By Avery Vitron

Linda Jones didn’t think looking at a random Facebook post about a lost rabbit would change her life, but in November 2012, she learned about a loose rabbit running around at a car dealership. She went to the dealership to help the rabbit, and she kept going back for weeks to make it more comfortable. 

At the same time, Ron Steger was also checking up on the same rabbit, but he couldn’t find it. He met Jones, and they started to talk about their mutual love for rabbits. 

“And at the time, I had no idea who to call and just happened to meet Ron there and then we realized that there was such a need for rabbit rescue in our area,” Jones says. 

Jones ended up caring for the rabbit at her home which led her to start E.A.R.S. (Erie Area Rabbit Society and Rescue) with Steger. They knew it would take a lot of work, but with the help of the community and volunteers, they knew they could accomplish their dreams. Still to this day, Jones cares for and loves that first lost rabbit, who came to be known as Jukie. 

In 2012, the pair rented an old, tiny building that didn’t have running water, air conditioning or heat, but the space wasn’t suitable for rabbits, so in 2014, they moved to a bright pink building, 2316 W. 38th St., and called it the Bunny Bungalow. 

“We fit as many as we can, but it just keeps growing,” Jones said, so within a year they built another building next to the Bunny Bungalow. “So we just keep building on to what we have,” she said. 

They ended up having just enough space for a storage shed and a gazebo where the rabbits can exercise. Not only has their space expanded, but they have also continued to add many programs, fundraisers and rescues, which has helped to gain support from the community.

Jones shared one of her most memorable moments in her 11 years of rescues. In North East, in 2020, they got a call about someone who dumped 10 rabbits, and it took all week to catch all of them. Once they got back to the shelter, they got another call saying they found more rabbits dumped at another park. This time there were 12, but later, they found that the rabbits had 51 babies. Jones said that the summer was very stressful and exhausting, and she emphasized that she cannot care for the bunnies alone. 

“It takes a tribe of volunteers to take care of everyone. Recusing, feeding, fostering, cleaning cages, transporting and caring for medical care. So many ways to help,” states Stephanie Bero, an E.A.R.S. volunteer. 

Jones explained what volunteers have to do for each and every rabbit. 

“We spay and neuter them all, we vaccinate them all, and we have to pay, of course, for their food and any other vet care that comes along with that,” she said. 

The volunteers and staff have to pay for those with their own money, through donations or through fundraisers during the year.

“Vet costs for bunnies are so much more than anyone would expect,” Jones said. 

She explained how they’re always trying to make the shelter better. 

“Every year we add different programs, like our foster programs. We’re always growing, expanding things, making it better,” Jones said. “Raising the money to pay for (programs) is a big challenge.”

Volunteers are a huge help at the shelter, but Jones said that they can always use more. 

Bero spends a lot of her free time helping at E.A.R.S. where there could be anywhere from 80 to 100 rabbits to care for at any one time.

Bero laughs that she still thinks about the rabbits when she’s not there. “Did Oleander get her blanket? Did they get enough hay today? And most of all, did they get enough love and kisses today?” she admits to wondering.

Jones says that these volunteers are a huge help, yet she doesn’t think “there are ever, ever enough volunteers.” 

Bero credits E.A.R.S. with not only helping the animals, but she personally received help from working with the organization over the last five years.

“Volunteering helped bring me out of a hopeless part of my life. Not only did I get purpose, I found an outlet to show an amazing amount of love. It’s therapeutic for me and the bunnies just soak it right up,” she said. 

She never thought she’d become a volunteer.

“I decided it was time for a friend to keep me company and started looking at bunnies on Petfinder. I came across a picture of this beautiful bonded pair and it said their location was at Erie Area Rabbit Society. I had never heard of it before! I randomly stopped in and have been part of the family since then,” Bero said. 

Jones’s future goals for E.A.R.S. is to “continue our mission of education, rescue, and adoption, to help the rabbits and to help our community.” 

Jones wants the community to be knowledgeable of how rabbits need to live for a happy and long life. She said bunnies need room to exercise, they need to be spayed and neutered, receive regular vet visits and be fed proper diets. She said she has rescued about 1,000 rabbits over the last 11 years. Which means she has educated more than 1,000 people in the community about the fluffy pets.  

To learn more about E.A.R.S. to volunteer or adopt a long-eared friend, go to www.eriearearabbitsociety.org.