Dirk’s Legacy


We lost our dear sweet Dirk on October 8th.
We didn’t know much about rabbits when we first adopted a group of eight in 2015. Since then, we have learned a lot! One thing we’ve learned is that is very difficult to integrate a new bunny or bunnies to an existing group.
As our original group dwindled to just one (Java) we have slowly introduced 7 new rabbits. And we mean slow! The idea was to add older rabbits thinking that would help integrate them into our colony which was now all seniors.

One of these senior newcomers was Dirk. We got Dirk in May, 2023. He came to us with a strange head tilt so he was always easy to pick out of the group. Being a very senior bunny we knew our time with Dirk was coming to an end.
We know that Dirk was a pet rabbit who was “set free” at the Richmond Auto Mall. Rabbitat Rabbit Rescue caught him in 2012. Being a domestic rabbit, Dirk didn’t stand a chance out in the wild world. Instead he lived 12 good years.
“Rabbit abandonment is a large scale issue happening not only in the lower mainland, but throughout North America.
We didn’t have enough time with Dirk but we are happy he enjoyed time at Kindred doing what bunnies love best, eating, digging, chewing, and relaxing outdoors.
Now our bunny group is Treble, Dill, Pickles, and Smokey.
The lack of education regarding proper rabbit care is a large contributer to the issue of pet rabbit abandonment. Many pet owners are unaware that “setting their rabbit free” is harmful to both their pet, and the environment. People see wild rabbits and believe that their domestic rabbit is the same, and therefore, will also thrive in the wild. However, this is not the case.”
For more information visit
https://rabbitats.org
