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Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Friday in Perrysburg. Cochran's origin school is Elmwood, but she is from Fostoria, where she snared the hare.
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Penta program steps in to help raise rabbits after rescue by student

THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN

Penta program steps in to help raise rabbits after rescue by student

In October, a photo of two bunnies in need of help began showing up in posts on Fostoria-area Facebook pages.

The domesticated rabbits were living between Wesley United Methodist Church and Wesley Village, a retirement community. 

Leah Cochran, a student in the Sophomore Exploratory Program at Penta Career Center and self-professed animal lover, jumped into action to try to and catch and save the rabbits.

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“Domestic rabbits do not do well in the wild,” Leah said. “My friend and I went out to the property for days, before and after school, to try to catch them. They were smart and evaded capture. They were staying in a 10-foot-long shed, and they just would not go into the trap we set. I have a rabbit, so I put food and vegetables in the trap. They just would not go in.”

Leah said she barricaded the shed with the trap. The furry sleuths would go into the trap, get food, and then go back into hiding.

“The trap was not working right and was not closing when they were in there,” she said. “We tried for days and finally we caught the one rabbit. The other one is still out there at this point.”

Leah took the foundling home and set it up in her bathroom. The female rabbit was not eating very well, said Leah, who chalked that up to it being in unfamiliar surroundings.

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“I went to my dad’s for the weekend, and my mom sent me a photo,” she said. “There were two pink babies on the floor. The rabbit did not look pregnant, so it was a surprise. She is a very sweet rabbit for being outside like she was. But she would not take care of the babies. She was not nursing them. ”

Leah went and purchased supplemental milk to bottle-feed the babies. Approximately 48 hours later, the mother rabbit was pulling her fur out. According to Leah, rabbits will do that when they are going into labor.

April Rietzke, Leah’s mom, thought it might be a good sign.

“I thought the rabbit was finally getting some motherly instincts and would take care of her two babies,” Mrs. Rietzke said. “She gave birth again, to nine babies. Who knew rabbits had two uteruses?”

The new furry mom began to nurse all of her babies, Leah said. In the end, the first two babies did not make it.

“It was hard for me because I bottle-fed them,” Leah said. “I had to find someplace to take the mom and her babies, though. I am in school, I work, and I just could not take care of them. I never planned on keeping the bunnies when I found them. I just did not want them to freeze and starve outside.”

Mrs. Rietzke spoke with her husband, Mike, an instructor in Penta’s Information Technology Academy, to see if the small-animal care program at the school knew someone who could take the mom and her offspring.

“Stephanie Miller said they would take the rabbits into the program since they do teach about rabbits,” Mrs. Rietzke said, “It really is a win-win for everybody. The students get to learn about rabbits and how to care for baby rabbits, and Leah gets to visit them when she wants.”

The small-animal care program is a two-year program for students who enjoy working with a wide variety of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Ms. Miller, an instructional aid in the program, said she spoke with instructors, and they agreed to take the bunnies in.

“We agreed because it would be a good opportunity for the students,” she said. “This would be the first time for the students to care for baby rabbits.”

Initially students had to step in and feed the babies when mom would not, Ms. Miller explained. The mom has since stepped back in to nurse the young ones who are now growing by leaps and bounds.

As juniors, students learn through hands-on experiences about grooming, health, nutrition, reproduction, husbandry practices, neonatal care, bird training, and customer service.

Seniors learn veterinary science and are able to scrub in to assist a licensed veterinarian perform surgeries, like dog/cat spays and neuters, in Penta’s surgical suite. Students in the program also have the opportunity to learn zoo and aquarium management. The program currently has mammals, birds, and reptiles in the program.

Lizzie Kayser, an instructor in the small-animal program, said there are 61 endangered hellbenders the students are helping to raise for the Toledo Zoo. The hellbender, the largest salamander in North America, is native to the streams of the Ohio River watershed.

“We have a whole lab for them. We raise them from juveniles to adults for the zoo,” Ms. Kayser said. “When they are adults they get released back into the wild. It is a very important program for us, and it is great that the students get to work with the zoo.”

Ms. Kayser said the class will monitor the health of the rabbits and will then look for homes for them. Leah will also be able to bring home one of the babies at the end of December, she said. There are currently six babies that survived and are now thriving.

“I am attached to them, so I am excited to be able to bring one of them home,” Leah said. “I have a Continental Giant bunny at home, and I think she will enjoy a roommate.”

Ms. Kayser said the school does not take animals into the program normally.

“This just happened to work for us because we wanted the students to learn about and help raise the baby rabbits,” Ms. Kayser said. “We will work to get the baby bunnies placed into good homes, but it is not what we typically do.”

The animal-care program does offer a Paws and Claws program that the community can access, Ms. Miller said.

Paws and Claws offers grooming services for dogs including baths, brushing, nail trims, ear cleaning, and anal gland expression.

“Our students get to learn the basics of grooming,” she said. “We do accept new clients all of the time.”

For information on Penta, go to pentacareercenter.org.

For more information about Paws and Claws, go to pentacareercenter.org/CommunityServices.aspx.

First Published November 8, 2024, 8:50 p.m.

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Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Friday in Perrysburg. Cochran's origin school is Elmwood, but she is from Fostoria, where she snared the hare.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg, Ohio. Cochran's origin school is Elmwood, but she is from Fostoria, where she snared the hare.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran, in blue, at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Lake sr. Jordin Warnke holds a baby rabbit. Students in the Small Animal Class are caring for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
Students in the Small Animal Class care for a lost rabbit, and her recent litter, that was humanely captured by sophomore Leah Cochran at the Penta Career Center on Nov. 8 in Perrysburg.  (THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN)  Buy Image
THE BLADE/PHILLIP L. KAPLAN
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