Buying a pet rabbit? The Bunny Bunch rescuers want you to know a few things first

Floppy ears, fluffy fur, wiggly nose, cotton tail.

Rabbits can be irresistible, especially to children pleading for one around Easter. But Caroline Charland, founder of rabbit shelter The Bunny Bunch, has a message for parents: Buy a chocolate bunny — not a real one.

Easter, Charland said, has become problematic for the shelter as people purchase rabbits for their children as gifts, not realizing the care and commitment required. Most of the bunnies end up in shelters like The Bunny Bunch, where they await adoption. But the growing number of donated rabbits has caused the shelter to turn away some.

Charland said The Bunny Bunch’s two adoption centers, in Fountain Valley and Montclair, receive phone calls every day from people who have found abandoned rabbits in parks, neighborhoods and wildlife areas, and from owners seeking to relinquish their pets.

Many families have bought a bunny from a pet shop, breeder or swap meet thinking it is a low-maintenance starter pet for kids. But the situation doesn’t always work out well.

“Months go by and the cuteness factor isn’t there anymore,” said Charland’s husband, Tim, who volunteers at the Fountain Valley shelter, at 10534 Bechler River Ave. “Children aren’t interested anymore, the parents come here and we can’t accept them because we’re flooded.”

“It’s very unfortunate,” Charland said. “Rabbits are a big responsibility, and most people don’t know that.”

According to the Humane Society of the United States, rabbits and young children are generally not a great mix. Rabbits require safe, gentle handling and a quiet environment. As prey animals, they can be startled by loud noises and clumsy movements that are characteristic of excitable children. Parents should wait until kids are older before a adopting a rabbit, the organization says.

The Charlands estimate they have a total of 125 rabbits at their facilities, and their adoption rate is about one or two bunnies a week.

Since rabbits reproduce faster than dogs or cats and often end up in shelters, where they are euthanized, Caroline Charland said she is on a mission to reverse the trend.

Her passion for animals began at a young age.

When she was 6 and living in England, Charland wanted to raise money for the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals. She sold baked goods, walked dogs and sang carols in her neighborhood.

Once she moved to the United States, she volunteered with cat rescue groups and recognized the effects of pet overpopulation. During a visit to a pet shop, she came across a caged rabbit surrounded by fecal matter and empty food and water bowls.

It was the first rabbit that she and her husband rescued.

Thirty-one years later, The Bunny Bunch, which was established as a nonprofit, no-kill rescue organization run by volunteers, continues to rescue rabbits mainly from city and county shelters. The Fountain Valley location, which will mark its third anniversary this summer, runs on donations, grants and profits from its store, the Bunny Bunch Boutique.

Among the store’s grooming kits, hay and pellets is Charland’s recipe for rabbit treats — a combination of organic flowers, leaves and twigs.

The shelter, which also houses guinea pigs and chinchillas until adoption, says all of its rabbits are spayed or neutered and litter-box trained. The adoption fee is $85 for a single rabbit and $125 for a pair.

An adoption applicant must fill out a form that asks questions such as how much money he or she is prepared to spend on veterinary care and whether the person knows that rabbits like to chew carpet and furniture. The application process sometimes includes a house check.

Keeping a rabbit in a hutch outside is not permitted because domestic rabbits don’t do well in extreme temperatures. Even if the enclosure is safe, the sight or smell of a predator can cause so much stress for a rabbit that it may suffer a heart attack and die from fear.

The Charlands said confining a rabbit in a basement or garage or placing it in a tiny cage is uncomfortable and unsafe for the animal. Potential owners need an area in their home for a fairly large cage where rabbits can stretch out and stand on their hind legs without hitting their heads on the top of the cage.

“It’s just not a decision for a child to make,” Tim Charland said.

Amber Youngman, 12, of Corona visited the Fountain Valley shelter with her father on March 25.

“They’re all so cute,” she said before pointing to Arthur, a brown agouti rabbit who weighed less than 2 pounds.

The Youngmans also were interested in the shelter’s four Flemish giant and French lop mix rabbits but learned that they had to be adopted as a group because they had bonded.

It’s rare, Caroline Charland said, that two rabbits will meet and get along perfectly, but after months of patience and placing them in a neutral territory, they will match up.

“They’re wonderful animals,” Tim Charland said. “They’re not as quick as a dog to attach to a human, but once they do, they’re a friend for life.”