A pet rabbit that went missing has been found a month later, 10 miles away, after crossing a motorway. The five-year-old bunny, called Latte, vanished after a fox got into her hutch. Three other rabbits were killed, but Latte disappeared, and her owner believed she must be dead as well.
Incredibly, Latte was found 10 miles away, and when a photo was put on Facebook she was reunited with her relieved owner. She was found by horse rider Annabel Brin, who spotted her.
Rescued by a horse rider
Annabel, 26, said: “I was out riding my horse when I saw something white and fluffy. I got down from my horse and went to have a look. My dog was sniffing it and it just hopped straight over to me and ran behind my legs, so I thought it has to be tame.
“I picked her up, we walked back home to my stables and I popped her into a little dog cage with shavings and some hay.”
Annabel, who lives in the Essex village of Berden and works as a personal assistant, explained: “I put a photo of the rabbit on Facebook. A lady then messaged me to say ‘I think that’s my rabbit’. I couldn’t believe it. She was quite emotional, quite overwhelmed actually, as she thought it had died. She came and collected it the same evening.”
Reunited with owner
The owner brought along photos of Latte so that Annabel could have proof it was the same rabbit. She said: “She was obviously a bit more fluffy, having been in the wild for a month, but she settled on her chest straight away.”
The owner lives in the village of Great Hallingbury, 10 miles away and on the other side of the busy M11. Annabel, who has not long moved to the area with her horse Bluebell and terrier Windixie, was thrilled that Latte’s disappearance had a happy ending.
Similar rescue two years ago
It is the second time in two years that there has been an extraordinary animal rescue in the same area. A guinea pig that went missing for three weeks in September 2024 was found nine miles away, after his owner played a recording of his brother squeaking.
Autumn vanished after a break-in at his home. Devastated owner Keeley Scott had thought he was lost forever. But when walkers on a Facebook page reported a brown and white guinea pig on a river path nine miles away, she set out armed with recordings of Autumn's brother Pig.
At the time Keeley, mum of twins Tallulah and Sebastien, 10, said: "We found our piggy! The pair are back together and so happy. It's a little miracle amid such a horrible event. It was a bit like fishing for a guinea pig and we nearly got him a few times. Then we played him the sounds of Pig and that seemed to work. We've not got anything back from the burglary so finding him is a silver lining."
Keeley, from Roydon, Essex, thanked the public for their support and updates via social media. Hundreds followed the story, posting photos of Autumn happily grazing alongside the river in Bishop's Stortford, Herts. It is still a mystery whether the burglar took and dumped Autumn or whether he made his own way to the next county.
