Dedicated to all the wonderful people and animals I met and got to know at the Best Friends Bunny House.

What does it mean to be someone? To me, it means … for there to be no-one else quite like you. Indeed, every person I’ve ever met cannot really be compared to anyone else. There’s just something fundamentally unique about each and every one of us that defines what it means to be someone. Uniqueness defines the individual, defines a sense of personhood and defines the concept of a being in this world. 

One day in the autumn of 2020, I realized that this applied to my rabbit back home, Marley.

I have never met anyone quite like him, in all my years on this planet. He’s not like any of the other rabbits we’ve had nor any of the other pets or people I’ve met. His demeanor and presence carry something entirely unique and impossible to replicate; he is kind, sweet, trusting, curious, has a sense of mischievous humor, and loves his son (our other rabbit we have, Pepper) with all his heart. I began to see him not just as a pet, but as someone. And if he was someone, then so were all of the other rabbits out there. I began to realize the immensity of the sea of unique animal voices out there, waiting to be heard. This new series, Traveling for Good — my writings from the road about animal sanctuaries, is the story of some of those voices.

A Sign

It all started with a sign. Not the metaphysical kind, no — a literal sign on the the side of the road. It was mid October, I was in the middle of relative nowhere, an hour or two from any major city, traveling along some Utah highway on my way from the forests of Flagstaff to the wonders of Bryce Canyon. The sign read “Best Friends Animal Sanctuary”, and a subsequent google search at that night’s campsite informed me that it was one of the biggest most well-known sanctuaries in Utah.  I looked at my travel plans (I was heading home to CA in a few days) and debated about whether to make time for a visit or to just head home. I’d only ever been to an animal sanctuary very briefly once before, and had never gone to one on my own. I was curious but, truth be told also had the nervous anticipation that inexorably follows for me with any new activity regardless of its character. An animal lover and quiet reserved animal advocate myself, I decided to give it a go.

I set up a tour at two different places (Best Friends is a sprawling property with lots of different buildings to house different types of animals), both of which I would later go on to volunteer at: the Bunny House and Wild Friends. I’ll detail my experience at Wild Friends in a different post (stay tuned for Part 2 🙂 ) as it was different in just about every way. Today we are here to talk about the bunnies.

I was met by an enthusiastic staff member (who I would later get to know as Keala) and a sea of bunny faces. It was October in Utah, so still fairly warm but not hot. There were so many bunnies (I saw like ~100 in a 20-30 min tour) that it was hard to really note any specific bunny, especially since most of them would run away if you tried to pet them (a common rabbit response in my experience), but I came away from the experience with a sense of contentment, gratitude, and awe that was hard to put into words. I felt that amongst the rabbits and the people that cared for them, I belonged. Here was a community of amazing animals and people who loved them, and it spoke to me.

Sometimes while traveling through a new area, there is that sense that “I could be happy here.” A sense that in another life where things had gone differently, that you could live a happy life in this place. This feeling is usually accented by contrast and by the “what if” portion, as it’s highlighted that you aren’t in that life and didn’t end up there. You return from your travels to your current life back home and continue on the path you have in this life. It’s rare that one actually is able to just go live that life for a little while, but fortunately I was. My van-based-life allows me the freedom to wander as I please, at the expense of reliable bathroom facilities. I decided I would come back to Best Friends in December to volunteer for a few months and give this imagined life a try. 

New Beginnings

One of the first things you notice when you step into Rabbit HQ (after you’ve put on the mandatory Crocs — which is a whole other story for another day) is a rabbit in the entrance hallway. This is Matilda. She has an abnormality in her spine that means she walks a little funny, but she is a sweetheart. She’s in the hallway for a few reasons, but mainly because she is one of the friendliest bunnies at Best Friends. She loves to be petted and will often come up to the bars and stand upright, front paws leaned against the fence, when you come near, as she is eager for some affection. She also likes to climb up on top of her little cardboard house and watch the commotion of the hallway. Her personality shines brightly through.

Bunny Bonding

You may not know it yet, but Matilda is unusual for another reason. She is unusual because she is a single bunny. Almost all of the rabbits at the sanctuary (>95%) are bonded in groups of two, three, or the very occasional 4+. . Rabbits with bondmates live happier and subsequently healthier lives. Having a companion to keep them company will be incredibly important over the course of their life. This is especially important for owners who are away from the home all day, such as those who don’t have option of work-from-home. Otherwise the rabbit will be alone all day, which can be very difficult emotionally on rabbits. All of this was explained to me by one staff member Sandra, and I walked away with the understanding of the importance of pairing up rabbits — it can make an immense difference throughout their mental and emotional lives. This is why the sanctuary bonds rabbits together, and encourages people to adopt a pair of rabbits instead of just one. 

