GLASGOW, Scotland, March 9 (UPI) — A giant rabbit, the size of a terrier, found a new home after being taken in by the Scottish SPCA in early February.
The animal shelter announced that Jen Hislop, 43, was selected out of hundreds of applicants to adopt Atlas the giant rabbit.
“I burst into tears when I got the phone call saying I had been chosen to rehome Atlas and I cried again when I collected him,” Hislop said. “Animals are just pets to some people but my rabbits are family members.”
She has owned two giant rabbits in the past and currently owns a giant cross rex rabbit named Coconut.
Atlas was taken in by the Scottish SPCA in February, when his previous owner decided they could no longer care for him, and the shelter spent the month since then searching for a proper home for the abnormally large rabbit.
“We were absolutely overwhelmed by the response to our rehoming appeal for Atlas and we had hundreds of calls and emails from people all over the world, including America, Canada and France,” Anna O’Donnell, manager of the Glasgow rescue center said.
She added that she was happy to find Atlas a home in Scotland where Hislop has quickly taken a liking to the coveted rabbit.
The shelter shared photos of her pushing him in a stroller and even decided to give him a new name.
“I’ve decided to change his name to Atilla the Bun Binky Master Jazz Paws, but I think we’ll call him Atty for short!” Hislop said.
While Hislop and the newly named Atty seem to be a perfect match, O’Donnell hopes their story encourages people to adopt some of the shelter’s other rabbits.
“We hope some of the people in Scotland who showed an interest in Atlas but were unsuccessful will consider one of our many other rescue rabbits as we have lots who are in need of loving owners,” she said.
