Some Arlington residents rescued a stray rabbit spotted along Wilson Blvd on Monday.
A local resident spotted the lost lagomorph outside of a CVS store in Virginia Square and posted about it on the Facebook group Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other. Two other locals arrived not long after to help retrieve the rabbit and bring him to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA).
“I’m a bunny person, so I had to help,” said Emily Landsman, one of the two locals who rescued the rabbit. “I have two rabbits of my own, so I had a spare carrier.”
Landsman said she was connected to other rabbit rescue groups and knew how to safely capture one. She and another local, Allison Parver, used cardboard boxes to block off the escape and had a blanket ready to throw over him, but Landsman said none of it proved necessary.
“I crawled under the shrub and he let me pet him and then scoop him up right away,” Landsman said.
The rabbit is a young male English Spot, a domestic rabbit breed not suited for the wild. Chelsea Jones, communications specialist for the AWLA, said it’s safe to assume that the rabbit was someone’s pet, though whether he escaped or was abandoned is unclear.
Jones said the young rabbit is “very cute” and the rescuers described him as “friendly and tired,” which made him relatively easy to catch. A brief medical exam found that he is healthy but is not neutered and shows no signs of ownership.
Jones said the shelter has a six-day hold before adoption to give the owner a chance to come forward and claim him. After that, the AWLA will start the process of making him available for adoption.
She encouraged people to get in touch with the shelter if they feel they can’t take care of their pets.
“If they can no longer keep a pet, please do not put them outside,” Jones said. “That happens with rabbits and guinea pigs. People think they can survive on their own. Gentle reminder: if you’re an Arlington resident and you have a pet you cannot keep, get in contact with us.”
The AWLA is located at 2650 S. Arlington Mill Drive. The phone number is 703-931-9241.
Jones said there are five rabbits currently in the shelter with a few more in foster care.
“That’s kind of a lot for us,” Jones said. “We go through periods of time when we have a bajillion. If you’re in the market for a rabbit, we have a bunch of cute ones.”
