Sarah Levine watches her daughter’s bunny, Hobbs, as Sammy, one of her many cats, wanders through their living room in Auburn recently. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

AUBURN — Sarah Levine used to be all-in on rats. Then rabbits caught her eye, again.

It was a couple of years ago and she was running the Mainely Rat Rescue table at a southern Maine pet expo when she noticed the Friends of Willow table next to her. 

She’d never heard of Friends of Willow, but it had bunnies. She loved bunnies. Her daughter, who was 10 at the time, loved bunnies.

“I was like, ‘Oh! I would love to get involved with that, too!'” Levine said. 

Growing up, Levine had pet rabbits of her own, but she was pretty sure she didn’t care for them right — too much time in cages, too many carrots, not enough attention. 

Today, the 37-year-old is adoption coordinator for Friends of Willow, one of the only rabbit rescue nonprofits in Maine. Her job: Make sure families know what their new pets need better than she did growing up. 

“They’re very sensitive animals, very sensitive creatures. Far more sensitive than cats or dogs,” she said, stroking the head of her daughter’s rabbit, Hobbs, as they sat on the couch together. “They’re wonderful, but . . .” 

Friends of Willow was founded in 2011 by Casey Webster, a Falmouth woman who worked in the small animal room at a Maine animal shelter. She noticed shelters were always crowded with rabbits — the third-most surrendered animal behind cats and dogs — and shelter bunnies often had too little space or attention.

Webster, 30, founded Friends of Willow so those rabbits could live in foster homes rather than cages while awaiting adoption. She named the nonprofit after Willow, her own shelter-adopted, territorial, 10-pound black-and-white bunny.

“She was evil. She hated everything and everyone. She destroyed her cage, she bit people,” Webster said. “But once I took her home and put her outside the cage and in a free-range environment, she’s still not very nice but she’s much better. She doesn’t bite anymore. She’s happy now.”

Since 2013, Friends of Willow has found homes for nearly 100 rabbits, most of them from shelters, other rescue groups or directly from families who couldn’t keep them anymore. 

Friends of Willow usually cares for four to eight rabbits at a time, plus a litter of babies every couple of months. They’re spread among foster families in southern and central Maine.

The rescue has five rabbits available for adoption, including siblings Love and Laughter, and Cooper, a white rabbit whose online introduction describes him as sweet and reserved, with “great litter box habits.”

It’s Levine’s job to vet prospective families and to make sure they know what they’re getting into. Two years after that pet expo, she knows firsthand what that means.

Her family has four rescued rabbits at their home in Lewiston. She’s been tempted to get a fifth, but “I like to keep one spot open for fosters,” she said.

Potential adopters have to go through an application process that includes background checks, reference checks and a discussion about Friends of Willow’s housing requirements. (Hint: It’s not in a cage outside.) 

“It’s not safe for them, but plenty of people still have this idea that rabbits can live outside,” Levine said. “In Maine, first of all, it’s too cold. I mean, they’re hearty but they’re not that hearty. And there are predators. If they’re in a cage outside, they can’t defend themselves. They’ll be picked off. “

Families that want to take their bunny outside are encouraged to do so — on a leash.

While some adoptive families are experienced with rabbits, others aren’t. Levine fills in the gaps with what rabbits should eat (lots of hay and fresh vegetables but not so much with the carrots) and where they should sleep (exercise pens with a nearby litter box). She reminds them that rabbits are social but not always with other rabbits.

Her own Hobbs, for example, loves spending time with humans and he tolerates Levine’s five cats, lounging among them in the living room until he decides to hop upstairs to his bed and litter box. But he fights with the family’s other three rabbits.

“He’s a people kind of guy,” she said.

Levine also reminds prospective adopters that rabbits live a long time —10 years or longer in some cases, which makes their lives as long as a dog’s.

“It is a commitment. You need to be aware of that. It’s not something to be taken lightly,” she said. 

Her favorite adoption story involves Sunshine, a rabbit who spent a full year in foster care.

“She could just never get adopted. People would inquire about her and then just  disappear. It was the weirdest thing. Every other bunny came and went, came and went,” Levine said. “Finally we got an inquiry about her by someone who wanted to bond her with their rabbit.”

That family, experienced with rabbits, brought Sunshine home, but it wasn’t easy. At first, she wouldn’t eat. Then she and their other rabbit didn’t get along.

Still, they made it work.

“They kept her,” Levine said. “They put, they’re still putting, everything in to make sure this bunny has a wonderful home.”  

Have an idea for Animal Tales? Call Lindsay Tice at 689-2854 or email her at ltice@sunjournal.com.

Hobbs the bunny sits on the floor. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Sarah Levine holds Hobbs in their Auburn home recently. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Hobbs sits on the floor. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Sarah Levine started her animal adoption career with rats, many of whom still live with her. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

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