I heart...House Rabbit Society of Missouri

If you have known Chet* and I for more than five minutes, you know we are proud parents of three furry children, Odin, Frigga and Studio. Our rabbits mean the world to us, and I know we have bored our friends, relatives and total strangers to stories about how smart Studio is, how Odin is too cute for words or how Frigga has an attitude.

All three of them were adopted by the House Rabbit Society of Missouri, a fantastic, all volunteer-run organization dedicated to the fostering and ultimately the adoption of abandoned

rabbits. (Un-fun fact: After dogs and cats, domestic rabbits are the most-likely pet to be surrendered or dumped.)

When we first encountered the organization, our knowledge level about our rabbit, Thor, was rather lacking. He had never been to a vet, was not getting a balanced diet, and he needed to lose a few ounces. (Which when you only weigh 8 pounds, is a bigger deal.) Joy, who is so dedicated to the cause that her basement is the main foster home, sat down with us and explained the ins and outs of being responsible rabbit parents. She also helped us introduce Thor to his bondmate, Valkyrie. (Sadly, we lost both of them around the holidays.)

In addition to single rabbits which are given up when children lose interest or the rabbits are more work than expected, the HRS helps rescue and rehabilitate rabbits from larger scale raids. Studio and Odin were initially fosters from raids.

Just recently, we took in two adorable foster bunnies who were abandoned during the recent flooding. Artemus (Artie) and Apollo will be staying with us for a while through the summer, and will hopefully be adopted to a loving permanent home.

(No, not ours. I realize that we don't have a good track record with only fostering rabbits, but this time we will succeed. I have faith that there is a good rabbit parent out there for them.)

Rabbits in the greater St. Louis region have a much better shot because of these dedicated volunteers.

I heart the House Rabbit Society of Missouri.

*Greg has requested he be known as Chet on the blog from here on out.