However, the bonding process is not always an instant match. A staff member or two will bring two single rabbits into a neutral area. Then, they will place the bunnies side by side and pet both simultaneously. This relaxes the rabbits and distributes both rabbits’ scent onto eachother, allowing them to become familiarized with eachother’s scent. The staff member will then let go of the rabbits and see how they behave, remaining in the enclosure for supervision. It’s hard to predict which rabbits will match well with others (guesses can be made based on temperament but they may or may not reign true), and so one may have to try multiple different partners before finding the right one. Rabbits can be bonded any which way, male-male, male-female, female-female, and any shape and size. All rabbits at Best Friends are spayed and neutered (a major campaign of Best Friends’ in general as there are too many homeless companion animals as is right now — if you ever want a rabbit please consider adopting over buying from a breeder), so male-female is okay.

A “bad match” is often very apparent, with the rabbits immediately entering into a fight. Rabbits can be quite vicious (more than you would think) if they truly don’t like each other, so it’s important to have a staff member in there to supervise and intervene if necessary. If the two rabbits are not outwardly aggressive (some fear, tension, mild nips, and apprehension are to be expected), it can be a promising match that can be “worked on” with a few sessions of bonding.

Taffy and Ollie

During my time at the sanctuary I got to be involved in a bonding exercise between two bunnies who had both been single for a while that were having trouble finding a bondmate: Taffy and Ollie. This was allegedly the last combination of single bunnies (that were there at the time) that hadn’t been tried. While it wasn’t love at first sight, and more honestly was trepidation at first sight, these two warmed up to eachother even over the course of one session. And within a few sessions, they were snuggling up next to eachother cute as can be. This warmed my heart, knowing that I had just witnessed two unique beings making a friend that they would be with for the rest of their lives. Akin to watching two future lifelong human friends meet, it was a beautiful sight for what it represented and for what it meant for each of their futures.

Taffy and Ollie went on to become the break-room bunnies, getting free range of the whole room, frequent treats and frequent attention. Taffy is a bit boisterous, at times both sweet and a little feisty with other bunnies. She spends a lot of the daytime in her cardboard house resting. Ollie is quiet and curious, and enjoys both climbing on your lap to check out what you’re doing and rolling around a ball, his toy of choice. Another staff member Jeff, who I got to know well over the course of my months at Best Friends, compared Ollie’s behavior to that of a dog rolling a ball around. He didn’t seem to care too much about the treats hidden inside it and was more interested in just playing around with it. They are a unique pair who interact in their own way. We suspect that as they both likely grew up alone, they never really learned the “normal” ways of rabbit interaction in the form of grooming, and so they do their own variations and interpretations of this common rabbit activity. 

Captain and Tenile

This is Captain (white with black spots) and Tenile (dark grey). These two captured my eye when cleaning cages and handing out rabbit food. It’s impossible for me to say for certain what exactly it was about these two specifically that spoke to me, in the same way that it’s often hard to say what exactly it was about a specific person you met that pulled you towards them. It’s often something beyond a specific characteristic. You just fall for who they are. 

And that’s exactly how it was for me with these two. Captain is a sweet slightly timid bunny with a beautiful white and black coat. His unique fur around his head (called a Lion’s Head, fairly rare) makes him a popular bunny. On occasion, he would come up to me and sit for an enjoyable petting session. On other occasions, he made it clear he wasn’t interested by turning around, giving me the butt, and running away, often through a tunnel linking their indoor enclosure to an outdoor enclosure. The enclosures at Best Friends are intentionally built this way, so the bunnies can choose whether they want to go outdoors or be indoors (all within the safety of an enclosure). This is both handy for staff members, as the bunnies will go outdoors when you are cleaning their indoor cage and vice versa, and for the bunnies, who often like to spend time outside even in the cold of winter. I’ve seen bunnies choose 15 degrees F over a climate-controlled 60 something degree building! Crazy.

Whether Captain is running towards me or away from me, one thing’s certain: Tenile’s not far behind. His sweet bondmate, a dark grey lop-eared bunny, loves snuggling with him and is his partner-in-crime. She generally lets me pet her, although she can be a bit uppity and nippy with other rabbits and other staffers. I suppose that like I have fallen for them, she has in a sense chosen me as well, choosing to never nip me in all my time at Best Friends. Captain and Tenile were adopted partway through my volunteer time at Best Friends, and this came with a bittersweet goodbye, feeling both a melancholy for the exit of two wonderful animals from my life and an immense content happiness that they were getting to go to a home where they would be loved and given the individual attention that they deserve.

Spencer and Paul Bunnyan

After Captain and Tenile left, I went to spend time with the other pair of rabbits that would often let me pet them: Spencer and Paul Bunnyan. These two are opposites in a lot of ways. Spencer is small and timid, and Paul Bunnyan is large and docile. Spencer (nicknamed Mr. Pants for his white and black coat that resembles a pair of pants, though its hard to see in the pictures) took a little while to warm up to me, whereas Paul was immediately interested in attention. It’s difficult to put in words the specific attributes of these two that spoke to me, but if I had to pinpoint it — I would say it’s Spencer’s eyes and Paul Bunnyan’s presence.

