by Constance
& Desmond
"Baby" as we had named him after being rescued,
was found on May 5, 2002.
We had received an email from our informant, Trudy,
that there was a stray rabbit in her garden. The weather
had been rather bad that few days. It was already past
11 in the night, and we rushed down to the reported
address, fearing that it might not survive another night.
According to Trudy, it had been out there for almost
a week.
 It
wasn't difficult to find the rabbit with a good description
of its whereabouts from Trudy; she had provided it with
a cardboard box behind her flowerpots for shelter from
the heavy downpour, and a bowl of water. She had also
been feeding the rabbit with vegetables during the few
days that it had sought refuge in her garden.
When we found him, he was covered in mats, dirt and
stains, and was cold and damp. He was extremely thin
and most pitiful of all, scared and weak. Upon reaching
home, we gave him a shower even though it was late,
blew dry his fur and settled him in an extra cage we
had.  The
shower failed to remove all the dirt and knots he had;
we had to wait till the next day to do that. Fortunately,
he did not show any signs of serious illnesses that
are common to rabbits in Singapore, eg. scabies, snuffles
or any infections. We named him Baby because he was
estimated only about 4 months of age - still just a
baby. We gave him a good meal and left him alone to
rest for the night. At least, we knew he was safe from
the elements.
We've discovered that he does not like to eat hay,
a very important source of fiber for rabbits, probably
due to the fact that he had never been introduced to
it before. He initially refused pellets as well, and
ate only vegetables. It will be difficult to have him
learn to like it now.
 Despite
all that he has been through and the challenge of putting
him on a healthy diet, he has gained a lot of weight
since we found him a month ago, he has also learnt to
trust us and is able and will demand for attention now.
He's also been litter trained. After he is neutered,
we will try to find him a permanent and loving family
to call his own.
This is the first rabbit we rescued, there had been
many doubts and uncertainties before the rescue, but
somehow, all that changed the moment we realized that
finding the rabbit and giving him a 2nd chance meant
all the difference to this one rabbit. This indescribable
feeling has reinforced our drive to help the House Rabbit
Society of Singapore create more awareness for the need
for responsible pet ownership.
Baby was neutered on 5 June, 2002. He is in recuperation
and will be rehomed soon.
 Update:
July 23, 2002
We have decided to adopt him as we've grown so attached
to him. He's fully recovered and is now an important
part of our family. 
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