Heartfelt bid for return of pet rabbits

MISSING: Melissa Rolls, 14, holds the fur of one of her rabbits, Boo, a large white "rescue bunny", stolen from her family home on Oxford St.

A Masterton family whose pet rabbits were stolen from their home last week are losing hope of seeing their furry friends again.

Oxford St residents Liz and Mike Rolls awoke on Friday morning to discover two of their buck rabbits, named Cassa and Boo, missing, with their hutches "ripped open".

A third rabbit was left behind, but the roof of its hutch was damaged, "as if someone had tried to jimmy it open", Mrs Rolls said.

Bicycle tyre tracks near their yard in Mawley Park - which their house backs onto - added to the couple's suspicions Cassa and Boo had likely been taken.

Despite their garage door being open, nothing else was missing - leading Mrs Rolls to fear the thieves were specifically after the rabbits, with sinister motives.

"There was all this other stuff they could have stolen, and they made off with two rabbits," she said.

"You hear all the stories and rumours about people getting their houses marked with chalk, and their dogs being stolen - it's quite scary.

"I don't know if they can be rescued - and I can't cope with the thought of it."

Mrs Rolls said her husband awoke around 4.15am on Friday, and heard their remaining bunny, Bubba, thumping his back leg - a common "warning" signal in rabbits.

Later, she discovered the damage to the hutches, and saw the lock on Boo's cage had been detached from the plywood.

Tracks had been left in the hay in Cassa's hutch, indicating his front paws had dragged along the ground as he was lifted out.

Bubba was unharmed, but has been "funny" about being put back inside his hutch ever since, Mrs Rolls said.

"I think he can sense something's not quite right."

Mrs Rolls said she and her children are missing their beloved bunnies, particularly the docile Dutch rabbit Cassa, who was a Christmas present for daughter Melissa, 14.

"He'd come if you called his name, would walk in a harness, and would happily sit on your knee."

Boo, a "rescue bunny", is white with "a big, fat double chin", who bobs his head "like he's doing a Stevie Wonder impression."

Mrs Rolls hopes Cassa and Boo were taken as pets.

"We keep looking out the window, expecting our little mates to be there.

"If you've got them, just come in at 3am, and put the bloody things back."

If they are someone's new companions, she strongly advises they are kept in separate cages - as male rabbits can "fight to the death".