Buying a bunny for Easter?

Local animal adoptions coordinator gives tips for keeping rabbits as pets

Melissa Cranis has seen it firsthand plenty of times before. Parents, excited about the Easter holiday, purchase a rabbit as a present for the family or the kids.

When August rolls around, Cranis, the adoptions coordinator for Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions, gets very busy with the influx of Easter bunnies for which folks were not equipped to care.

“We will get inundated about August. September will get pretty busy,” Cranis said. “We can only really keep 20 rabbits at a time. We’re always looking for foster homes.”

Cranis currently has about 12 foster rabbits herself. She encourages people to really think about the commitment this pet could bring, financially and otherwise, considering that bunnies can live for 13 years.

After receiving a bunny as a present years ago, Cranis had to learn what not to do the hard way.

“I kept my rabbits outside in a cage. With the Florida heat and weather, bunnies just cannot tolerate that,” Cranis said.

It’s best to think of a rabbit as being similar to a cat.

“They come when you call them, sometimes. They sometimes know their name,” Cranis said. “Sometimes they like to follow you around and depending on the type of rabbit, they'll sit in your lap.”