About a week ago, someone surrendered two large rabbits to the Haines Animal Rescue Kennel. They don’t often get rabbits in, but it’s not unheard of.
Shelter manager TeoLani Baker said they had one over the summer.
“But it turned out to be somebody in town’s. It was on a long walkabout,” she said.
Shelter staff named the male Dexter and the female Darla. Dexter, who is white and spotted, is the smaller of the two.
Baker said he’s a cross between a Rex and Flemish Giant, which is one of the largest breeds of domestic rabbit.
While he doesn’t like being held, he does perhaps enjoy playing with toys. His enclosure at the shelter has a series of stackable blocks scattered into piles. Baker was uncertain about how often he uses them as she has not seen him do it yet.
But, animal care assistant Emily McPhetres said she’s pretty sure he does. She also said he’s trained to use a litter box, something Darla, a Flemish giant, is still learning.
The blue-gray doe is also potentially pregnant.
“We’re not totally sure. They were surrendered by the same person but they had her just for a couple of days,” she said. “She’s very round.”
Darla also spent some time with Dexter.
“They’re rabbits,” Baker joked.
Flemish giants can have as few as two or up to 18 kits per litter according to the American Rabbit Breeders Association.
Darla seems to be much better with being handled than Dexter does – though both scrambled into their shelters to get away from having a stranger in their respective spaces. She has a breeding box in her enclosure in addition to the litter box, food and water and a pile of grass.
One shelter staff member is saving the rabbit pellets as fertilizer.
Dexter is available now. But Baker said they’ll likely hang onto Darla until they figure out whether she’s going to have a litter of kits – though they’d consider adopting her out to an experienced owner.
The shelter also has a few cats and a 10-year-old Akita named Kuma.
“She’s not the biggest fan of her situation in life right now,” Baker said. “She was a very loved out-the-road dog. But, her family had medical issues so they had to surrender her.”