Houston Rabbit Resource

: College Edition 🎓

Remember Dexter? Well, our boy is officially a college student now!

Dexter packed his bags (okay, his mom probably did that part) and headed off to College Station, where he and his mom are learning the ropes of life at Texas A&M Texas A&M University together.

His current course load appears to include Advanced Flopping, Professional Napping, Hay Consumption 101, and Supervising Your Mom While She Actually Studies.

While his mom is hitting the books, Dexter has been very busy providing moral support from the floor, the couch, or wherever he happens to be dramatically flopped at the time. Based on the photos we've received, we're not entirely convinced he's attended a single lecture.

He is, however, VERY spoiled, very loved, and clearly thriving in his new life as a college boy. And that's exactly the kind of update we love getting.

Study hard, Dexter. We're expecting straight A's. (A's for Adorable count.)

There were seven little babies when we first introduced this crew, and before we give you an update on the remaining six, we need to share some sad news about our little Jelly Kid.

Despite more than a week of doing everything we could for him and getting him the best care possible, we believe Jelly Kid was struggling with congenital issues that his tiny body simply couldn't overcome.

He was one of a kind, and he was so very loved.

Our volunteers helped weigh him, monitor him, take pictures to track his progress, and make sure this tiny little guy had everything we could possibly give him. Unfortunately, his body eventually gave way, and we had to say goodbye.

We really wanted to watch Jelly Kid grow up, and we're going to miss him very much. ❤️

Thankfully, his six siblings are growing, exploring, causing trouble, and so far appear to be healthy little babies. We're continuing to keep a close eye on everyone as they grow.

And now, Houston, we have one small problem...

HOUSTON, WE NEED NAMES! 🐰

We love this city, and these little H-town Hoppers are growing up right here in Houston, so we think they deserve names inspired by the city they call home.

That's where you come in.

We want you to help us

Think restaurants. Coffee shops. Bakeries. Neighborhoods. Landmarks. Local businesses. Iconic Houston spots. That one place every Houstonian knows.

If it screams Houston AND would make an adorable bunny name, we want to hear it.

Drop your suggestion in the comments AND tag the Houston business, restaurant, organization, or place that inspired it.

And Houston businesses, if someone tags you and you think one of these babies deserves to be your tiny namesake, speak up. 👀

We'll choose six of our favorite nominations and give each baby their very own Houston-inspired name.

But that's only the beginning.

You'll get to meet each of our newly named H-town Hoppers, pick your favorites, cheer them on, and eventually meet these little Houston celebrities at our Baby Bunny Café in November (details coming soon)

Houston, they're your babies too. Help us name them. ❤️

A little Bilbo update, because this guy has already come such a long way.

A few weeks ago, Bilbo came to us after what we suspect had been a pretty difficult life. We believe he and another rabbit were dumped outside together. Sadly, his companion was killed by a dog, and Bilbo was being circled by that same dog when a mom and daughter saw what was happening and stepped in before Bilbo became its next victim.

When he arrived, he was painfully thin, badly matted, and had very little fur on his hocks, which made us suspect he may have spent part of his life living on wire flooring.

Today, Bilbo is back to a healthy weight, looking so much better, and heading to his foster home.

But getting weight back on him is only part of his recovery.

Bilbo still struggles with food insecurity. For a bunny who likely spent a long time not knowing when his next meal would come, food is something you eat whenever you have the chance. If Bilbo had his way, he would happily help himself to an entire bag of pellets because somewhere in that little bunny brain, he is still learning that breakfast will come tomorrow. Dinner will come tonight. The hay isn't going anywhere. There will be another treat.

His foster will be helping him learn that through consistency, routine, and appropriately portioned meals so he can stay at a healthy weight while also learning that he never has to go hungry again.

Bilbo will be neutered in the coming weeks and is currently listed on our Coming Soon page. He isn't quite ready to go home yet, but you can still submit an adoption application if you think you might want to be part of the rest of his adventure.

For a bunny named Bilbo Baggins, he's already had more adventure than we would have liked. We're hoping this next chapter includes a comfortable foster home, predictable mealtimes, plenty of hay, and eventually a family of his own.

