Smokey's Bunny Haven

06/02/2025

This big, beautiful boy is Buddy. Buddy is a REW—Red-Eyed White. REWs aren’t a breed; they’re a color. Their ruby eyes and snowy white fur are due to albinism, caused by a recessive gene. A REW can be anybunny from a Netherland Dwarf to Buddy.

REWs are often overlooked when potential bun parents are looking for an addition to their bunny family. Many people are turned off by their red eyes. These shallow folks are missing out, because REWs are as known for their gentle, affectionate personalities as they are their distinctive appearance.

Buddy was dumped by an owner who didn’t want him anymore. His experience has made him wary, so his personality is a little subdued. He’s the big guy in the back of the cage (light hurts the sensitive eyes of REWs) who loves his food. Buddy deserved a good safe home—and he found one at Smokey’s. We don’t care about “weird, creepy” red eyes.

Show Buddy—and all the other bunnies who aren’t considered “pretty” or “cute” —some love. Please help:

https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

05/20/2025

05/19/2025

I’m Oakley. My owners didn’t want me
anymore. They cared just enough to leave me outside a business—but not during business hours. Nope. It was at night. During a torrential rainstorm. I was in an uncovered wire cage.

When the workers came in the next morning, they found me huddled in my cage, drenched. It isn’t good for us rabbits to be wet. Our thick fur takes forever to dry and we lose body heat fast, so we can get hypothermia. Water in our ears can cause ear infections. Ear infections don’t just hurt: they can be fatal. Soaking-wet fur clinging to our skin can cause skin infections. Being submerged in water really freaks us out. Yeah, I know about all those “cute” videos of bunnies swimming or having a bath in the sink. Those are not relaxed rabbits—those are stressed and scared rabbits. I was definitely both!

But here’s the good part: the business was owned by the same person who owns Smokey’s Bunny Haven! She has a day job so we bunnies can have a home. She knew what to do. It took a long time to get me completely dry, but here I am.

I’m one of the messiest bunnies in the sanctuary, I ain’t gonna lie. It may have something to do with the “home” I had before. But I’m also one of the most alert and curious rabbits. And I’m soft, too.

Help bring in another bunny from the cold. Please donate:

https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

04/25/2025

This soft, perpetually wide-eyed little boy is Carter. He’s shy and cautious, probably because he was dumped in the parking lot of an abandoned factory when he was still a baby. Some kind folks saw him there, alone and afraid. They didn’t want to just walk away and leave the little guy to his fate. So they contacted Smokey’s for help.

Carter was lucky there was someone to call. For most bunnies, help is hard to find—if it can be found at all. This is because there are very, very few rescues that take rabbits. Sanctuaries like Smokey’s are rarer still.

The only way we can help Carter, and other bunnies like him, is with your support. Donate your time. Donate 5 dollars (or more. ) Donate hay and food. Give towards spays and neuters and medical care. Every little bit helps.
Without you, there can’t be a Smokey’s Bunny Haven—and there’ll be one less number to call when someone sees a small frightened bunny alone in a parking lot.

https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

04/20/2025

Hoppy Easter!

03/26/2025

This is Wesley. According to the side of his haybox he is the “Best Bunny in the World.” That might be because of his happy circling when it’s time for dinner (and brunch, and snack), or because he’s a naturally sweet bun. Like Dudley, another beloved bunny at Smokey’s, Wesley has head tilt as a result of e. cuni. It only makes him even MORE lovable.

So why does Wesley run circles around the feet of the person bearing his salad? Because he loves the hoomans who bring him his favorite food. He’s excited to see them—or the food, anyway. We prefer to think we are the reason for his joy, of course.

A bunny might run circles around your feet when you first walk in a room, or get up off the couch. It’s a sign of affection. They’re so glad you’re here! They might stop their circling for a minute and look up at you. What do they want? Your attention! Stroke their nose, scritch behind their ears, even give them the full body treatment if they enjoy it.

Maybe they’re looking for a small treat. Side note: rabbits can be trained. An example is “If I give you this blueberry, you give me a kiss.” Just don’t give your bunnies too many treats. You don’t want to make them sick.

Your bunnies may even want to play. Hand them their favorite toy, or play a game like Tunnel. Most bunnies LOVE Tunnel. Sit in the floor with your legs stretched out and bent at the knees to make an arch. Drape a blanket over your legs, and behold, you’re a tunnel. Bunnies will happily run back and forth under the blanket, back and forth, back and forth…

Whatever you do, don’t ignore the bunny circling around your feet. It’s an honor and a joy to be so loved by a rabbit. If you don’t have much time, at least praise bunny and stroke his nose.

