A Vancouver Island family wants to reunite what they believe is a lost pet bunny with its rightful owner.
The Doidges moved into a new house on Prideaux Street in Nanaimo back on July 15 and quickly discovered an animal in their backyard.
"I started noticing every time I was going in the back... a bunny that kept popping out,” says Shannon Doidge, adding she started noticing bunny poop everywhere.
“We kept watch and sure enough, we kept seeing this bunny in the backyard.”
The rabbit is quite large and all black.
"He's a big bunny,” Doidge says with a laugh. "I have a hard time calling him a bunny because he's a rabbit. Like he's just, he's a big guy. And just extremely friendly."
The family questioned if he was wild or someone's pet.
“I took some apple slices and he came right over and took food out of my son's hand,” she recalls. "So we were like, 'OK, this is not a wild bunny.’”
After the interaction, every time the family came outside, the bunny was right there, waiting beside the car door or at the front door.
Unsure if it's a girl or boy, the Doidges have name the animal Poppy.
On one occasion, they bought Poppy a bag of rabbit food.
“He came over and started scratching the bag. He knew what it was,” she says.
Doidge says they caught Poppy the other day and are planning to take the rabbit to the vet this week.
“He was obviously very scared. Whenever birds were overhead, he was hiding beside our fence. He would hide under our car and at night, he just seemed more skittish. He didn't have the skills like a wild rabbit would.”
Right now, Poppy is nestled in a wood chip-filled crate inside.
According to their landlord, the previous owners did not have a pet rabbit, but people who lived nearby did.
"I'm guessing they left it behind because this bunny just hangs out in the yard,” she says.
The family says it would be nice to find the animal's owner "so we can know a little bit about the bunny."
Doidge says there is no judgment if someone left Poppy behind; however, if it's lost or has escaped, she'd like to see a reunion.
"Never did I think we would have a rabbit inside or a rabbit pet,” she says.
If Poppy is your bunny, please reach out to reporter Alanna Kelly at akelly@glaciermedia.ca and she'll put you in contact with the Doidge family.