We'll share another update once he's had some time to settle into foster and show us even more of that sweet, friendly personality.

houstonrabbitresource.org/coming-soon

We found another Snoopy hiding in Snoopy this weekend. 😂

Sweet Snoopy came to us after she was found all alone in a home after her family moved out. A neighbor discovered her, and now she’s safe with us while we get her ready for adoption. She appears to be an older lady and has cataracts, but she’s been settling in wonderfully.

This weekend, one of our volunteers gave her a good grooming and somehow brushed out enough fur to make a whole second bunny!

Just your friendly reminder that even if your bun doesn’t LOOK like they’re shedding that much, regular brushing might prove otherwise. All that loose fur is much better on the brush than in their tummy.

Snoopy is still “coming soon,” but we can’t wait to tell you more about this sweet girl!

Sometimes we just have to brag about our foster homes for a minute.

Our fosters do SO much for the bunnies in their care, and every once in a while, we get an update that makes us stop and think, “Yeah… these buns have absolutely taken over this house.”

Lily and Eden’s foster dad had an entire room ready and waiting for the girls to move in and make themselves at home. And judging by the setup, we’re pretty sure they understood immediately that the room belonged to them now.

Foster homes are such an important part of what we do. Every bunny who goes into foster opens up space for us to help another bun who needs us. It also gives our rabbits the chance to experience life in a home, learn routines, show off their personalities, and get plenty of one-on-one love while they wait for their forever families.

And if you’ve ever wondered whether bunnies might be the right fit for your home, temporary fostering is a great way to get a little taste of bunny life while helping us out! When one of our regular fosters goes on vacation or out of town, we sometimes need someone to bunny-sit their foster bun for a week or two. It’s a short-term commitment, we provide what you need, and you get to find out what it’s really like having a bunny temporarily take over your home.

A huge thank you to all of our foster families who open their homes, rearrange their spaces, learn their foster buns’ quirks, send us updates, and inevitably become wrapped around one tiny paw.

And yes, Lily and Eden are still looking for their forever home. Fair warning: their foster dad has set the bar pretty high, and these girls have gotten very used to being spoiled. So whoever adopts them better be ready to keep up the good work. 🤍

Adopt Lily and Eden: houstonrabbitresource.org/how-to-adopt

It has been a really hard week for us, and we know a lot of you have been feeling it with us.

Thank you to everyone who has sent condolences, left kind comments, checked in on us, and kept Lazarus, Sirius, their families, and our team in your thoughts. We have felt so much love from this community this week, and it really does mean a lot.

So we thought we could all use a little bit of good news.

Samwise is doing SO well.

When Samwise first came to us, he had already been through a lot. For weeks, his routine was medications, wound care, flushing and cleaning his injuries, and just trying to get him healed up and comfortable. It was a lot for one little bunny, but he handled it like such a tough little guy.

Now he is in a foster home, and we are finally getting to see more and more of who Samwise really is.

His foster says he is very social, still a little shy sometimes, but gaining confidence every day. He gets excited when he hears the door to his room open because he knows someone is coming to hang out with him.

She told us that sometimes she will just sit in his room, not even petting him, and he starts doing binkies and zoomies just because he is happy to have company.

Which is honestly the kind of update we really needed this week.

He is also working on learning that brushing is not the worst thing that has ever happened to him, and his fur has grown back beautifully. The dark spot on his back where one of his injuries was healing is almost completely gone.

After everything Samwise went through, it feels really good to be able to say that he is happy, healing, showing off his personality, and ready to start looking for his forever home.

Thank you to everyone who donated toward his care, sent him treats and toys, cheered him on, and especially to his foster for giving him the time, patience, and space to feel safe enough to just be a bunny again.

This week has come with a lot of tears, so we hope Samwise and his binkies can give everyone a little reason to smile today. 🤍

We named him Sirius after the brightest star in the night sky.

It felt fitting. After everything he had already been through, he still shone so brightly. He loved brightly, too. And with all that soft, fluffy white fur, sometimes you could almost believe a little star had fallen from the sky and somehow landed here with us.

After yesterday’s heartbreaking news about Lazarus, we never imagined we would have to share another goodbye so soon.

Today, Sirius passed away.

