About Our Microsanctuary
We are a small teen- and family-run microsanctuary based on Vashon Island, Washington offering love and permanency to guinea pigs and rabbits (and sometimes gerbils).
We also provide education to pet parents and the local community—spreading the word about how wonderful these small animals are, while discouraging thinking of them as starter pets, since they are all too often neglected or inhumanely discarded when people haven’t been properly informed about their immense care needs … and prolific pooping.
Our name reflects the joy we feel so lucky to witness in our microsanctuary, through bunny “binkies” (adorable run-hop jigs rabbits do when they’re extra happy) and piggy “popcorning” (a similar little dance guinea pigs do when they’re feeling excited).
We could not tend to all of the animals in our care without the support and wisdom that’s been shared with us over the years by a number of rescue organizations and volunteers, including Special Bunny, Mircosanctuary Resource Center, The Old Goats Home & Rescue, Bellevue Cavy Critters, Haven Rescue, Foggy Creek Cavy Rescue, and Rabbit Meadows. It’s an honor for us to pay their generosity forward by loving the animals entrusted to us and helping to reduce the impact on rescues, so often full to their very max.
Our Piggy-Popping Roots
Our founder has long been a compassionate animal person and advocate, caring for gerbils, hamsters, and ferrets in her younger years, as well as later helping to relocate prairie dogs from urban sprawl and maintaining a vegan lifestyle.
Our sanctuary work with guinea pigs and rabbits started when the kids attended a cooperative elementary school and our family recognized the need for more consistent, loving care for the school’s guinea pigs, one of whom, Brownie, we eventually retired in our home. Brownie was a remarkable 10-year-old piggy whose mother, Sprinkles, had just passed. While she was greatly adored by all of the children and families at the school, elderly Brownie needed a bit more peace and a little less kinder-squeezing. (The same was true for school guinea pigs Ginger and Daisy, who we helped find a fabulous fur-ever home to retire in, along with rescued piggies Rose and May.)
Of course, Brownie needed another companion, so we soon rescued Guinea from Foggy Creek Cavy Rescue. After Brownie died peacefully at home, Guinea needed a mate, so along came Zoey, and then Judith, and Marshmallow, followed by Luffy and Lacey, all of whom came from Bellevue Cavy Critters, as well as Pumpkin, who came from Rabbit Meadows. At this point we had earned a reputation for helping guinea pigs, and so additional piggies in need of homes seemed to find their way to us, including Cookie, Sugar, Bruno, Fred, and Bradford, several of whom came from dire circumstances.
Our Bunny-Binkying History
Given our reputation caring for small animals so well, we were asked to help two neglected bunnies, Honey and Walnut. We planned to offer them temporary respite to keep them safe from their dangerous outdoor conditions, but within a matter of hours they binkied straight into our hearts and turned us into forever bunny people. They were also our first lesson into the plight of pet rabbits, where there’s an abundance of unwanted or seriously neglected bunnies and little to no room at rabbit rescues, with incredibly overworked volunteers.
When Walnut sadly died years later, Honey nearly passed of a broken heart (and we thought we might, too!). As if knowing how much she was needed in our lives, along came Bean, who was relinquished to us after her caregiver realized life in a tiny cage, which she didn’t have energy to keep clean, wasn’t ideal for this high-energy bunny, who we immediately noticed often acted like a puppy, playing chase games with us. It took us over a year to bond Honey and Bean, and we only did so with the help of Special Bunny. Tragically, Honey died from cancer only a month later.
Naturally, Bean needed a mate, and so we took in Maximus from Special Bunny. It was pretty much love at first sight, and Bean and Max have been inseparable ever since.
A few months later, we said “Yes!” to fostering newly rescued Lavender and her brand-new babies, Greyson, Curiosity, Beluga, and Haiku, eventually taking in another baby bun from Lavender’s first litter, Mugwort. Special Bunny found homes for Beluga, Haiku, and Mugwort, but saying goodbye to them was hard on our hearts. So we officially adopted Lavender, Greyson, and Curiosity. Almost four years later, Special Bunny needed a new home for Valerian, Lavender’s hus-bun and father to all of her babies. We could not pass up the chance to reunite these parents and keep the family in tact.
In the spring of 2024, our family was asked to help catch a fluffle of bunnies from a longtime neglect/dumping issue on Vashon Island. Over the course of two weeks, we successfully rescued the entire family of buns: Aren and Kristoff and their babies, Olaf, Ryder, Maren, Olga, and Aurora. It was at this time that we realized we had evolved into a microsanctuary. Later in the year, we rescued three more bunnies from this tragic, ongoing situation: Franny, Frank, and Floyd.
We have been teaming up with other local rescues, including The Old Goats Home & Rescue (who took in 18 more bunnies from this location) to try and end this dire cycle of domestic rabbits running loose (and breeding) without the care, warmth, safety, and love they deserve. We are primarily self-funded, and in desperate need of supplies from our wish list, foster families, and financial support. Upon intake, each rescued animal costs $1,000-1,500 in medical bills for spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and treating them for parasites and other health issues, in addition to ongoing costs of hay, food, supplies, and regular vet exams.
