Scarlett was originally part of a large group of rabbits rescued from a breeder who was selling rabbits for meat.

While the rest of the group transferred to a shelter in Pennsylvania, Scarlett was adopted before the transfer. Unfortunately, her adopter's son developed an allergy to her, and they ended up moving her into the garage.

Luckily, she was rescued once again. A garage might seem like an ideal place to keep a rabbit, but it’s really not. Putting aside the car fumes she had to inhale on a daily basis, there were also smells of gasoline, paint thinner, oil, and who knows what else. If you consider the size of her lungs, you have to realize how toxic this location was.

Not long after arriving at Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary, she met her true love, Cooper, in a pen adjacent to hers. They took to each other instantly. The volunteers would notice them lying up against the pen next to each other. Then after catching Cooper in her pen overnight repeatedly, it was finally decided to let them live together. They were already bonded and truly loved each other. Keeping these little love birds apart was just too hard.

Cooper is an extremely friendly white New Zealand rabbit. New Zealands are known for being friendly and lovable, and Cooper is definitely no exception. He has beautiful white fur and red eyes, which look like bluish or iridescent in person.

They are gentle giants. It is hard to comprehend how someone could abandon him in a cage in a yard. Strangers brought him to us after he walked up to them.

Both rabbits are extremely friendly and love to be petted. They are quite the personable rabbits. Both enjoy snuggling in your arms, although I do think Cooper enjoys it even more.

I think the reason these two wonderful rabbits get overlooked is their size. In general, I think people look for a smaller rabbit. My experience has shown me many smaller breeds are little bit more skittish about being handled, although each rabbit should be treated as an individual. I think the larger breeds such as the New Zealands or Californians are quite mellow about being held.

And as with any animal that you would adopt, there will be an adjustment period to gain their trust with you, while getting familiar with their new sounds and surroundings. Remembering that rabbits are animals of prey may help you understand how important the trust issues really are.

Rabbits also have eyes designed to give them a wonderful view spanning nearly 360 degrees to warn them of predators. When approaching them, you may also give off a shadow and actually appear to be more than one person, which can be scary. I will talk about this in further detail another time, but I would recommend getting down on their level to approach them. You don’t need to talk to them, like you would a cat or a dog. Rabbits have a strong sense of smell, and use chinning to mark territory. With my rabbit, I will chin their foreheads to show that I am the alpha rabbit.

For information on adoption or sanctuary tours, call 734-461-1726 or visit www.rabbitsanctuary.org.

Debbie Ann is a volunteer at Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary (GLRS) in Willis, Mich. She travels locally with her Rex Anna, a former rescue herself, educating local civic groups, schools and other points of interest about GLRS and rabbits. If you are interested in them visiting with your group or have any questions, please send her an e-mail at debbie@rabbitsanctuary.org.