#easter psa

Do your research, and please don't get one if you aren't prepared to take care of one for its whole life. Your kiddos will be perfectly happy with a plush bunny instead.

I’ve seen a lot of great PSAs about pet bunnies at Easter going around, but one very important bit of information seems to get left out.

Though Bugs Bunny would tell you otherwise, bunnies don’t need to eat carrots. Those are “sometimes” treats. But...

Bunnies. Need. Hay.

We got Bella one year ago, on Easter. He had lived with a friend of mine happily for his whole life. Chosen from a regular old pet shop, it was four years until he had to leave his first owner. One of the family members had a rabbit allergy, and he couldn't stay. He found his way into the hands of a biology teacher. I came across him by luck and was offered the opportunity to take him home. "She's the sweetest bunny I've ever met!" Was all the bio teacher would say about him. That's right! We thought he was a girl. Well, we found out a week later he was a boy, and we kept the name since he knew it. The trip to our home was a perilous one. He had to sit outside in his cage, covered in coats donated by my friends to keep him out of the sleet while we waited for our ride. He didn't enjoy the car very much, but finally, he was home! We had a week to decide to keep him. Otherwise, we could take him back to the biology teacher. Of course, we couldn't give him up. We fell in love with him.

Yes, we got Bella on Easter. But he's a lot of work! So if you want your own Easter bunny, make sure you know what you're getting into! They aren't cheap to take care of, and they need attention, lots of play time, brushing and nail trimmings. That's just the beginning. Plus, they live a very long time, which is a big commitment. Bunnies make great pets, but only if you have the time, effort, patience and money for them.

Sayori: First off, the idea of giving an animal as a gift is horrible!! Animals aren’t objects, they’re living creatures with feelings and a beating heart! You wouldn’t adopt a kid as an Easter present, now would you? No? Then don’t do that for a bunny either!! The same thing with baby chicks!! You’re just gonna abandon that chick when it grows up!! How horrible is that, just to get an animal to inevitably abandon it when it isn’t cute any more?!

Now, I know some people do this with the best of intentions, but let me tell you RABBITS ARE A LOT OF WORK. They need regular vet visits and lots of room to roam around and be a rabbit! You can’t just stick one in a cage from the pet store! That isn’t enough for them! They poop and pee a lot too! You might even have to clean their litterboxes more than a cat’s litterbox!! And that’s if you can get them to go in a litterbox at all! Some rabbits don’t even like it!!

If you have done your research, and prepared, and are completely aware of what you’re getting into, then yeah! Get a rabbit before someone unprepared buys one as a gift! But NEVER BUY AN ANIMAL BLINDLY. It would be like coming home with a human baby and not even knowing what formula is.

That’s Sayori’s PSA for Easter! I hope you all have a nice holiday! And remember: Animals are people too!!