Ryan Carter It’s not exactly a bunny...

Ryan Carter

It’s not exactly a bunny patch, but volunteers and workers hope a

new rabbit hutch at the Burbank Animal Shelter will be an ideal bunny

barracks.

Twelve rabbits have moved into their new lodgings, which was built

by volunteers, and await adoption at the shelter. Not many rabbits

are adopted at the shelter, but volunteers thought the ones that do

come in could use a little more room and a nicer environment than

their traditionally small cages.

Volunteers spent Saturday painting the wooden structure’s exterior

with features such as luscious landscapes. The male rabbits are

separated from the females in the hutch.

“You can definitely see them better,” said Burbank resident Erin

McClaughlin, who came to see the shelter’s dogs Tuesday with her

friend, Ruben Garcia. “It’s easier because they’re closer. They’re

cuter than I thought.”

Denise Cosgrave, a shelter volunteer, came up with the hutch idea

and brought it to the shelter’s board of directors. Volunteer Robert

Young and his friend Steve Powell built it over two days. The project

cost $500 and was paid for with donations made to the volunteers.

“It’s really cool,” said Eva Sippel, president of the volunteers.

“People see it now and say ‘Hey! Look at the bunnies.’ That never

happened before.”

The higher profile is important for finding potential owners

because they will be more likely to see and visit the animals, Sippel

said.

“It’s more spacious for the animals,” Sippel said. “But for the

public, you are actually drawn to it.”

Sippel said the shelter had three rabbits adopted Saturday.

In September, three Burbank girls set up a “kitty corner” for

visitors, filling a once sterile room with new chairs and a

multicolored rug, as well as hanging pictures of cats on the walls.