Even though the weather was cold and rainy, Samantha and her dog, Tonks, stuck to their routine and headed out for a walk in their local park.
As soon as they stepped out of the car and left the parking lot, Samantha spotted a gray, fluffy shape at the entrance. From a distance, she could see the poor creature trembling in the wet, chilly air.
She had a hunch about what kind of animal it was, but she wasn’t completely sure until she got a little closer.
A Fluffy Head Lost In The Rain
Samantha and Tonks moved slowly toward the small figure. When they reached a safe distance, everything became clearer.
“When I first saw her, I knew she wasn’t a wild rabbit immediately, but I thought she might be a small groundhog,” Samantha told The Dodo. “She didn’t have the right silhouette or behavior/movement of a wild rabbit. When I got closer to her, I saw the floppy ears, plus the fact that she didn’t run away or look wary of us at all, [which] made it clear to me.”
It was a frightened bunny—later named Fig Newton—who had almost certainly been abandoned in the park. Samantha realized she didn’t belong there and knew she had to act fast.
She quickly secured Tonks at a safe distance and prepared to step in.
A Friend Steps In
Although Fig clearly wanted help, the rescue didn’t go smoothly.
“She let me get about 10 feet away before she would take a few hops away to preserve the distance,” Samantha said. “I moved more slowly and managed to get within arm’s reach, but when I reached toward her, she ran into the woods. I couldn’t see her anymore and was dismayed and thought I might have screwed up, so I called Rachael, my friend who has rabbits of her own. I was walking away from the bunny up the path toward Tonks when I noticed that she had hopped back out of the woods and had started following me up the path. It was clear she very much wanted to be helped and to not be left alone out there. So I slowly moved back and closed the gap again.”
While waiting for Rachael to arrive, Samantha did everything she could to earn Fig’s trust. Even though the ground was soaked from the rain, she sat down nearby, hoping to make herself less intimidating.
Her plan worked. The little bunny cautiously hopped closer, drawn by the calm presence.
When Rachael showed up, she came prepared. As a rabbit owner herself, she knew not to arrive empty-handed—she brought treats. Within moments, Fig was safely inside a carrier.
“Once she was in the carrier, we gave her some rabbit grain pellets and some fresh rabbit-friendly greens, and she seemed pretty relaxed and content,” Samantha happily concluded.
A Bond Too Strong To Break
Samantha took Fig to the vet right away. The bunny was a bit underweight, dirty, and matted, with overgrown nails, but otherwise in fair health.
At first, Samantha planned to foster Fig temporarily with Rachael’s help and then find her a permanent home through a rescue group.
But things didn’t go as planned—Samantha and Fig grew inseparable during their time together.
“Rachael helped me learn a lot about rabbit care in a short period of time, and I realized I could provide her the care she needed,” Samantha said.
From a lonely, rain-soaked bunny trembling at the park entrance, Fig blossomed into a joyful little companion, finally safe where she truly belonged.
For both Fig and Samantha, it was the perfect ending to a rainy day.