Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy a Pet Rabbit for Easter

It's inevitable every year. The animal shelter is overrun with bunny rabbits just a few weeks after Easter. Hundreds of little furry friends are without homes because many good intentioned parents brought their child a bunny rabbit for Easter. After the thrill of playing with the cutie wears off, the little bunny rabbits often get neglected, abandoned or shuffled off to the animal shelter.

Three reasons not to buy an rabbit for Easter:
Rabbits require a lot more work than most people think. I have three rabbits, and while I absolutely love them all, they do require clean up. If your family is not willing to take on more work than they already have, don't buy a rabbit for Easter to impress your child.

Rabbits, like all animals, require love. If you're family is consistently running from activity to activity and are rarely home, consider the rabbit and don't get one. They need love, attention, and companionship just like we do so if you can't be there for them, let them go to a home that can spend time with them.

Easter isn't about rabbits anyway - this special time of year is a reminder of the death of Jesus Christ. It was the commercial industry that made it something else. Try focusing your child on the real meaning of the holiday rather than giving them a rabbit.

Three things to give on Easter instead of a live rabbit:
Well there is no getting around it, Easter does involve candy and even as a Christian I am not going to be naive and think that will go away! You know the saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" There's nothing wrong with candy but how about giving a chocolate cross instead of a chocolate rabbit? This way you can provide your child with the sweets you know they are craving while reminding them of the real message of the holiday, "Jesus died on the cross for us."

Get your family members a special Bible. Purchase the Bible version you are most comfortable reading (I like NIV) and purchase a nice Bible case to protect it. Have their name monogrammed on it to help identify it should it be lost and to make the person receiving it feel like it's their special Bible. Then consider putting book tags at the beginning of each book so they won't have to search and search for the book of Matthew, etc.

Give the gift of time. Rather than going out for a fancy dinner where everyone has to get dressed up in their Easter best, fight crowds, and wait in a long wait in restaurants, only to have to choose from a limited menu made just for Easter with expensive prices, why not have a meal at home? Put a lot of energy into creating a nice dinner for your guests. Make things that don't require your attention once your guests arrive so you can really focus on time with them. During the course of the meal be sure to say grace first and then discuss the reason you are there. Maybe even pull out your Bible and read several verses on Easter.

It's so important in this world of materialism not to get caught up in the wrong things. Remember, Easter is not about bunnies, it's about Jesus Christ dying for us. So save the purchase of a rabbit for a time when you really decide that you want to bring a living breathing creature in your home to love. Don't just buy a rabbit to see your child's eyes light up for one day.

Disclaimer! Before I get a bunch of angry comments on this article from those who have bought rabbits for Easter, don't misunderstand me! I think it's wonderful if you and your child are willing to follow through and take care of the rabbit for it's entire life. But my experience as a volunteer at an animal shelter has led me to see rabbits stuck in closets without light, food, or water and other rabbits who were tossed out of cars that were in motion, scraping their furry little bellies, all because their owners didn't want them any more. How sad! Together, let's prevent this from happening this Easter. Please pass this article along to friends.