History of Rabbit Residence
My name is Caroline Collings and I'm the founder of The Rabbit Residence Rescue.
You may be asking yourself; how did I end with the responsibility of caring for around 100 rabbits at any one time, building a rescue centre and maintaining the grounds along with the entire set-up.
Well, when I was 4 years old I saw my first ever rabbit. I remember seeing this black animal hopping freely around a neighbour's garden, having never seen anything like it before, not knowing what it was. I was intrigued. It was so funny and entertaining, so clever and very cute looking. I asked my mum what it was- it was a rabbit!! A black female straight eared adult. My fascination and love for this rabbit made me constantly want to visit.
For my 6th birthday, my Nana asked me what I wanted for a present. I wanted a rabbit just like that one and so that's what I got. Nana purchased a 4ft by 2ft hutch, the standard size of today, though we now recommend 6ft by 2ft hutches. These facts have always stood out in my mind as I could have easily had the image of a rabbit caged in a 3ft hutch, with no freedom to exercise. I named my rabbit “Twitchit” and she was to change my life. I know all children experience having pet rabbits and usually neglect them or have parents that don't value the life of the rabbit, out of sight out of mind, then don't care when they find it dead one day. But my years with Twitchit are so vivid. I used to dream of her at school, and never forgot her. She was the light of my life till the day she died. Of course mistakes were made and knowledge wasn't known. We fed her crappy mix and didnt know about hay. We got her pregnant and she had 6 kittens. This also greatly influenced where I am today. I kept two of the kittens, but the other four were given to other children. I felt a deep instinct that something wasn't right, but was helpless as a child. One ran away, after being kept in a hutch with a hole in the chicken mesh front- this I vividly remember. Two died of myxi and the other did ok. Mine of course lived the longest, “Lucky” and “Bambie”, till 9 years. The day those little rabbits were given away, I made a promise to myself that I'd make a difference when I was old enough, and so that is what I did.
This is where the story really develops. Since a young child I'd wanted to be a vet, but was also interested in caring for people/ working with children. In 1995, at 16 after my GCSE's I unusually had a gap year to help me decide what route to take. I worked with children with cerebral palsy and at Wood Green Animal Shelter. Here I was put in charge of the small animals where I learnt that over 33,000 rabbits were abandoned each year and I was at the front line of the problem, many rabbits having to be euthanised, many taking over a year to find a new home and not enough space to cater for all of them. So many excuses for giving them up. Most apparent and frustrating was that if people had been educated about the true responsibilities involved in keeping pet rabbits and that they were not cuddly toys as they appeared, many would not have bought them, so to a great extent this problem of catering for abandoned animals could be made much less intense. Within that year I had adopted 12 rabbits myself. They were all rabbits that were difficult to rehome, due to old age or unsociable behaviour. To begin with they lived in my parents back garden but soon moved onto a plot of land behind my parents' house, which they rented for my sisters horses.
In September 1996 I started A level college, where I studied to go onto university to study as a vet. Unfortunately I didn't do much studying, but spent my days with my rabbits, creating exercise areas, environmental enrichment and studying their behaviour. In 1998 I went to university as planned. My love for rabbits still dominated my life, where I took them all the way to My Gloucestershire University. I had found a farm to stay on, where I was allowed to keep them. My passion for rescuing rabbits was so strong 3 more came my way while there, and after 6 months I stopped my course and came back home to concentrate on caring for unwanted rabbits. By this point my sister had moved away from home along with her horses. Once again I settled my rabbits back down the field, where I set about designing a more permanent rescue set up. I now had 30 rabbits.
In 2001, the owner of the land threatened to throw me off, unless I bought the land for £5000. Neither my parents nor I could afford this. Was I to find homes for all my dearly beloved bunnies and end my vocation forever? I advertised for help through the Rabbit Welfare Association, Rabbit and Rodent Enthusiast club and local newspapers. Some were rehomed, but then came an angel who changed the course of things. A dear lady contacted me and said she wanted to donate the money to buy the land and save the rabbits. I couldn't believe my ears, it was like a dream, but it was true, and so by the end of 2001 I owned the land and The Rabbit Residence Rescue as it is known to day was born. No longer just a retirement home for elderly rabbits and ones with health concerns, I now had to run things properly. I set my maximum number to 40, had a waiting list and was continually making plans to improve facilities, when each goal was achieved; another was soon desperate to be achieved. Hospital, office, isolation unit etc.
The Rabbit Residence became a registered charity a little over 5 years ago and at our maximum we housed nearly 300 rabbits with just myself, one member of staff and volunteers helping to care for them.
Today we have reduced numbers to just over 100, this means we can give all of our rabbits once they are out of isolation large accommodation in line with our own homing guidelines and those of the Rabbit Welfare Association around which our homing criteria is based, it also means we can do regular health checks and provide individual diet plans and also varied enrichment. Over 60% of are rabbits are over 6 years of age, many have complex health issues or are simply shy which makes them much harder to home. We have a sponsorship scheme and also offer holiday boarding to help us cover the care of the rabbits and particularly rising vet bills.
The volunteers, supporters and also our paid staff are so precious, without them we would not be able to continue to care for the rabbits and rescue, rehabilitate and rehome unwanted and neglected rabbits from all over the country and also continue to educate people on rabbit welfare and care.
Over the years running the rescue has been hugely hard work and both physically and emotionally taxing. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be blessed with a human baby (Theo) and I'm truly thankful for those who continue to help the rabbits now I can no longer work crazy hours at the rescue myself.
When I have a minute to think and see the happy bunnies and the difference I am making, I know I'd do anything for them.
If you would like to help in anyway, please contact us via the contact details page.
