Boy’s bunnies do a neighbourly turn

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

When Liam Smith announced what he wanted to do with the money he’d made selling his baby rabbits, mom Nerissa cried.

“I expected him to say something cool, like a new computer game, but he came down and said ‘I want to give it to our neighbour so he can give it to his doctor for medicine’,” Nerissa says.

“He made Mummy cry.”

Liam, nine, often helps his elderly neighbour with his garden and roadside vegetable stand. In fact, he’s almost like a grandfather.

“He gardens, and he let me grow some carrots, green onions, lettuce, parsnips and radishes in part of it.”

This summer, the older man told Liam he was sick.

“He said he had cancer and stuff.”

The neighbour wishes to remain nameless as some of his own elderly family don’t realize the extent of his illness, but Liam says “he’s doing pretty good.

“I helped him shut some stuff when it was raining the other day, so his things wouldn’t get wet in his stand. he can only stay out an hour or so a day.”

When Liam’s 4-H rabbits, Mittens and Cuddles, had a litter of babies a few weeks ago, he put up signs around the community.

“We thought about selling them for $2, but they were $5 and I said the money would go to cancer.

“Lot’s of people started giving me money.”

Nerissa says watching her son on this project has been fantastic but, when “one woman was near tears, he was like, ‘why are all these mothers crying?’

“When I went and bought my car, the guys gave me $50, so it wasn’t just sappy girls.”

Cancer Society volunteer Sue Bent says Liam’s eventual total of $135 will do “amazing things.

“It will pay for people who stay at the Lodge that Gives while they have treatments, it’ll help at the clinic in Kentville and with literature we provide.

“This is huge, and to have a young person go out on his own shows how much caring and initiative he has. This is pretty special.”

Liam’s already got plans for his next batch of rabbit babies: he wants to donate the sale money to the SPCA - watch for his signs in just a few weeks (they are rabbits)!