As an animal lover, Alicia Castro was distressed to discover that someone had dumped an unwanted domesticated rabbit outside of her apartment building in Montana.
Several of her neighbors reported seeing the large black and white bunny, but no one had been able to catch him. In fact, it seemed like no one else was even trying to save the sweet animal, so Alicia took it upon herself to rescue him. Arming herself with carrots and lettuce, Alicia sat outside for hours.
It took a long time to build up enough trust to get close to the skittish animal, but the 25-year-old was determined! She documented her attempts to trap the rabbit with a blanket and a laundry basket on her popular TikTok channel, enduring frigid temperatures and long, uncomfortable hours spent crouched in the grass.
“With the cold weather incoming, I knew that time was important and I’d feel so guilty if I didn’t do anything,” she said in one video. “Once I looked in his eyes I knew that I had to save him, no matter what it took.”
“It was very stressful. I was sick and it was barely above freezing,” she recalled. “Every day I would sit outside in the cold with him, gaining his trust, feeding him, and trying to get him to climb into my crate.”
Soon, Alicia’s TikTok followers were clamoring for updates. Some of her videos were viewed more than a million times as more people became invested in her rescue mission. People offered tips on how to save him, including suggestions to get a large animal crate instead of her makeshift laundry basket contraption.
“Day three was definitely the hardest,” Alicia said. “I was so frustrated and started to worry that I would never catch him, not only letting down this poor, helpless rabbit, but also the millions of people who were watching along too.”
All of Alicia’s hard work finally paid off after four long, cold days! She trapped the bunny in a crate and quickly started calling shelters to see if they had space for him. Sadly, the shelters were full, but then Alicia discovered a heartbreaking truth about the rabbit, whom she calls Bunny.
As soon as she found out that Bunny had already been returned to a shelter once before, she knew she couldn’t subject him to more turmoil. Instead, she decided to start the long process of introducing Bunny to her pet cat Kiki. Based on what we know about Alicia’s patience level, we’d say this is the start of a beautiful family!
“We spend every day acquainting them and getting them used to each other. I’m so happy with the progress we’ve made,” she said. She hopes her story will encourage others to suffer discomfort to save animals, too.
“Even if it’s hard, even if it takes time, don’t give up,” she continued. “There are so many animals that need help and don’t have anybody to stand up for them, so be that person.”
Alicia has zero regrets about spending several days outside trying to lure Bunny to safety! It took a lot of convincing, but somehow we think Bunny is going to love being loved and snuggled for the rest of his days.
Share this story to thank Alicia for making the effort to save this “unwanted” furry friend.
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