Best wishes,
Caroline
You may be asking yourself; how did I end with the responsibility of caring for around 100 rabbits at any one time, building a rescue centre and maintaining the grounds along with the entire set-up.
Well, when I was 4 years old I saw my first ever rabbit. I remember seeing this black animal hopping freely around a neighbour's garden, having never seen anything like it before, not knowing what it was. I was intrigued. It was so funny and entertaining, so clever and very cute looking. I asked my mum what it was- it was a rabbit!! A black female straight eared adult. My fascination and love for this rabbit made me constantly want to visit.
For my 6th birthday, my Nana asked me what I wanted for a present. I wanted a rabbit just like that one and so that's what I got. Nana purchased a 4ft by 2ft hutch, the standard size of today, though we now recommend 6ft by 2ft hutches. These facts have always stood out in my mind as I could have easily had the image of a rabbit caged in a 3ft hutch, with no freedom to exercise. I named my rabbit “Twitchit” and she was to change my life. I know all children experience having pet rabbits and usually neglect them or have parents that don't value the life of the rabbit, out of sight out of mind, then don't care when they find it dead one day. But my years with Twitchit are so vivid. I used to dream of her at school, and never forgot her. She was the light of my life till the day she died. Of course mistakes were made and knowledge wasn't known. We fed her crappy mix and didnt know about hay. We got her pregnant and she had 6 kittens. This also greatly influenced where I am today. I kept two of the kittens, but the other four were given to other children. I felt a deep instinct that something wasn't right, but was helpless as a child. One ran away, after being kept in a hutch with a hole in the chicken mesh front- this I vividly remember. Two died of myxi and the other did ok. Mine of course lived the longest, “Lucky” and “Bambie”, till 9 years. The day those little rabbits were given away, I made a promise to myself that I'd make a difference when I was old enough, and so that is what I did.
This is where the story really develops. Since a young child I'd wanted to be a vet, but was also interested in caring for people/ working with children. In 1995, at 16 after my GCSE's I unusually had a gap year to help me decide what route to take. I worked with children with cerebral palsy and at Wood Green Animal Shelter. Here I was put in charge of the small animals where I learnt that over 33,000 rabbits were abandoned each year and I was at the front line of the problem, many rabbits having to be euthanised, many taking over a year to find a new home and not enough space to cater for all of them. So many excuses for giving them up. Most apparent and frustrating was that if people had been educated about the true responsibilities involved in keeping pet rabbits and that they were not cuddly toys as they appeared, many would not have bought them, so to a great extent this problem of catering for abandoned animals could be made much less intense. Within that year I had adopted 12 rabbits myself. They were all rabbits that were difficult to rehome, due to old age or unsociable behaviour. To begin with they lived in my parents back garden but soon moved onto a plot of land behind my parents' house, which they rented for my sisters horses.
In September 1996 I started A level college, where I studied to go onto university to study as a vet. Unfortunately I didn't do much studying, but spent my days with my rabbits, creating exercise areas, environmental enrichment and studying their behaviour. In 1998 I went to university as planned. My love for rabbits still dominated my life, where I took them all the way to My Gloucestershire University. I had found a farm to stay on, where I was allowed to keep them. My passion for rescuing rabbits was so strong 3 more came my way while there, and after 6 months I stopped my course and came back home to concentrate on caring for unwanted rabbits. By this point my sister had moved away from home along with her horses. Once again I settled my rabbits back down the field, where I set about designing a more permanent rescue set up. I now had 30 rabbits.
In 2001, the owner of the land threatened to throw me off, unless I bought the land for £5000. Neither my parents nor I could afford this. Was I to find homes for all my dearly beloved bunnies and end my vocation forever? I advertised for help through the Rabbit Welfare Association, Rabbit and Rodent Enthusiast club and local newspapers. Some were rehomed, but then came an angel who changed the course of things. A dear lady contacted me and said she wanted to donate the money to buy the land and save the rabbits. I couldn't believe my ears, it was like a dream, but it was true, and so by the end of 2001 I owned the land and The Rabbit Residence Rescue as it is known to day was born. No longer just a retirement home for elderly rabbits and ones with health concerns, I now had to run things properly. I set my maximum number to 40, had a waiting list and was continually making plans to improve facilities, when each goal was achieved; another was soon desperate to be achieved. Hospital, office, isolation unit etc.
The Rabbit Residence became a registered charity a little over 5 years ago and at our maximum we housed nearly 300 rabbits with just myself, one member of staff and volunteers helping to care for them.
Today we have reduced numbers to just over 100, this means we can give all of our rabbits once they are out of isolation large accommodation in line with our own homing guidelines and those of the Rabbit Welfare Association around which our homing criteria is based, it also means we can do regular health checks and provide individual diet plans and also varied enrichment. Over 60% of are rabbits are over 6 years of age, many have complex health issues or are simply shy which makes them much harder to home. We have a sponsorship scheme and also offer holiday boarding to help us cover the care of the rabbits and particularly rising vet bills.
The volunteers, supporters and also our paid staff are so precious, without them we would not be able to continue to care for the rabbits and rescue, rehabilitate and rehome unwanted and neglected rabbits from all over the country and also continue to educate people on rabbit welfare and care.
Over the years running the rescue has been hugely hard work and both physically and emotionally taxing. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be blessed with a human baby (Theo) and I'm truly thankful for those who continue to help the rabbits now I can no longer work crazy hours at the rescue myself.
When I have a minute to think and see the happy bunnies and the difference I am making, I know I'd do anything for them.
If you would like to help in anyway, please contact us via the contact details page.
Best wishes,
Caroline