Last weekend a strange and sad event took place, although luckily there was a happy ending on this occasion. A regular visitor found three domestic rabbits on the side of the road as she drove up to the car park here at Attingham, out in the open and huddling together for warmth. She brought them to reception where the weekend wardens took them in, finding them a large box and plenty of padding and fetching some food and water. They called the RSPCA, who were able to come the next day; in the mean time one of our Harper Adams students, Buffy, kindly took them home for the evening. The rabbits were in terrible condition, severely underweight and with very matted fur; whoever abandoned them had clearly not cared for them in weeks. When the RSPCA officer arrived on Monday she was shocked at their condition but thought they would make a full recovery with the right care, which would include putting them under anesthetic so that the matted fur could be shaved off, neutering, worming and treating for fleas as well as weeks of feeding up. Luckily, she was able to take them away for treatment and rehoming - they were beautiful little things and very friendly - once we had them warmed up and eating, they really came to life and enjoyed a gentle fuss. I hope that they find a new owner soon.
It saddens me to think that someone thought bringing them here was a good idea when there are animal sanctuaries that would have taken them in long before they got into such a bad state. Leaving them on the side of a road could easily have led to them being run over and killed, and it took valuable time for our staff to make arrangements for their care and collection. It's possible that whoever dropped them out of their car thought they might become wild and survive on their own but this simply isn't the case.
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