Kiko is a delightfully sweet and friendly rabbit – you would never know that just days ago, she was rescued from a storage unit in the backyard of an apartment building in Oakland, where she was being raised for meat, and had been fed nothing but white rice. She was one of 21 rabbits confiscated by the East Bay SPCA and Oakland Animal Services. They were found in inhumane conditions, with no food or water.
On Sunday, when volunteers from Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary arrived at the Oakland Animal Shelter to take one of these abused rabbits into the Harvest Home foster program, they found that Kiko had just given birth to two stillborn baby rabbits. When rabbits breed at young ages, are malnourished, and have stressful living conditions, it is common for a litter not to survive.
Kiko was welcomed that day into her Harvest Home foster home where she has fresh water and nutritious rabbit food at all times, an indoor enclosure with soft rugs and baby blankets to cuddle in, and a hiding box for sleeping inside of. She is learning how to use the litterbox for the first time in her life. But most importantly, she is getting lots of attention, love and petting. Kiko is a little love sponge – all she wants to do is to be petted, and have lots of time to run and jump. She is a playful and happy spirit, which is an inspiration to us all. She has seen the worst that humankind had to offer, and now, thanks to the East Bay SPCA, Oakland Animal Services, and Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, Kiko will see nothing but the best in us.
