Hippity Hop! On Jan. 22, the nonprofit animal rescue San Diego House Rabbit Society
launches the Online Learning Library to educate a local and international community of house rabbit owners, animal caregivers, and rescue workers.
Starting the first day of the Year of the Rabbit, people can subscribe to or rent from a growing video library of expert, on-demand presentations.
The Online Learning Library of SDHRS is designed to meet the needs of rabbit owners and caregivers who look to SDHRS for the latest information on evidence-based rabbit care and services — including a weekly House Rabbit Fundamentals class and monthly vaccine clinics to prevent the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus-2 (RHDV2).
Each quarter, the education team at SDHRS is producing new and updated content to keep up with the community’s curiosity and questions.
“It’s amazing how many calls we get every day from people who are new to caring for house rabbits and want our advice, or folks who know their rabbit needs help, but aren’t sure how to find a rabbit-savvy vet. We’re looking forward to having this resource available to them to get detailed information about caring for rabbits from experts we trust,” Executive Director Jennifer Lee said.
The Online Learning Library was inspired by a change SDHRS made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2020, the rescue pivoted to conducting all its education and events online, including its biggest annual fundraising event, San Diego Bunnyfest.
“Suddenly, we were planning educational presentations on topics from How to Bond Your Rabbits to Identifying and Treating Rabbit Dental Disease. We even had a virtual Art Social,” Kelli Jones, San Diego Bunnyfest chair said. “And peoplejoined us remotely from more than 15 different countries between Bunnyfest 2020 and Bunnyfest 2021. That’s when we knew there was a real hunger for this information from our local and global community.”
Education Director Kristin Woodbury leads a team of 16 instructors and licensed educators who teach rabbit care classes, lead discussion panels, and organize events to keep the community informed.
“In addition to rescue and adoptions, education has always been one of the key goals of the San Diego House Rabbit Society,” she said. “With this new platform, we’ll be able to provide education not only to San Diego, but to other states and countries.”
San Diego House Rabbit Society San Diego House Rabbit Society is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that has served San Diego County since 1992. Its key goals are to rescue, spay/neuter, socialize, and find permanent indoor homes for abandoned domestic rabbits.
It achieves these goals by partnering with local shelters and humane societies, from which they accept rabbits who cannot remain in the shelter environment.
SDHRS also works to educate the surrounding community about proper rabbit care, the importance of spaying/neutering, responsible rabbit ownership, and rabbits as indoor family companions. Learn more at sandiegorabbits.org or contact Jennifer Lee at jennifer@sandiegorabbits.org.