Spencer has the most beautiful blue eyes — I’ve never seen a pair like that on a rabbit before or since. Looking into them while petting him (an active act of submission for Spencer, who one can tell is split between taking the risk of submissive trust and acting on the impulse to run away, which I suspect is from his perhaps tumultuous upbringing that led to an animal shelter) reveals a depth of emotion. Gazing into them, I am reminded that I am in the presence of another being — another (likely sentient and possessing of consciousness, read this book for more on why I believe this) being capable of love, individuality, uniqueness, problem solving, play, and of possessing an emotional and intellectual spectrum greater than generally believed.

I look into those eyes and I see pieces of myself — a timid explorer of the world trying his best amidst a sea of new experiences. My heart is instantly flooded with a strong sense of compassion and empathy. I want to reassure him that we are here to love him and that he can trust us. But I know that it isn’t that easy and that trust, with rabbits along with people, must be earned. I pet him and am grateful that he decides to let me and to take a chance on me.

Paul’s effect, on the other hand, isn’t something I can pinpoint to a single body part. It is simply just the way he acts and the calming effect that his presence has. He makes those around him feel relaxed and safe, whether it be Spencer, a staff member, or a volunteer. He is a gentle giant who I came to feel the utmost love for, as well.

Thelma and Louise

I’d now like to introduce you to the two bossiest and orneriest bunnies at the shelter: Thelma and Louise.

Two large female rabbits who both have a tendency to express their feelings by shoving you around, these two are quite the characters. To tell you the truth, I generally have a hard time telling them apart, partially because they look almost identical and partially because when one interacts with them, any sense of order or plan of action (i.e. change out a water bowl) rapidly goes out the window as they barrel into you, try to eat your shoes, and express their curiosity in a very forward physical manner. 

During my first day at Best Friends, I was able to clean all other cages without incident, but upon reaching Thelma and Louise’s cage, one attempted to escape (Gah!) while the other tried to eat through the watering can I was using to refill their water bowl. Curiosity is expressed in many forms, I learned.

But even the orneriest bunny is deserving of our love. I stooped down and gave them a cautious pet each. What appeared as a hard exterior of either aggression or over enthusiasm quickly softened as they began to relax. They both cozied up together and appeared to enjoy the affection, letting me pet them for 5 minutes or so. And so the toughest pair turned out to be sweet after all, they just needed some love.

Hoppy Hour

Towards the end of my time at Best Friends, I got to be a part of what’s known as “Hoppy Hour” which consists of bringing a bunch of the rabbits into a large communal area so they can socialize. This is a particularly exciting time as the rabbits usually spend their time in their enclosure with only their bandmates. When I first heard about the practice, I was concerned that the rabbits might fight during this time period (especially after learning about the sometimes tumultuous process of trying to bond different rabbits) but was reassured by staff members that this wasn’t much of an issue. When you collect enough rabbits together (the magic number I heard was “10 or more”), the size of the group dissuades one-on-one aggression. You still can have periodic nips, but staff members stand by to intervene and distract the bunnies when necessary.

Speaking of 10+ bunnies, it’s worth noting that although I only mentioned a few specific ones in this article, Best Friends has around 100 bunnies. They are all amazing creatures deserving of love, and I’d encourage anyone looking for a bunny in the Utah area to consider adopting one from Best Friends. They are simply incredible.

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Watching the bunnies run around on a big wide open pen out on the lawn was a wonderful sight. Some bunnies would sit back with anticipation, some would dig furiously at the sand (they can dig really fast!), and some would run around doing little hops here and there. One pair of bonded rabbits began running around in circles hopping over eachother, the second time I got to be a part of Hoppy Hour. It was amazing seeing them express their happiness so outwardly like that. Rabbits would approach the other rabbits, these not quite strangers but certainly not anyone they’d spent much time with, and one could see all of their personalities reflected in the manners by which they would approach the others. Some cautiously, some more forwardly. The wide spectrum of approaches the rabbits displayed was reminiscent to me of the wide spectrum of approaches different humans take in novel social situations.

We would transport them from the main building to the grass lawn by putting small groups of them in strollers and wheeling them over. It was simultaneously the dorkiest and most adorable thing I’ve done in a long time. It was in learning to pick them up and how to handle them that I learned gentleness and the inherent trust that is involved when a human picks up a rabbit. The rabbit puts its life entirely into the hands of the human being (although generally a bit resistant at first to hand over this control). It is a sign of the important and strong bond between rabbit and caregiver, involving mutual trust and love.

Parting Ways: Ears Forward

And eventually, it came time for me to move on to the next sanctuary — it was time to part ways with Best Friends. I was (and am) a bit nervous about what’s next. I don’t really know where is “next” yet, what animals I’ll be working with and how to handle them, or how it will all go. But I’ll take a hint from the rabbits who point their ears forward in their curious steps forward into the uncertain world, and step forward anyway, ears forward.

Simple pleasantries and goodbyes couldn’t really do justice to what I had experienced — and so to the Best Friends staff reading this, I hope this does a better job.

The time I spent with the bunnies (and people!) of Best Friends is something I’ll continue to hold dear to my heart. 

I learned a lot — about love, about rabbits, and about myself, and I owe it all to that fateful mid-highway stop back in October.

Perhaps that roadside sign was another kind of sign, after all.

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