Rachel Stevens can’t fully explain why she woke up one morning convinced she needed to find a rabbit.
"It was this urgency, and it was almost like I had a vision of a white rabbit," Stevens told The Dodo. "Like, you need to find this animal."
She couldn't
shake the feeling. Then her aunt, who volunteers with the SPCA of Wake County, in Raleigh, North Carolina, mentioned that the organization’s adoption center always had plenty of animals, including rabbits, looking for homes.
Stevens pulled up the shelter's website. Then she came across a photo that made her stop scrolling. Looking back at her was a fluffy white lionhead rabbit.
Stevens soon learned that the rabbit, whom she named Thumper, had arrived at the shelter after his previous owner was no longer allowed to keep him. He'd come in with a family of lionhead rabbits, and while all of his siblings quickly found homes, Thumper had remained behind.
"They were like, ‘It’s interesting because he just didn't get adopted for a long time,’" Stevens said, recalling what shelter staff told her. "‘And we were surprised that he was still here, and then you guys just came up and got him.’"
For Stevens, meeting Thumper felt like the end of a search she hadn't expected to begin.
"When I first got him, we put him in his cage and he immediately sprawled out and just went, like, 'I'm home,'" Stevens said. "He looked so happy immediately."
Before long, the pair became inseparable.
"He would come and just lick my whole forehead for, like, 15 minutes," Stevens said. "He's just like, 'Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you.'"
Each morning, Thumper hops onto her bed to say hello, according to Stevens. And whenever he gets a burst of energy, he races through the house.
"We open the door from one side of the house to the other and he will do an entire loop, from my parents' bedroom all the way back to my bedroom," Stevens said. "It's so hilarious."
By the time Thumper's first birthday rolled around, Stevens knew a simple treat wouldn't be enough.
"I kept thinking I really want to do a Thumper's ‘fairy first birthday party,’" she said. "And then I finally was like, 'OK, we're all just going to do this.'"
Stevens, who now runs a fairy fashion and party business, planned a fairy-themed celebration complete with a birthday cake for the humans, tea and sandwiches, fairy decorations and plenty of apples — Thumper's favorite snack.
She also invited neighborhood girls who often came by to visit him.
"I didn't realize how prepped the girls were, because they came dressed as fairies," Stevens said. "One of the girls wrote the handwritten note that they shared that was like, 'I munch the way you are, Thumper.'"
Soon, the house was full, and Thumper was the center of attention.
"I put him in the living room and we ended up having, like, the whole cul-de-sac — kids and parents," Stevens said. "He hopped around to all of them."
The children brought him gifts, including treats that Thumper enthusiastically demolished before the day was over.
When he'd had enough excitement, Thumper wandered off to one of his favorite resting places.
"He'll go sit by the fireplace," Stevens said. "He looks like this little doll."
The staff at the SPCA of Wake County loved seeing how happy Thumper was in his new home.
“This may be the most magical adoption update we’ve ever received,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “Congratulations to Thumper and his adopter on their happy day! We're so happy you found each other.”
For Stevens, the celebration wasn't just about fairy wings or birthday cake. It was about celebrating the little rabbit she somehow knew she was meant to find. "He's definitely a special little bunny," Stevens said. "And I'm really glad that we got him from the SPCA."
