TWO little bunnies were dumped at a rabbit sanctuary on Christmas Eve – after it is believed their owner replaced them with a puppy. Lynn Beasley, who runs the Rabbit and Guinea Pig Sanctuary, Rags, with her sister Karen, in Keresley, opened the door to find the forlorn creatures inside a cardboard box. “I’d just come back from buying hay. I’d popped into the bedroom and looked out of the window and saw a white car,” Lynn said. “I saw a chap looking at the house. I thought he might be someone I’d spoken to over the phone who wanted to adopt a guinea pig so I ran downstairs to greet him, but when I got outside there was no sign of him. “Then I noticed the box on the doorstep. “It had once contained puppy pads, but when I looked inside there was a little white rabbit and a little brown one. I couldn’t believe it. I just thought, ‘Here we go again.’ “Puppy pads are used for house-training young dogs, so I think whoever dumped the rabbits must have bought a puppy, and decided they’d had enough of the rabbits.” The sisters are currently overrun with abandoned rabbits and guinea pigs, and the two female rabbits ended up spending Christmas in the bathroom. “We think they’re house rabbits, which can’t live outside because their fur is too short, and they could die,” Lynn said. “They spent Christmas in the bathroom. “It makes me furious. It’s like their owners just said ‘it’s out with the old and in with the new.’ “They just don’t care. We are really struggling to cope. And it will only get worse between now and the summer holidays.” She added the sisters are especially dreading the run-up to Easter, which is the worst time of the year for people abandoning rabbits. “Every Easter we feel like we’re fighting a losing battle. “It’s the ‘cute Easter bunny’ time and parents give in to the demands of children without any thought of how they’ll look after the pets,” Lynn said. “We’ve hardly been able to rehome any since October. We’re absolutely full to capacity at the moment. Not only that, but we’re struggling with a lack of donations. “Money’s tight for everyone at the moment, so donations have dwindled down to nothing. If things don’t improve then we’ll be shut by the end of the year.” * To help the sanctuary contact 024 7633 1194, email beasleyrags@aol.com or visit the website www.free webs.com/rags-rabbits | 
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