Wesley certainly gets our attention. He would love some of your attention too. He, and all the bunnies at Smokey’s, depend on the kindness of people like you for their food, hay, and medicinal care. Please help:

https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

Smokey’s Bunny Haven is a 501 (c) organization. For more about us and our bunny family, visit
https://smokeysbunnyhaven.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ehp4CM3Hn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

03/18/2025

Camille is the last of a family of five that came to Smokey’s from a hoarding situation. Brother Connor and sister Cassie may have been older sibs. Camille, Cameron, and Clio rounded out the group. For the first time in their lives, they were free of tiny cages and a dark garage. Their natural exuberance came out, and their first days at Smokey’s were one big bunny party—until the other bunnies started complaining about the ruckus. So the family was separated into 2 groups.

Connor and Cassie became a pair; they were adopted and took their mischief elsewhere. Camille, Clio, and Cameron bonded and became Skid Row. They bounced around the pen like jumping beans. We aren’t sure which one of them stuck their face in the vacuum hose to see what it was.

The entire family was prone to GI issues because of poor care, genetic issues due to overbreeding, or both. They needed extra attention to prevent the issues from turning into stasis, and intensive care when, despite all precautions, stasis came anyway. So Camille and her two sisters made Smokey’s their forever home.

Over the years the trio became a duo, and then one. Today Camille is around 13. She’s not throwing wild parties anymore. But sometimes, if you look past the stiff joints and cataracts, you can still see the inquisitiveness and cleverness that made her and her sisters Skid Row.

Like all elderly bunnies, Camille loves her treat. To keep her and the other bunnies well supplied, please donate:

Our Chewy wishlist:

https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

Or donate:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

03/12/2025

Nobody puts baby in a corner.

She puts herself there.

03/10/2025

This is Pebbles. Pebbles was found by Animal Control in Roanoke and brought to a vet. Poor Pebbles had a serious problem: a warble.

Warning: descriptions of warbles and what they do are, to put it bluntly, disgusting. Reader discretion is advised.

This information is useful to know, however, if you find a bunny afflicted with warbles, or if you keep bunnies outdoors—which we hope you don’t. Warbles make excellent arguments for keeping bunnies indoors where they belong.

A warble is the larva of a botfly. The adult botfly lays eggs in the hair of small mammals (like rabbits), horses, and cattle. When the eggs hatch, the larvae tunnel under the skin, where they form a bump. They leave an opening so they can breathe. When they’re grown, they force their way through the skin and fall out.

Yes, it’s disgusting and horrifying. And it happened to poor Pebbles—on his testicle!

This isn’t something that can be treated by the average person. If the warble is crushed or broken as it is squeezed or tugged out, it releases a toxin which will kill a small mammal. Warble removal is a job for an exotic vet.

This vet knew Pebbles would need a lot of aftercare after the warble was removed—and he knew just where Pebbles could get it.

Pebbles has lived a happy warble-free life at Smokey’s ever since. Sadly, he isn’t the only bunny who came to Smokey’s with warbles. Warbles are a threat to any bunny that lives outdoors, whether it lives in a hutch, a pen, or the field where it was dumped. Yet another bunny was brought to Smokey’s with a warble on his testicle. Even a champion mini-Rex found his way to Smokey’s with multiple warbles.

To help bunnies like Pebbles, please give:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

Wishlist:
https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

Smokey’s Bunny Haven is a 501 (c) organization. For more about us and our bunny family, visit
https://smokeysbunnyhaven.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ehp4CM3Hn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

02/25/2025

I’m Pipkin! My first home was in a little cage outdoors—and by “outdoors” I mean on the side of a mountain, in a dark forest where the sun didn’t shine. It might not have been a good home for a little bun like me, but it was a GREAT home for wildlife. I could hear animals creeping around in the woods! What if they came to my cage???

My owners realized that this was not a good situation. I needed more attention and less time in a cage, surrounded by scary things in the shadows. They wanted a better life for me.

I found that life at Smokey’s. Here the only other animals I hear are bunnies like me (and the occasional guinea pig, but they’re nice.) And guess what? I’ll be 13 years old in April! I LOVE presents by the way (not that I’m hinting around or anything.) I don’t even mind if the presents are early! Hay, treats—I’ll take cash too.

Please donate:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=MMN95RCAVMZXU

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=4016512687933033651&created=1731966749

Our Chewy wishlist:
https://www.chewy.com/g/smokeys-bunny-haven_b121527156

Smokey’s Bunny Haven is a 501 (c) organization. For more about us and our bunny family, visit
https://smokeysbunnyhaven.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ehp4CM3Hn/?mibextid=wwXIfr