We receive phone calls and emails every week from people who have found a rabbit or want to surrender a rabbit of their own. These questions and answers are designed to help you decide how to proceed.

Local animal shelters have information posted on their websites about their procedures for reporting a found pet. Please contact your local shelter and follow their instructions for reporting the rabbit to make sure no one is looking for him/her.
Wake County Animal Center
Orange County
APS of Durham
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County

If you have tried all of the above and have not found an owner, you can consider the rabbit a stray. To surrender a stray, contact your local animal shelter. If you would like to try and re-home the rabbit yourself, we are happy to help you by listing him/her as a courtesy listing (see below).

Lost Pets of Western NC
The intention of this site is to provide information and resources that will shorten the time between loss and reunion. The 18 counties included in Western NC are listed on the "Post A Listing" page.

We are not able to accept owner surrenders. We encourage you to try and find the rabbit a home. Check out our tips below about Finding a New Home for a Rabbit:

Tips for Finding a New Home for your Rabbit:

• Talk with friends, coworkers and family to see if they want a rabbit. Ask if they can spread the word by sharing on social media.
• Take a great picture of your rabbit that captures their personality.
• Promote your rabbit in a positive but honest way. Talk about what makes them special. Indicate if they are litterbox trained, spayed or neutered, and how they get along with children, other animals, etc. Include their age and any medical conditions they may have.
• Post about your rabbit on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Nextdoor.
• Use websites like home-home.org and RescueMe.org to connect with potential adopters in your area.
• Reach out to your local rabbit rescue group to see if they will put a courtesy post on their social media about your rabbit.
• Think carefully about what kind of home you want your rabbit to go to and carefully screen those who answer your ad. Do you want your rabbit to live indoors? In a home with children? Charge a reasonable rehoming fee to discourage people looking for rabbits for nefarious purposes.

Important: Do not release your rabbit outside! This is a death sentence for a domestic rabbit. They have no survival skills and will be at the mercy of predators, may be hit by cars, or may be exposed to fatal diseases such as RHDV2.

We would be happy to help you by listing him/her as a courtesy listing on our social media. You will need to provide us with a good photo and contact information that is ok to post on the internet. All information must comply with our social media guidelines. You will be responsible for handling inquiries. We do ask that you let us know when the rabbit is adopted so we can update our information. We recommend that you charge an adoption fee to prevent any rabbits from being "adopted" for prey or food. Note that, even though we encourage a small adoption fee, no one may use our listings to sell rabbits. Any listings that are reported as "sales" will be removed without notice. If you need to surrender an animal immediately, please contact your local animal shelter or humane society.

It means that we have not taken custody of the rabbit, but we have listed him/her on our social media as an effort to help his/her owner (or the person who found him/her) find a new home. We have not met the rabbit and have not evaluated his/her health or temperament. This is a free service.

To request a Courtesy Posting for your rabbit, please fill out this form.

Currently there are not many shelters and rescue groups in NC that work with rabbits, and those that do usually have a waiting list. You can contact local rescues listed on our Rescues and Shelters page to ask if they have room. It helps if you are willing to foster the rabbit temporarily. Please keep in mind that rescues are run by volunteers who have jobs and families, so it is very difficult for anyone to take in a rabbit "right this minute".

If you are able to foster short-term, we will be happy to help with networking in hope of finding space in rescue, foster placement, or a permanent home. Sometimes it can take several weeks, as space in rescue programs is dependent on adoptions. Some rescue and shelter programs will request proof of spay/neuter. If you have an immediate need to surrender a rabbit, contact your local county shelter or humane society.

1-855-290-6915
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