Cornwall pet rabbit returned Easter Sunday after four years

Laura and her daughter, aged nine, were enjoying their Easter Sunday when she was alerted to a post shared on Facebook. A rabbit had been spotted in a field close to the family’s home, just off the footpath Laura walks every day with her dog.

To her astonishment, the rabbit looked exactly like Flopsy – the family pet who disappeared in 2022 when her daughter was just four.

Despite searching at the time, the family eventually accepted that Flopsy was gone for good. Laura even gave away the hutch and all the rabbit’s belongings, believing she had died.

“I have walked that route daily and have never come across her before,” Laura told the Packet. “On Easter Sunday of all days – you couldn’t write it.”

The Facebook post, shared in a local community group on Sunday, showed a small brown rabbit grazing in a field just minutes from the family’s home.

Flopsy was last seen four years ago (Image: Packet / Kate Lockett)

Laura said her daughter was overjoyed when they told her the news. The family went to find Flopsy, who was discovered in a shed looking surprisingly healthy, despite the thought of her surviving in the wild for the last four years.

They are now preparing to welcome Flopsy home properly once again – which means a trip to the pet shop to replace everything they once thought they’d never need again.

Now that Flopsy is safely back home, Laura told the Packet that her daughter is “so happy” to have her Easter bunny by her side again.

Laura admitted she felt "a bit bad" about keeping her at home after four years of freedom, but said Flopsy now seemed to enjoy the company. “We’ll have to make her home as big and as wild as we can,” she said.

The pair have been making the most of the Easter holidays, spending time together in the sunshine. But Laura joked that after her adventure, “we’ll need a run the size of a field to keep her now!”