Rabbit redux: Even fuzzy bunnies go homeless

Here, in this comfortable charcoal-gray house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Wilmington, he is treated well, and with respect, possibly for the first time in the course of an uneven life. His foster mother is trying to help work out his problems - issues, she says - surrounding affection, personal space, possessiveness, and food. Especially food.

There are others in this halfway house. Ginny moved in after being found in a vacated apartment in Fitchburg. Magellan was picked up on the side of a road in Littleton. Oscar was left behind, in an apartment in Lynn, after his family was evicted.

But help is out there.

In fact, it's right here - at the home of Suzanne Trayhan, a software engineer who runs the House Rabbit Network, one of a few organizations in New England devoted specifically to finding homes for abandoned domestic rabbits.

The network, comprising about a dozen homes and 60 individual volunteers, is a nine-year-old nonprofit that placed 171 animals last year. With foster homes in local towns including Wilmington, Reading, Revere, Townsend, and Kingston, Milford, and Unity, N.H., it serves Eastern Massachusetts and much of New Hampshire, caring for 50 to 60 rabbits at any given time. The organization takes care of medical problems, and spays or neuters the animals before placing them on its website - complete with personality profiles and full-color portraits - for adoption.

The fee for one rabbit is $70, $115 for a pair, with the understanding that the pet will be housed inside, not in a backyard. Considering the cost of spaying and vet care, that's a bargain, says Trayhan.

Easter, of course, can be a hard season for bunnies. And while it is too soon to see how many will be foisted off this year when the luster wears thin, Trayhan says her group typically sees a rise in surrenders at the beginning of the summer and before school starts in September.

"Easter bunnies are often given up around Memorial Day, [when] people start going on vacation," she says.

Trayhan says HRN does not accept private pets; she and her team would be inundated. Instead, they work strictly with shelters and animal control officers; if an animal comes in with health issues, HRN volunteers work hard to nurse it back to a robust state.

Shannon Cail of Reading has worked with HRN for three years. "I do the TLC cases," she says. "One or two at a time that might be sick or disabled, and I take care of them until they can be adopted out, or until that day comes. I treat them like my own and spoil them until the end."

Cail, who lost one of her charges this month, says her task can be tough. "It's difficult when you foster the hard ones and then lose them. It takes my heart a little while."

Mike Keiley, who manages the Noble Family Care and Adoption Center at MSPCA's Nevins Farm in Methuen, speaks highly of Trayhan and the network.

"The HRN has been fantastic to our organization over the years. . . . Almost every rabbit, we work out a solution for. We work with other shelters and rescue groups, we go to every length we possibly can to avoid euthanasia."

Keiley also credits HRN and other rescue groups with educating the public and increasing the popularity of rabbits. He says that rabbits are now "a clear number three" choice as house pets, after cats and dogs.

"We actually see more rabbits now than puppies in our shelter," he says.

"I started 15 years ago, and rabbits were almost exclusively outdoor pets, but you're seeing a lot of education really create a positive change for the way that they're housed and cared for, and they've really become more integrated into people's homes. Now it's not a novelty, it's more a norm."

Cail agrees.

"We just try to get out there as much as possible, educate the public - even if we can change one bunny's life at a time, it means we're doing something right."

And of course, Trayhan cites the many-splendored joys of bunny love: In addition to all those foster kids, she has three very large "personal bunnies" inhabiting a three-level wire condo in her living room - Hamilton, Heidi, and Shookie.

"It's amazing how distinct their personalities are," she says. "Some are aloof, some are mellow, some are outgoing, some are self-assured. . . . They just bring a lot of joy."

But like any passionate pet lover, she and her volunteers pay a price. Hay, rabbit pellets, litter, and vet care are costly.

To offset expenses, HRN conducts occasional fund-raisers. The next will be April 30 at Giggles Comedy Club in Saugus. Tickets are $20, and all proceeds will benefit HRN.

Will there be rabbit jokes?

Says Trayhan: "Well, some rabbit jokes are funny, and some are not. Like, if they go on too far about stew.

"So I hope they don't."

For more information on the House Rabbit Network, visit www.rabbitnetwork.org; hot line for rabbit questions and emergencies, 781-431-1211. "Laugh for the Buns!" 7:30 p.m., April 30, Giggles Comedy Club at the Prince Pizzeria, Route 1 southbound, Saugus. $20. 781-233-9950. Vicki Hengen can be reached at hengen@globe.com.