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Washington Evening Journal
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Boy reunited with rabbit stolen during Jefferson County Fair
FAIRFIELD – Friday was a long and stressful day for young 4-H’er Jackson Stremsterfer, but luckily it had a happy ending.
Jackson and his family spent the week showing animals at the Greater Jefferson County Fair. Jackson and his sister Sydney are busy every day since they show so many different animals including heifers, pigs, chickens, rabbits, a goat and a dog.
Out of the blue on Friday morning, tragedy struck: one of Jackson’s rabbits was missing. He couldn’t figure it out since he had checked on his rabbits the night before and they were all there. The only thing the family could conclude was that someone had taken Jackson’s rabbit.
Jackson’s mother and father, Elly and Wade, posted on social media that someone had stolen the rabbit, and they pleaded with the community for any information on its whereabouts. They informed the fair board, and the fair board notified the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Luckily, thanks to the tips provided by members of the public, a sheriff’s deputy was able to locate the rabbit that night around 8:30 p.m. and return it to Jackson, who could not have been happier.
Jackson couldn’t devote too much of his own time to look for the rabbit because he had other animals and other shows to attend to, like Friday’s swine show.
Jackson’s rabbit is named Carlos and his breed is Californian. Elly said Carlos appeared to be healthy when he was returned, except for being a little dehydrated. She was so pleased to see Carlos again, since she assumed he was going to be lost for good.
“Why would somebody do that?” Elly said. “We didn’t want to give [Jackson] false hope or dwell on it. If it’s gone, it’s gone. I really didn’t think we’d find it. I can’t believe we actually got the rabbit back.”
“Nobody understands why someone would do this,” Wade said.
After a tumultuous Friday, Jackson and Carlos still had work to do, because the rabbit show was the following day. They did not let the prior day’s events shake their confidence. They rose to the occasion and earned the Reserve Champion Fryer Award.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
