2023 in Review
2023 - a year in review. One marked by remarkable milestones and tireless dedication.
Dolly’s Dream Home Rabbit Rescue has come so far since opening less than 3 years ago. The amount of bunnies we’ve rescued, the community programs we’ve created, and the community we’ve built are 2nd to none.
In February, we were given the opportunity to open Dolly’s Dream Store. A physical storefront selling bunny safe supplies, where proceeds benefit the rescue bunnies. Dolly’s Dream Store is a space designed to be inclusive for all bunny owners. No membership fees, no judgement (just education) for bunny owners of all types, a place to host community events, and a place to host meet n greets. Over 2,000 separate bunny owners visited our store, each leaving with more bunny knowledge than they walked in with. We fostered connections, built friendships, and got to meet thousands of their bunnies.
We rescued nearly 350 rabbits this year, primarily focusing on special needs cases and dumped bunnies. We pulled bunnies from euthanasia lists, caught dumped bunnies in the woods, were handed bunnies on the brink of starvation, and worked 6 major hoarding cases. Since we’re entirely foster based, our foster team went above and beyond, treating every single intake like family.
We also saw some of the worst of humanity, with over 6,000 requests for our help - from all over the country. People threatening to kill or eat their bunnies if we didn’t take, extreme neglect cases, retiring breeders culling their herds if we were unable to accommodate all of their stock.
A significant portion, 65%, of the rabbits rescued were "industrial" or "meat" breeds, emphasizing our commitment to inclusivity and non-discrimination based on breed, age, or medical conditions. We aren’t a designer rescue. If any rabbit needs help, we will help.
Despite the steep influx in medically needy cases, our euthanasia rates for space and behavioral issues remained at 0%, as we firmly believe that every single rabbit deserves a chance. That’s the Dolly’s Difference.
This year, we had over 1,000 vet visits for the rabbits in our program. Our veterinary teams saved lives and collaborated with us to offer crucial services like an RHDV2 vaccine clinic for our community.
Our volunteers' unwavering dedication, working tirelessly for nearly 18 hours a day, formed the backbone of our operations. In early September, they reached the milestone of 1,000 total animals saved since our doors opened in 2021.
Nearly 400 individual families, across 12 different countries, signed up for our free, virtual education course. But virtual education isn’t where we stop. We presented our course to nearly 100 separate Girl Scout troops, community programs, animal clubs, library classes, and more. Our educators designed take home packets for adopters, slideshows for fosters, fliers for local bulletin boards, and thousands of pieces of educational content shared to our Facebook page.
Our team became fear free certified, established a large professional bonding program that successfully bonded over 400 bunnies, brought on a professional (volunteer) bunny groomer, and opened the countries very first official bunny pet food pantry. We brought bunnies to nursing homes, hospitals, and schools to visit via programs such as ‘Bunny Buddies’. The bunny pet food pantry has inspired over a dozen rescues nationwide to collaborate with us in creating their very own. The Dolly’s Difference has a ripple effect and we cannot wait to continue serving our community.
We expanded our impact and helped create 5 brand new rabbit rescues across the country, aiming to work together and help more bunnies in need. Our team found people with passions for rabbit rescue and helped them create programs that run parallel to ours. These rescues now operate in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kansas, Kansas City, and Chicago. The more rabbits we can help, the better. We’re so excited for these 5 established rescues and even more rescues we’re in the process of starting.
Our team worked with dozens of special needs rabbits such as Cheesecake, Yoda, Captain Carrots, Snowman, Scrappy, Sailor, Slimmy, Caterpillar, Finch, Mr. Silly, Lil Bit, and more. Sharing their stories encouraged people from all over the country to give their special needs bunnies a chance too. Our team gets a constant flow of emails and messages from people who have bunnies with the same disabilities, asking for advice on how to give them the best chance possible.
We were called in to advise on cases and consult with rescues from all over the world. We worked with people as far as Brazil, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Spain, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and more. If anyone asked for our help, we were happy to provide it. We all work better together.
As we step into 2024, we invite you to continue following along on our journey. It is one of hope, compassion, transformation, and bunnies beating the odds. We know that together, we can continue making a difference for rabbits in need.
If you’d like to help us on our mission, you can click here. As per request, there is now a recurring monthly donation option if you donate via our ‘Online Store’.
Dolly, our namesake pictured below, says “Thank YOU for helping us make The Dolly’s Difference possible!”