Since Sirius came to us in August, we had been working toward giving him the life he deserved. His right leg was so badly fractured that it ultimately had to be amputated, while a fracture in his left heel left us fighting an ongoing infection. Today, Sirius underwent a procedure to clean out the infected tissue in that heel and hopefully put him on the road toward finally healing.

He made it through the procedure, and initially, things appeared to be going as hoped. Then, suddenly, Sirius took a turn.

And our little fallen star returned to the sky.

It has been a very hard week for our rescue. Losing Lazarus yesterday and Sirius today is a kind of heartbreak we were not prepared for. You can know that rescue comes with loss. You can know that sometimes, despite every medication, every appointment, every procedure and every bit of love, you cannot save them all.

It still never gets easier.

We also want to hold our volunteers especially close tonight. They were on the front lines of Sirius’s care from the moment he arrived. They learned his medications, made sure he was comfortable, kept him clean and fed, watched over him, celebrated every little sign of progress and loved him through all of it. We made sure they heard this news from us before we shared it publicly because Sirius belonged to their hearts, too.

We are so grateful for the people who continue to show up and love these animals knowing that sometimes loving them also means grieving them.

Sirius was only with us for a short part of his life, but he was loved so very much during it.

Tonight, if you happen to look up and find one particularly bright star, we hope you’ll think of our Sirius.

We hope somewhere, our sweet boy is shining just as brightly as he did while he was here. 🌟

We have some very sad news to share today, and this isn’t something we thought we would have to say so soon.

Today, we said goodbye to Lazarus.

Lazarus had a sudden turn in his health, and after seeing his vet today, his family and our team learned that the kindest thing we could do for him was help him cross the Rainbow Bridge.

We always knew our time with Lazarus might be shorter than we wanted. He was an older bunny with medical challenges, but he had overcome so much that somehow, we just expected him to keep going. We weren’t ready for today.

Somewhere along the way, Lazarus became so much more than a bunny in our care. He became our unofficial official Ambassabun.

He welcomed visitors, supervised the Center, made plenty of appearances on the Bunny Cam, and had an entire community cheering him on. People came in and asked about Lazarus. People watched him sleep on livestream. They celebrated his good days, checked in when he wasn’t feeling his best, and loved him from near and far.

And Lazarus loved people right back. He was just a genuinely good boy who seemed perfectly happy being everybody’s friend.

But nobody loved Lazarus quite like his family did.

They cared for him through his medical needs, worried over every little change, celebrated every good meal and good p**p, and gave him the kind of love and attention we wish for every bunny who comes through our doors. We were so happy when his sanctuary foster recently told us that they didn’t just want to foster him anymore. They wanted Lazarus to officially be theirs.

We wish they had gotten so much more time together.

But Lazarus left this world as someone’s bunny. He had a family who adored him, a rescue full of people who loved him, and a whole community that knew his name and cheered him on.

The Center feels a little different without our Ambassabun here.

Please keep Lazarus’s family in your thoughts as they grieve their very good boy. And to everyone who watched him, asked about him, donated toward his care, celebrated him or simply loved him from afar, thank you for being part of his life.

We were so lucky to have him.

Rest easy, Lazarus. You were loved by so many. 🌈

Apparently, this family is as big as the universe. ✨

It all started on August 26, when Sirius came to us after being found near an abandoned home with a badly broken leg that ultimately had to be amputated.

Then the stars just kept appearing.

Stardust was found next, and we believe she is Sirius’s mom. Then came Pluto, who we initially thought might be a sibling, but based on his age, we believe he may actually be Dad.

And before we could even properly introduce the family… Leo arrived. 🌟

From what we understand, cages and kennels at the abandoned property had been left open, allowing the animals to scatter around the surrounding area. That’s why this little family has been found one bunny at a time.

And apparently, they still aren’t done finding them.

Rescuers tell us there is STILL one more bunny out there who may be another member of this family. We’re hoping they can bring this last little star to safety soon.

So naturally, we need to be prepared with a name. What celestial name should come next? Drop your suggestions below!

Four unexpected mouths, and possibly a fifth, also means a whole lot more hay, pellets, litter and care. Donations help us keep up with this ever-expanding universe, and shopping at our Bunny Boutique is another way to help, since every purchase goes right back to caring for our bunnies.

Can’t donate? Sharing their story helps too.

Welcome to the family from the stars. 🌌