It's one thing to love animals and pets — it's another thing to change your life completely to accommodate them.
This Easter, Paige Hadlow, 26, of England celebrated four years of giving needy pet rabbits "a second chance" at her rescue center.
Earlier, she had worked at a pet shop, but she gave it all up in January 2019 after becoming disillusioned about the way the animals were treated, SWNS reported.
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Her charity, Clement Rabbit Rescue, is based at her home in Wrexham, North Wales.
Today, she lives there with 24 pet rabbits.
Hadlow offers a nationwide service — and regularly travels all over the U.K. to come to the aid of bunnies, said SWNS, a British news service.
After making sure the animals are healthy, she tries to find them suitable forever homes — and puts prospective owners through strict vetting, SWNS reported.
Hadlow funds the rescue center herself; she works full-time in the veterinary industry, so she can put resources into her passion project, she said.
She also warned that too many people purchase rabbits around Easter — and then wind up giving them up for adoption.
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She said that "working in a pet shop was eye-opening. I was really shocked and felt I had to step in."
She told SWNS that she loved the bunnies "so much — they’re all so interesting in their own unique way and are a joy to watch."
She also said, "Gaining a rabbit’s trust is just the best feeling in the world. They don’t naturally gravitate toward people, so knowing that I have that sort of connection with them is really special."
Hadlow started working in a pet shop in January 2016, SWNS reported; yet she quickly grew concerned about the welfare of the rabbits.
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She said she was worried about the size of cages they were kept in — and how poorly many of the animals were treated, in her view.
She said, "I knew I had to do something drastically different to help as many rabbits as possible."
Eventually, after working for a year at the pet shop, she took matters into her own hands.
In March 2017, she rescued crossbreed Bertie, now six, from the shop where she worked.
She said the rabbit was scheduled to be put down — but she nursed it back to health.
Then, in January 2019, she quit her job and began living off her savings to start up the Clement Rabbit Rescue Center, SWNS reported.
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She spent about $4,300 on equipment to launch the rescue, including a new roof for her garden shed to house the bunnies, SWNS said. She said her mother, Carla, helped her decorate it.
"She is my biggest supporter — she just wants me to be happy," Hadlow told SWNS.
Hadlow indicated she has a rigorous vetting process, including making home visits to ensure the rabbits have the right environment at their new homes.
After the first COVID lockdown was lifted, she received an influx of rabbits from people she believes went back to work — and "didn’t have time" to care for the animals they'd gotten during COVID, SWNS reported.
She has since worked with over 200 rabbits and regularly receives updates from new owners.
"It’s very fulfilling knowing I’ve changed a bunny’s life" and found the animals "a new, loving home."
Despite working a full-time job in a veterinary surgery, Hadlow is up at 5:45 a.m. each morning to sort out the rabbits' the litter trays and replenish their food and water bowls.
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She told SWNS, "Rabbits love to chew things, so I need to replenish [the] toys quite a lot. I’ve had to put a gate on my kitchen because I once had a rabbit chew through" the wiring of her stove, she said.
"I do everything myself — from caring for them to the social media, which can be very time-consuming, but it’s worth it," she also said.
She remains determined to help as many rabbits as she can, she said.
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"The worst case I've had was when I rescued eight-week-old Hope," she said. "She had been shot with a pellet gun on the back right of her leg. I was given the option to euthanize her, which was an instant no-no."
She added, "After a long and challenging process, Hope underwent surgery and made a full recovery. She's been rehomed — and I couldn’t be happier."
"The rescue is my life, and I won’t ever stop it completely," she told SWNS.
"I’m totally consumed by it all, and I wouldn’t have it any other way."
