Pet store gives Whitnash pupils a hoppy ending

Buy photos » Whitnash Primary School teacher Sarah Davis (left) with pupils Harjit and Lara, mayor of Whitnash, Coun Judy Falp, and Pets At Home manager, Jayne Field, (centre) who has kindly donated the replacemnet bunnies from her store to replace those stolen recently. Picture by Jon Mullis 20.012.023.leam.jm1 (www.buyphotos247.com)

THERE was a hoppy ending for pupils at Whitnash Primary School after their rabbits were stolen.

The children were left devastated when teachers had to tell them Tom and Max, the two rabbits the school had purchased just weeks earlier as part of its small farm, had been taken from their hutch overnight.

But when the Observer contacted Leamington's Pets at Home store to see if they could help, manager Jayne Field immediately offered to replace the stolen animals with two new furry friends completely free of charge.

And she made the special delivery this week, also generously supplying food and bedding for the animals.

Jayne told the Observer: "As soon as The Observer told me about it I just thought how awful it was.

"A lot of children don't have pets at home so having them at school is a wonderful way for them to interact with animals and learn how to look after them. So to have that taken away is so sad.

"I thought straight away we had to step in and do something. We are only too happy to help."

Headteacher, Deborah Fulford, thanked Pets at Home for their generosity and said the children were over the moon with the new rabbits.

She said: "It is so great to know there are some really nice people out there who are willing to help and we are so grateful to Jayne and Pets at Home.

"We have had an amazing response since people found out the rabbits had been stolen - we've had somebody else offering us guinea pigs and another organisation offering us more rabbits.

"It's so nice to have a happy ending."

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