Written and interviewed by Judith Pierce, Editor/Board Member
Mary Maniscalco has been volunteering with SWFL House Rabbit Rescue for five years. She started when she stepped up to foster Sassie and Chance in the Spring of 2017. Mary, our “Rabbit Wrangler” has been catching stray rabbits for a long time. She got started catching rabbits when two showed up at her San Carlos home after Hurricane Irma. She says these two were part of a larger colony of 10 abandoned rabbits in her neighborhood. With the help of others, it took 5 months to catch them all.
I asked Mary a few questions about herself to help us get to know her a bit better.
JP: Who was your first rabbit? Tell us a little about him/her.
MM: The first rabbit was actually a pair of rabbits I gave to my son, Snowball & Fluffy. They are adorable black & white Lionheads and are still with us at six years old. Actually, they are the reason I reached out to the Rescue. They had an “oops” litter and I needed help to learn about caring for them.
JP: What is your favorite part of volunteering at the Rescue?
MM: Well, my favorite thing is to catch loose rabbits. Whether stray or abandoned, I love going out to catch and bring them to safety. I love following up on their progress towards adoption.
JP: How many rabbits do you have now? Tell us about them.
MM: In addition to Snowball and Fluffy, we also have another bonded pair, Sweet Pea, a 10-year-old Netherland Dwarf, and Charlie Brown a five-year-old Polish Dwarf. Sweet Pea had her first husbun pass away but had a beautiful rebonding with Charlie Brown. We took in Charlie Brown when he was rescued from an owner-relinquish in terrible condition. He was suffering from a respiratory infection and urine scald. I feel glad that we could take him and bond him with our little girl. Now he’s in a safe place.
JP: What other activities do you enjoy, besides rescuing stray rabbits?
MM: I enjoy cooking, gardening, and exercising. My favorite sports are gymnastics and ice skating. I also love traveling around the United States and other places.
JP: What is something most people don’t know about you?
MM: Most people don’t know that I love to cook and while working at my husband’s pizzeria in the 90’s, I learned to cook great Italian food.
JP: Yum!
We are always in need of volunteers to help foster, transport, and share their special skills. Click here to submit a volunteer application!
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