Helping bunnies hop

North Kildonan

Norwood

City Centre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/06/2025 (300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Students at the University of Winnipeg have banded together to help a very special rabbit who survived a recent dog attack.

Dumpling is a wild domestic rabbit from Selkirk, Man., who was found in a dog’s mouth last month. While Dumpling survived the attack, she’s been left with two splayed back legs and struggles to walk and hop. She will need an amputation this summer, after which she will need a custom wheelchair to get around.

Dumpling is now being cared for by Popcorns and Binkies Rescue Haven, the only small-mammal rescue shelter in the city.

“If Dumpling wasn’t (rescued), that would have been her on the street with these legs,” said Lexi Davis, a regular Popcorns and Binkies volunteer. “She wouldn’t have lasted a day.”

Dumpling weighs just two pounds, but the effort to save her and give her some quality of life is no small feat. Popcorns and Binkies relies on donations and volunteers, so veterinary treatment of this scale is a serious undertaking.

Dumpling’s plight was noticed by students in the PACE — Professional, Applied and Continuing Education — communications program at the University of Winnipeg, who then created a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the operation and wheelchair parts. The page was called Dollars for Dumpling and, before it closed, it had raised approximately $600 toward a goal of $1,000.

“I think… people have seen what’s needed,” said Lisa Davis, Lexi’s mother and fellow volunteer.

“They see that this is a goal, and Popcorn and Binkies has worked really hard to find a common ground, and I’m glad to be part of it.”

“We’re foster-based,” explained Lexi. “All the vet bills are 100 per cent (paid by) donations. It’s very important that people work together. Things like (the GoFundMe page) really help.”

Popcorns and Binkies operates in Winnipeg and Selkirk, where most of the rabbits it has rescued have been found. It specializes in rabbits, guinea pigs, and other small, often exotic pets. Alongside providing foster homes and medical care to animals in need of rehabilitation, it facilitates adoptions, advocates for ethical care, and hosts fundraising events.

“It seems that (the rabbits) have been running the streets of Selkirk for four or five years,” Lexi said. She and her mother have two adopted rabbits called Autumn and Fortune, and are currently fostering a third called Jack. All three are from Selkirk — just like Dumpling.

Volunteers have used everything from harmless traps to big fishing nets to get the feral rabbit population under control, the 21-year-old North Kildonan resident said, adding that she’s only seen a few in recent months.

While the GoFundMe campaign for Dumpling’s procedure has ended, those interested in donating funds to her continued care — and to other fosters like her — are encouraged to do so. Popcorns and Binkies also accepts physical donations in the form of blankets, hay pellets, carrot tops, and more. To learn more about this unique small-mammal rescue, visit its Facebook page or popcornsandbinkies.org

Popcorns and Binkies is holding an adoption event on July 5 at Champlain Community Centre (282 Niverville Ave.), where visitors can meet adoptable animals and browse hand-made art created by volunteers in support of the rescue.

At the moment, Dumpling is a permanent foster Popcorns and Binkies and lives with her “husbun,” another rabbit named Simon, at the home of foster mother Tracey Mager.