Rabbits are dumped and then rescued on Route 31

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 June 2015 at 9:42 am

Provided photo – Shannon Vanderlaan of Albion holds one of the rabbits that was scooped up from Route 31 at about 9 p.m. today near Wal-Mart.

ALBION – A dozen rabbits were rescued from busy traffic on Route 31 tonight after the rabbits were dumped in the road.

There were likely more than a dozen rabbits that were dropped on Route 31, just west of Albion near the Allen Road intersection.

Passing motorists stopped and were able to grab many of the rabbits.

Shelley Pollock-Kavulich was the first to pull over. She put on her flashers and called 911.

“I am glad they are safe,” she said about the rabbits. “I just wish I got a license plate for them to get in trouble for what they did.”

Karen Conn, her husband Mitch Conn and Karen’s daughter Shannon Vanderlaan were riding together from Medina to Albion when they encountered the rabbits in the road. The family pulled over and helped corral the rabbits.

“They were all scared,” Mrs. Conn said tonight. “They were are right in the middle of the road.”

She held one and could feel it’s heart racing. The Conn family ended up keeping one of the rabbits at the suggestion of a deputy at the scene. The rest of the rabbits were put in the back of the deputy’s SUV.

There were 11 rabbits taken to the Orleans County Animal Shelter in Barre at the corner of routes 31A and 98.

A dispatcher said the rabbits were dumped by someone driving a white full-size van. The rabbits were good size and domesticated, the dispatcher said.

Conn said some of the rabbits made it to the bushes by the road. She thinks a few may have gotten away without someone picking them up after they were dropped in the road.

Conn was happy to see motorists and one man on a bicycle stop and help the rabbits. She remains mystified that the rabbits would be unloaded like that in such a busy road.

“It was such a bizarre situation,” she said. “I can’t believe someone would do that.”

For more information about the rabbits and the hours at the animal shelter, call dispatch at (585) 589-5527.