Pet rabbits are reunited with owner who had to leave the country, thanks to Maryland nonprofit: "It was magical"

When a man living in Virginia suddenly had to return to his home country of Brazil in 2025, he surrendered his four pet rabbits to a Howard County nonprofit.

Since Friends of Rabbits in Columbia took in those pets, staff and volunteers have worked to reunite them with their owners.

It took over a year, but their hard work paid off, and Filipe Silva was reunited with the rabbits.

Leaving his family behind

Silva lived in the United States from 2017 to 2025. He originally came to study English and was able to extend his student visa year after year with no problems.

That is, until 2025, when his visa extension was denied.

From the moment he found out, Silva only had 30 days to figure out how to transport Cocoa, Cosmo, Conny, and Cobee -- his pet rabbits -- with him to Brazil.

After running out of options, money, and time, Silva knew he had to give them up.

"I used to come back from work every day, and when I got into the room, the first thing they did was run toward me," Silva said. "I wasn't sure if I would even see them [again]."

Silva ultimately surrendered them to Friends of Rabbits in Columbia, the largest rabbit rescue in the region.

The staff and volunteers there made sure his pets would be cared for.

"We don't want to see people who care and love their animals so much have them end up at a shelter and possibly euthanized," said Susan Wong, co-founder and treasurer for Friends of Rabbits.

Getting the rabbits to Brazil

From the moment Silva's four rabbits got into its custody, Friends of Rabbits made it its mission to get them back to Silva.

It took a lot of work, according to Wong and volunteer Jen Wilder, that included more than just a lot of paperwork.

"It involved veterinary clearances, it involved [finding] a U.S. cargo company and a Brazil cargo company. We had to get an import permit from Brazil," Wilder said.

Friends of Rabbits worked with a number of companies, even finding a direct flight out of JFK Airport in New York City.

Wong drove the rabbits to the airport from Columbia herself.

All the efforts resulted in Silva getting back together with Cocoa, Cosmo, Conny and Cobee last week.

"When I saw them, these four white little dots inside the cages, it was magical for me," Silva said. "I wanted to cry, I wanted to pick them up, I don't have words to explain [my feelings]."

Friends of Rabbits is currently raising money to cover the costs of everything it did to make this happen.

The nonprofit has facilitated rabbit transports to Japan, Istanbul and Turkey as well.