FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2016
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Taltree mourns loss of beloved rabbit
“Big Bunny” served as ambassador for nonprofit for three years
VALPARAISO – Taltree Grounds and Facilities Manager Chad Cronin made the painful but appropriate decision over the weekend to put the nonprofit’s beloved Big Bunny down.
Cronin and his crew noticed the 4-year-old giant chinchilla rabbit wasn’t herself late last week and took the animal in to see the staff at McAfee Animal Hospital in Valparaiso, which donates time and services to care for the nonprofit environmental organizaton’s animals. When the staff at the hospital said the rabbit was suffering, Cronin made the difficult decision to relieve the animal of its pain.
“It’s a sad day for the Taltree family,” Cronin said. “The impact this little rabbit had on everyone she encountered was heartwarming. It’s amazing how something so little can have such a big impact.”
"Big Bun,” as the rabbit was known, came to Taltree in 2013 joined Taltree at the age of one. Former Taltree staff members Mia Goulding and Maddie Grimm purchased the rabbit with the intent of using it for outreach with the Education Department’s Conservation in the Classroom program.
In the three years Big Bunny was with Taltree, the rabbit met over 1,400 students, Scouts and seniors, Taltree’s Camp Quercus summer day campers and even became an honorary Daisy Scout. Big Bunny was particularly good with seniors as a therapy animal in Region rehabilitation centers and nursing homes.
The rabbit also was a Taltree guest and member favorite. Big Bunny loved dandelions and Swiss chard. Horticulturalist George Reid's vegetables in Taltree’s children's Adventure Garden, which Big Bun called home, became the rabbit’s personal buffet. Big Bunny was a big, cuddly girl who enjoyed hopping onto her human care-giver’s laps and putting on a show in her pen. The rabbit grew to a weight of more than 16 pounds, which is slightly larger than average for her species.
Taltree collected donations to the Big Bunny Enrichment Fund in a bunny-shaped bank in the Railway Garden Depot to assist in her care.
“Every week we’d get donations to help because people loved her so much,” Cronin said. “We’re all going to miss her.”
Cronin extends special thanks to his crew, who fed Big Bunny twice a day and loved her like their own pet. He offers special thanks to Donna and Danielle Pace for the funds they donated to provide a larger pen for Big Bun and to volunteers Irene Adams, Amy Brazle and Ellie Brazlewho lovingly donated their time to care for the rabbit and continue to do so with other animals Taltree calls home.
CAPTIONS:
Big Bun New Pen: Big Bunny, Taltree Arboretum & Gardens’ giant chinchilla rabbit, is seen in her new pen donated by supporters Donna and Danielle Pace in 2015. Big Bunny was put down over the weekend due to illness at the age of 4.
Chad and Big Bun:Taltree Arboretum & Gardens’ Grounds and Facilities Manager Chad Cronin holds the nonprofit environmental organization’s giant chinchilla rabbit, Big Bunny. The rabbit was put down over the weekend due to illness at the age of 4.
About Taltree Arboretum & Gardens
Taltree Arboretum & Gardens is a 330-acre, dog-friendly oak preserve of formal gardens, woodlands, wetlands and prairies with more than 6 miles of hiking trails. Taltree is open year round and offers a wide variety of events and classes for all ages. Proceeds received by the nonprofit organization power its conservation, restoration and education initiatives.