry it in their waistcoat along with their pocket watch.
Any bunny who winds up at the Sunshine Rabbit Center is lucky, and not just because of all the rabbit’s feet in there.
Sunshine Rabbit Center is located in Bixby Knolls, 4202 Atlantic Ave., Suite 201, Long Beach. Hours are Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Contact them at contact@sunshinerabbit.org; visit them on their website and their Facebook and Instagram pages. Donations are hoppily accepted here.
YOURS DROOLY
For reasons just stated, getting a rabbit as an Easter Bunny gift is just wrong. Valentine’s Day? That’s another story, as long as the bun is the valentine, too, and not a lifelike stuffie for your human sweetie or child. Of course, your sweetie can come along with you to Sunshine Bunny Rescue and you can both pick out your forever bunny buddy. Your new friend may also have a cottontail cutie of their own at the rescue, so all four of you can go home and celebrate the love.
Here are three little valentines, along with information about the adoption process. Read it carefully before you decide to adopt a bunny.
Judy is a confident, fun girl bunny who is about a year old. She loves playtime and won't hesitate to hop over you to explore whatever’s around. Judy was saved from an abandoned vehicle and brought to a local shelter, but you would never know about her former discomfort given how happy and sweet she is.
Sheila is a sweet, calm girl bunny with eyes as red as candy hearts. She’s about a year and a half old. Sheila is curious and enjoys gentle pets. Bunnies are very social, and many of them like living in pairs, but Sheila prefers being a solo bunny who gets lots of human attention.
Foggy is a bouncy, friendly girl bunny who is around 9 months old. She enjoys playing with her toys and snuggling up in her little bunny house. She is always excited to see other bunnies and would be a great match for a single bunny looking for a new friend.
TAIL-WAGGING AND NOSE-BOOPING EVENTS
Hop by Sunshine Rabbit Center for some bun fun!
Long Beach’s brand-new band of bunny buddies is in full swing for February fun! Bring the kids down for Bunny Craft Day, a rabbit-themed crafting day with snacks and lots of adoptable bunnies to inspire the art! Bunny Craft Day is presented by the Center in tandem with Able ARTS Work and is a fine opportunity for children to learn about rabbits and their special needs.
Bunny Craft Day takes place Sunday, Feb. 1, noon–3 p.m. at Sunshine Rabbit Center, 4202 Atlantic Ave., Unit 201, Long Beach. Free event.
21st Annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest
There’s gonna be dogs as far as the eye can see at Rosie’s Dog Beach, when dogs of all breeds and mixes thereof — bulldogs, too, of course — trot and prance and run up to compete in a dog’s dozen’ worth of contests! The Beautiful Bulldog Contest has been billed as one of the largest gatherings of English bulldogs in the world, but every dog is welcome! Pups will parade down the red carpet while all the Miss and Mrs. Long Beaches judge them. Register here to enter your best bud in contests like Best Small Dog, Best Large Dog, Best Senior Dog, Best Adopted/Rescued Dog (my favorite), and, of course, Best Bulldog and Best Frenchie. A Best in Show category will include a huge prize for the judges’ choice. Funds raised will benefit nonprofits Community Action Team and Haute Dogs as well as animal-welfare causes.
The Beautiful Bulldog Contest and the other competitions take place Sunday, Feb. 15, 9 a. m.–noon, at the concrete boat launch ramp at 1 Granada Ave., Long Beach, near at Rosie's Dog Beach. $10 online or $20 at the event; free to spectate.
Let’s go bowling with Helen Sanders CatPAWS!
When your cat sits up straight, their little head pointing upward, do you think of bowling pins? When they knock the cup that holds your pens to the floor, do you suddenly yell “Strike!”? If you do, you’ll love this event! Helen Sanders CatPAWS 13th Annual Bowling Fundraiser will give you a great way to focus and vent your energy and support this nonprofit rescue at the same time. Shoes and a snack are included! Hate bowling? Come anyway and cheer your team on! Bid on silent auction items, and win a prize for your bowling skill or lack of same. Funds will support CatPAWS’ spay/neuter programs for community cats and owned cats and will pay the medical bills for the rescued cats, which will turn them into the adorable adoptables you can see on their Adoptions page and in person at the Seal Beach PetSmart. Purchase tickets here.
CatPAWS’ 13th Annual Bowling Fundraiser takes place Saturday, March 21, 3 p.m.–6 p.m. at Westminster Lanes, 6471 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. Ticket prices $45 for bowlers, $25 for non-bowlers. Snack is included in both tickets.
Need a low-cost veterinarian, information about trapping community cats, places to volunteer, pet food, veterinary assistance, rescues and shelters to adopt from — anything pet related? Follow this link for resources. Please add your own ideas in the Comments section.
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