What began as a freshman project for Carroll College Anthrozoology student Lily Vickers has grown into a nonprofit animal rescue organization, bringing together students, educators, and community members to address Helena's feral rabbit population.
On October 3, Rodney Rabbit Rescue hosted its first education and adoption event on Carroll's campus, welcoming approximately 80 families and finding new homes for 10 rabbits.
The organization was founded last year by Vickers and Associate Professor of Anthrozoology Margo DeMello, Ph.D., as a hands-on student project focused on the feral rabbit population in Helena's Rodney Street neighborhood. Since then, the effort has evolved into a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, co-led by Vickers and DeMello, dedicated to the humane rescue and care of the rabbits.
The October event introduced the rescue's work to the broader Helena community and gave visitors an opportunity to meet the approximately 60 rabbits currently in its care. Some families arrived prepared to adopt, while others came to learn about the project and see the animals they had heard about in local news coverage.
The rescue's volunteer team includes Carroll students as well as middle and high school students and teachers, creating a multigenerational community effort centered on animal welfare.
The rabbits are currently housed at Last Best Place for Animals, an animal sanctuary in the North Helena Valley. While some of the rescued rabbits remain feral and are not suitable for adoption, many of the younger rabbits are available for loving homes.
Meanwhile, the rescue work continues. Volunteers still head into the Rodney Street neighborhood each Saturday at dawn to humanely capture the remaining rabbits, with only about half a dozen believed to remain in the area.
For DeMello, the project's success is especially meaningful because of the leadership and initiative demonstrated by Vickers.
"I am so proud of Lily and what we have accomplished!" DeMello shared, crediting her student with making the rescue and adoption event possible.
The successful October event has already inspired plans for another adoption event this spring.
Rodney Rabbit Rescue is an example of Carroll's Anthrozoology program in action, where students combine academic learning, animal welfare, and community engagement to address real-world challenges. What began as one student's idea has become a sustained community effort, demonstrating how student initiative and faculty mentorship can make a difference well beyond the classroom.
