Describing the distinct personality of each rabbit in detail, she pauses when she gets to Katie, a two-year-old Holland Lop Rabbit who just lost her mate to a heart attack.

“Buddy the rabbit passed away yesterday,” Janet confirms with genuine remorse. “He died in my arms from a heart attack. I’m very sad. I’ve had a long night.”

Describing the rabbits as affectionate and intelligent, the Bunny Lady of Gananoque clearly loves her rabbits.

She spends her days caring for their physical needs and nights caring for their emotional needs. It is a routine she has repeated for almost four years.

“They’re very loving,” she says kindly. “I just pile them on me at night and we cuddle.”

Originally from Toronto, Janet was a professional figure skater before she developed health problems. She moved to Gananoque 10 years ago and discovered the healing power of rabbits six years later.

“I always knew one-day I was going to live here,” she says fondly about the beautiful community on the shore of the St. Lawrence River.

A mother and grandmother, the Bunny Lady is using the rabbits as balm for weary souls. She takes them for regular visits to the Salvation Army and Carveth Care Centre. Calling her service the Cotton Tale Angels, she also takes the rabbits to visit palliative care patients, schools, daycares, churches and service clubs.

“Our residents look forward to several visits every month by Janet and her bunnies,” says Shannon Buell, Activity Director at Carveth Care Centre. “It is amazing to see the response from a resident who has a bunny in their arms. Staff, visitors and families swarm to the rabbits to pet them. Every visit is an opportunity to learn something new about the bunnies and the benefits of animal therapy.”

Pleased with the feedback from the home, Janet is grateful for the opportunity to share her rabbits with the community.

“They’re trained to know that when they’re swaddled, they’re working and they need to cuddle,” she explains. “They will lie with someone and cuddle for hours.”

Janet’s positive experience with rabbits was the catalyst to her therapy sessions with others.

“I realized, here’s something I can have a purpose with,” she says softly, remembering the start of her bunny therapy sessions. “I realized there was a real gift to give to the world because of how they soothed me. They’re angels in fur.”

Describing the meaning of their behaviour, Janet notes, “When I’m home, they have a real connection to me. You can read a rabbit if you get to know their body language.”

According to her, one rabbit will turn its back when she plays the piano while another sways to the music. If a rabbit is angry, it will stomp its feet. When they cry, it sounds like a honk.

“A lot of my bunnies don’t have good stories,” she explains about the animals’ influential early years. “They’re being rehabilitated and now they make good therapy rabbits.”

Pointing to Katie who has been facing the wall as a sign of her grief over Buddy’s death, Janet notes, “She’s been crying.

“They’re like a dog,” Janet explains further. “You can tell when something is wrong.”

Describing her visits to the town’s retirement and nursing home as powerful, Janet swaddles the rabbits before placing them in the arms of seniors.

“The emotions are extraordinary that the bunnies bring-out in the residents at Carveth,” she says. “The bunnies bring them such joy. You can see the spirit come back into their eyes. When you see the residents’ smile, it’s such a blessing. The sad part is when the residents have to say goodbye to the rabbits.”

Holding her rabbit carefully, the Bunny Lady notes, “People don’t understand how much rabbits have to give a person. They’re like people, they are very nurturing. They like to express their love.”

Carveth Care Centre is grateful for the bunny therapy of Janet King. To book this service, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. To learn more about the programs and services at Carveth Care Centre, please call 613-382-4752.

(Pictured above, Grace Leakey, 89, enjoys bunny therapy at Carveth Care Centre with Kaylee Harding, 10.)