West Virginia Guinea Pig is finalist to be the next Cadbury Bunny

TERRA ALTA, W.Va. — Move over rabbit, there’s a new “bunny” in town!

The Hershey Company has just announced this year’s finalists in its nationwide search for the next Cadbury Bunny, and one lucky guinea pig from West Virginia has made the cut.

RedBird the Guinea Pig from Terra Alta, WV has the chance to become the next pet featured in the company’s iconic clucking bunny commercial for Cadbury Creme Eggs, according to owner Jennifer Wilson.

Redbird is a blind, three-year-old Guinea Pig who was rescued from a hoarding situation when Baltimore County Animals Services seized over 400 animals in a feeder situation in 2021.

RedBird and 34 other guinea pigs were then transferred to the Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue that serves the Washington, D.C. area.

The rescue put all of the photos of the guineas online, and now owner Jennifer saw RedBird and how depressed he was. She said that RedBird would face a wall, not wanting to interact with anyone or other guineas.

Jennifer said, “I knew I could give her a happy life.”  After five months at the rescue, because RedBird was so sick, she was able to join Jennifer and her husband at their Terra Alta home.

Now, Jennifer says, she is nicknamed “Happy Girl” and even has an honorary library card from the Ruth Enlow Library in Oakland, Maryland.

According to Jennifer, Redbird wasn’t sure about the library card since she is blind, but audiobooks and CDs are perfect to borrow. Her favorite song is “Truckin” by the Grateful Dead, and her humans use a lot of music to help her know what is going on playing “Truckin” when she goes home to her cage after being out and sitting on her people.

Jennifer says that RedBird is the only guinea pig to ever be in the Cadbury finals, the only West Virginia pet to ever be in the Cadbury finals, AND the only pet to ever be featured two years in a row.

Voting for the next bunny begins on Monday, March 11.

The schedule is as follows and takes place on Instagram on CadburyUSA ‘s stories:

• Round of Thirty Cute – March 11
• Creme 16 – March 13
• Eggcellent 8 – March 18
• Final Fur – March 20
• Championship Match – March 22
• Cadbury Bunny Winner announced – March 5

Jennifer says that the votes do not carry over, so be sure to vote in each round.

(Video in the story shows the top stories for Friday, March 8, 2024)

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