If this human interest piece doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, well, we don’t know what would. Our news story takes place in the U.K.’s South East London and involves a box, a small teddy bear and a pet rabbit.
Sadly, the fluffy-soft animal had been discovered abandoned on the side of Turnham Road in Lewisham, say police. The large, gray, furry rabbit was inside the cardboard box clinging to a teddy bear toy of a similar color. A passerby noticed the container which appeared to have been dumped by the road on a cold day, and they looked inside the box and called animal rescue authorities.
The England & Wales chapter of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) soon appeared on the scene to tend to Nigel the rabbit and to check the animal’s condition.
The excellent news is that Nigel is going to be just fine, and the gray rabbit is now being looked after at the animal boarding facility in Kent until a new owner is found.
The adorable bunny is waiting for his “forever home” with his best friend the gray, fluffy teddy bear by his side, according to RSPCA. The animal did not have any injuries or illness when it was recently found abandoned.
RSPCA experts believe that handsome Nigel was a pet living at someone’s home and was quite attached to the grey stuffed teddy bear. So far, no one has found the owner or figured out the circumstances that may have led to the poor animal’s abandonment in a cardboard box out in the chilly air. By the way, it is a crime to abandon an animal.
Animal rescuers have told the media that unwanted and/or abandoned animals are a major issue in the U.K. as in many nations around the world. Especially rabbits are vulnerable, says Emily Stott, of RSPCA. In fact, the numbers tell the story with 1,693 reports of abandoned rabbits spanning the entirety of England and Wales.
There is a solution if animal owners can no longer care for their pets, tire of them, cannot afford them, etc.
The humane thing to do is to contact an animal rescue center, a charity, the police department or the seller of the pet. One of these organizations will offer advice and make sure the rabbit, dog, bird or any other creature is placed in the proper facility until a new home can be found for the animal.
No one wants to see an animal suffer, but the RSPCA cannot be everywhere. That is why the animal rescue organization recommends that residents be the eyes and ears of the RSPCA and raise awareness of the issue.
There is nothing right about abandoning a pet and dumping one by the side of a road.
In 2018 alone, almost 103,000 pets were rescued and taken in by the U.K.’s RSPCA.
Surely, we can all do something to bring down those numbers.