Lost bunny reunited with family

By Katie Johnson

When Gunther the floppy rabbit decided to escape his hutch and go for a hop down some Carlton laneways in early February, his owner was blissfully unaware.

But when Carlton North resident Julia Ford spotted him behind Scout Hall on Shakespeare St, his adventure came to an abrupt halt.

“I was stepping out my back door to get a coffee and I ran into another neighbour who asked me if I’d lost a bunny because there was one in the laneway,” Ms Ford said.

When she went to have a look, there was Gunther, happily munching on some grass.

“He was so sweet, really happy and friendly enough to let us pat him,” Ms Ford said.

At first, Ms Ford didn’t try to catch him and instead took a photo of him to post in the Carlton Good Karma Network Facebook group.

But after realising it could take a while to find Gunther’s owner, she decided to take him back to her house.

“I realised we could be waiting a while and I didn’t want to leave him there because he was so small and there could be dogs and cats around,” Ms Ford said.

“So, I just picked him up and took him home – he was really easy to catch.”

After capturing him, Ms Ford fed Gunther some lettuce, put some water out and let him hop around her backyard while she went doorknocking to find his owner.

Although she had no luck, Gunther took the opportunity to enjoy himself in Ms Ford’s garden.

“I grow zucchini in my backyard and he ended up eating all of the leaves on all of them,” Ms Ford said.

“I also have two little girls who were obsessed with him and loved having a bunny around to play with.”

After a few hours, the owner, who lived only a few doors down, eventually saw the Good Karma Network post and sent Ms Ford a message.

“She had forgotten to close his hutch which was how he escaped,” Ms Ford said.

Within the hour, Gunther was reunited with his owner who will now be much more vigilant about closing his hutch door.

Ms Ford said that although the experience was slightly stressful, as she wanted to get him home safely on such a hot day, she was happy to have spent some time with Gunther.

“He’s a gorgeous little bunny,” she said •