Animal Control Report: Bunny in a Box on Beauregard

Animal Control officers in Alexandria deal with a variety of calls every week. Here's a glance at some recent incidents in the city courtesy of Patrick Cole, the director of communications and outreach at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

Mystery box — On March 18, an Animal Control officer received a call reporting that a box was left outside of her office building in the 4800 block of Beauregard Street. The caller said something was moving around inside the box was afraid to open it.

The officer arrived and discovered a rabbit inside of the box. After speaking with employees at the office, the officer learned the rabbit was left as a gift from an admirer. The recipient of the rabbit was not allowed to have animals at home or in the office and did not want the responsibility of owning a rabbit.

The rabbit was surrendered to AWLA brought back to the shelter, where it is currently available for adoption.

Bat, duck or something else? — During the overnight hours of March 18, the AWLA’s on-call emergency service technician responded to a report of a bat in the basement of a house in the 5100 block of Echols Avenue. A resident of the home said sounds were emanating from the basement.

The technician arrived at the house and began searching for a bat. During the search, a children’s bookshelf was moved. The movement caused a book on the shelf “to make duck sounds,” according to the AWLA report.

The resident immediately identified the sounds from the book as the bat she thought she heard earlier. The technician determined the noises from the children’s book were mistaken for a bat.

AWLA Baby Shower — It’s kitten and puppy season and the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is hosting a baby shower on April 6 at the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter. Animal lovers are invited to the open house event to learn more about the League’s foster care program, which provides care to puppies and kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. Donations from the Foster Care Wish List are being accepted.

For more information about Alexandria Animal Control, visit the AWLA website.