12/06/2025
Oh boy, this is a hard one. But also a happy one.
For those who don’t know Betty’s story, let us enlighten you.
Betty was found as a stray, living outside and fighting for her life in the Port Alberni area. Unfortunately, dumped domestic rabbits are far too common and it is an ongoing crisis. Her bright white fur made her an easy target for predators, and her outgoing, extrovert personality would not have served her well outdoors either.
She spent who knows how long outside and suffered frostbitten ears, which is why her ears are now rigid. This is common in animals exposed to extreme cold, as their extremities like ears and toes are often affected first.
Betty was brought to safety at the BC SPCA Alberni-Clayoquot branch, where she was vetted at Fantastic Beasts Veterinary Hospital. She was spayed, vaccinated, and given two forms of permanent identification so she will never be lost again. After waiting patiently for someone to adopt her with no luck, she was transferred to us in Victoria in hopes of finding her forever home.
Betty spent time with some wonderful foster families while in our care, and once she returned to the shelter, everyone absolutely fell in love with her. Three words to describe Betty would be: greedy, greedy, and greedy. Little Miss Betty would stand at her enclosure bars every day and beg like she was imprisoned. Our shelter staff and incredible small animal volunteer team gave her daily out of cage time to run around and burn energy, but she usually used that as an opportunity to get into exactly the places she was not supposed to go. Betty loved pets, treats, and most importantly, foraging around her pen for her breakfast every morning.
A few weeks ago, an adopter travelled over from the mainland to adopt a few of our small animals. That day, they met Betty and instantly fell in love. She has that charm about her. When they returned home, they couldn’t stop thinking about her, and they also have a single male bunny looking for a partner. Fast forward a few weeks, and they made the trip back to the Island again, this time to adopt our beautiful Betty.
We have already received word that she is settling in wonderfully in her new home.
This was truly a group effort. Thank you to the good Samaritan who safely captured her before anything could happen to her, the veterinary team, the shelter staff, our in-shelter volunteers and foster families, and most of all, a big thank you to her new family for choosing adoption and for seeing the special bunny she is, even when so many others passed her by because of her “weird ears” or “creepy red eyes”.
Let this also be a reminder to never dump or release your animals outside. There are always other options. Betty was lucky enough to get her happy ending, while so many rabbits do not.
