VENUS*

Venus’s story begin in 2014 when she was discovered, listed for sale on Craigslist. On February 4, 2014 a nasty snowstorm had come through northeastern Pennsylvania where we live and we were on our way to go save Venus. We arrived late in the evening and were taken to a rickety old shed where the rabbits were staying. Venus was shoved in a rusty cage in the corner where the door hit her every time it opened. They all drank from old soda bottles and many of the rabbits in the shed were seriously sick, but the owners would not let us take any of them.

Venus was living with her two daughters, later to be named Phoenix and Clarity. We were told by the owner that she had bought Venus at a meat auction where she had been starved by her original breeder and was also pregnant. She let Venus have her babies, but then took all the boys away and sold them back to the meat auction. Venus, Phoenix, and Clarity were all that was left of the family.

We took all 3 whom were extremely afraid of people. Venus even tried to attack me when I pulled her daughters away from her. Once we got them all home, all Venus did was cower in a corner, refusing to look at us or interact at all. It took a lot of trust building and coaxing with treats to get her to change her mind. I don’t think she knew any sort of kindness before that day.

All 3 girls were sick with upper respiratory infections and being underweight. Clarity also had a nasty infection in her leg from a cut she got on the rusty wire cage. Her entire leg from ankle to hip was one giant abscess which almost cost her the leg. But instead, I vets inserted tubes into her leg to help drain the infection which had to be painfully flushed out daily for weeks. Clarity never fussed and after several weeks, she had healed enough that she was able to keep her leg.

Their life was relatively quiet and average until one fateful day. Venus had been named after Venus the Two-Faced Cat because they both shared that unique half and half face that made it look like they were two different animals merged together. Not expecting a response, we jokingly sent a picture of Venus to the owners of the cat via their Facebook page saying we found her bunny twin. In return, Venus the Cat’s owner posted our picture on her page to her millions of followers and the response was explosive with thousands upon thousands of people begging us to make a Venus the Bunny page. And so we did with the help of Venus the Cat promoting the page to start.

We included a pinned video explaining Venus’s story thus far so everyone could understand where she’d come from. We also heavily promoted proper rabbit welfare as knowledge on the subject was extremely lacking in the general public and pet world.

Venus’s following grew and grew until it peaked at around 15,000 follows across her Facebook and Instagram pages and networking opportunities opened up. In early 2015, Venus was taken to a “pet show” at a local retirement home where members of the community could bring their pets and interact with the elderly residents. Venus was so popular that the residents begged us to bring her back. After working with the staff of the facility, Venus, Phoenix, and Clarity were trained and became therapy animals. Venus and Clarity went every week to visit the residents at all 3 locations the retirement home owned. We met some amazing people including a woman who was 100 years old that would tell us stories on and on about her childhood and how she had pet rabbits. The staff said they had never seen this woman talk or smile as much as she did when we came to visit.

September of 2015 was another big break for Venus when we were invited to Midwest Bunfest where we bought a table and fans could come meet Venus in person as well as buy some Venus merch such as calendar, plush toys, posters, etc. Venus, but this point, was no longer afraid of people at all and actually loved the limelight and attention. She would run up to visitors at the table and stand up toe greet them. We even had fans from Canada come all the way down to meet her at the convention.

January, the start of 2016, Venus was featured on the cover of Bunnyzine, a small magazine that focused on rabbit care, rescue organizations, and rabbit themed stories and merchandise. She also got a full 2 page spread explaining her story to an even wider audience. By this point, our home was bustling with many new rescue bunnies coming so we needed to expand our little facility and think about moving. Many of these other rescue bunnies were featured in Venus’s social media postings with a few of them becoming fan favorites such as Fluffy Butt who was a little tiny bunny who was taken from his mom way too early and Howie the Disabled Bunny who was a bunny in a wheelchair that had been badly abused and was paralyzed due to a broken spine.

Venus was always there for our new rescue friends, many of whom didn’t trust people in the same way she didn’t when she first arrived. Her biggest accomplishment in this area was with a group of baby bunnies called the Rhoda Island 8. 6 of the 8 ended up with us and had been horrifically abused by a man who got his kicks torturing them and then sending the pictures to bunny-lover Facebook groups. These baby bunnies had zero trust in people and were almost catatonic at times. However, they trusted Venus and she was there to mother them as if they were her own babies and she got them to come out of their shells.

Later on, Venus was also featured in an ad for a company that sold hay for rabbits. She was fittingly the spokes-bunny for their half and half hay mix box. We also jokingly sent Venus’s picture to Hershey chocolates saying she’d be a good candidate to be their rival to the Cadbury bunny. Hershey actually wrote back acknowledging Venus and her unique looks.

Sadly, the good times were not to last forever as Venus passed away very suddenly in early 2016. She had battled an intestinal infection a couple months before, but we are unsure what ultimately took her from us. A fan, after hearing the news, went to a company and bought a star in the sky and named it after Venus. We were invited to Midwest Bunfest again in late 2016, but it wasn’t the same without Venus along with us. We released a children’s book this same year featuring one of Venus’s friends, Fluffy Butt, that hoped to teach proper rabbit care tips in a way children could understand. However, the convention was bittersweet as well as very expensive to attend and so we decided not to go to anymore.

Clarity and Phoenix took their mother’s death hard as they had all been together since the beginning. The entire fandom for Venus mourned and we debated closing her social media pages, but ultimately decided to keep them going at fans’ request. Venus had a really great life even if it was cut a little too short. Despite her social media presence, she wasn’t a very active bunny. She preferred to just relax in the sun outside while her daughters ran around like maniacs or she would even lay on the back of the couch and stare out the window. Venus was very photogenic so photoshoots with her went very smoothly especially with her laid-back attitude. And no matter what, she always stuck by her daughters’ side and would cuddle in a big pile with them at night.

Clarity passed away in late 2018 at the age of 5 and a half. Her health had always been shaky after her leg injury. She’d always been the weakest and most shy of the three. Which leaves Phoenix as the only surviving member of the family. She is still with us today, having just celebrated her 8th birthday which makes her elderly. Her life has been very quiet these last few years as our social media presence waned after Venus’s death and completely ended after our move and taking a break from rescue for awhile. Phoenix, these days, likes to rest and snack much like her mom did. Phoenix is the end of an amazing era for us. This little bunny family had opened so many doors for so many people as well as fellow bunnies in need. Her story touched tens of thousands of people and hopefully taught some lessons in the process about how complex and intelligent rabbits can be and how they need to be properly cared for. We also were able, through her social media reach, able to hold several fundraisers that raised money to help rabbit organizations as well as specific rabbits in need of medical care.

Venus was a very unique bunny with a unique face and personality to match. She overcame so much adversity to become such a loving and happy animal able to touch other animals and people alike. She left a huge hole in our hearts but we at least have Phoenix still and a plush version of Venus wearing her actual therapy animal harness to keep us company.