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Arlington officials take lost plush bunny on adventures in search of its human

Sarah Gibson | sgibson@wtop.com

May 31, 2018, 1:24 PM

This little bunny was found as Arlington officials were cleaning up after the 28th annual Taste of Arlington event. They took to Twitter hoping to reunite him with his human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
This little bunny was found as Arlington officials were cleaning up after the 28th annual Taste of Arlington event. They took to Twitter on May 21 hoping to reunite it with its human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
Three days later, and despite "tremendous" community support in the search, Arlington DES tweeted a photo of the bunny in protective gear in the county's GIS Mapping Center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Three days later, and despite “tremendous” community support in the search, Arlington DES tweeted a photo of the bunny in protective gear in the county’s GIS Mapping Center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
On May 29, undeterred, the department tweeted a photo of the unclaimed bunny at the county's transportation center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
On May 29, undeterred, the department tweeted a photo of the unclaimed bunny at the county’s transportation center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
On May 30, the department tweeted a photo of the bunny on a street cleaner as it was "sweeping the County in search of a home." (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
On May 30, the department tweeted a photo of the bunny on a street cleaner as it was “sweeping the County in search of a home.” (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
After the Capitals' victory last night, the bunny wasn't giving up - the department tweeted this photo of it "plowing through all possible leads" to finally be reunited with its human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
After the Capitals’ victory last night, the bunny wasn’t giving up – the department tweeted this photo of it “plowing through all possible leads” to finally be reunited with its human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
Arlington officials weren't the only ones getting in on the bunny's search - Twitter user @NickZ from Fredericksburg, Virginia, posted a photo of his "Found Bunny" sign with the hashtag #Hopeforbunny. Arlington DES retweeted him, calling him a "mensch" for his efforts. (Photo courtesy of NickZ on Twitter)
Arlington officials weren’t the only ones getting in on the bunny’s search – Twitter user @NickZ from Fredericksburg, Virginia, posted a photo of his “Found Bunny” sign with the hashtag #Hopeforbunny. Arlington DES retweeted him, calling him a “mensch” for his efforts. (Photo courtesy of NickZ on Twitter)
Photo courtesy of NickZ on Twitter
VDOT, after joining the Twitter saga, took the bunny on a May 31 pipeline search in Northern Virginia. (Photo courtesy of VDOT Northern VA Twitter)
VDOT, after joining the Twitter saga, took the bunny on a May 31 pipeline search in Northern Virginia. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter
(Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
(Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
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This little bunny was found as Arlington officials were cleaning up after the 28th annual Taste of Arlington event. They took to Twitter hoping to reunite him with his human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Three days later, and despite "tremendous" community support in the search, Arlington DES tweeted a photo of the bunny in protective gear in the county's GIS Mapping Center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
On May 29, undeterred, the department tweeted a photo of the unclaimed bunny at the county's transportation center. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
On May 30, the department tweeted a photo of the bunny on a street cleaner as it was "sweeping the County in search of a home." (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
After the Capitals' victory last night, the bunny wasn't giving up - the department tweeted this photo of it "plowing through all possible leads" to finally be reunited with its human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)
Arlington officials weren't the only ones getting in on the bunny's search - Twitter user @NickZ from Fredericksburg, Virginia, posted a photo of his "Found Bunny" sign with the hashtag #Hopeforbunny. Arlington DES retweeted him, calling him a "mensch" for his efforts. (Photo courtesy of NickZ on Twitter)
VDOT, after joining the Twitter saga, took the bunny on a May 31 pipeline search in Northern Virginia. (Photo courtesy of VDOT Northern VA Twitter)
This little bunny was found as Arlington officials were cleaning up after the 28th annual Taste of Arlington event. They took to Twitter on May 21 hoping to reunite it with its human. (Photo courtesy of Arlington DES Twitter)

WASHINGTON — It all started with a tweet on May 21.

The Arlington Department of Environmental Services (DES) tweeted a photo of a well-loved plush bunny toy, saying it was found during trash collection after the Taste of Arlington event. Officials hoped to reconnect the bunny with its human by taking to Twitter.

But the search didn’t stop there.

In the days that followed, the department tweeted out a series of photos featuring the lost bunny visiting various DES locations.

From the county’s GIS mapping center to the transportation center to the street cleaners and plows, the Arlington DES Twitter page shows the saga of the bunny’s adventure.

And the DES isn’t the only department having fun with the plush guest. VDOT’s Twitter account promoted its search, calling it a “modern-day Velveteen Rabbit meets public works.”

A Fredericksburg, Virginia, resident with the Twitter handle @NickZ got in on the search to. After seeing VDOT’s tweet, he tweeted that he would make a poster if needed. VDOT responded in the affirmative.

He followed through, posting a “Found Bunny” missing poster for the plush toy, and tweeted it at both the VDOT and DES Twitter pages.

The bunny’s next search, on Thursday morning, took it through the “pipeline” in Northern Virginia.

Peter Golkin, communications specialist at DES, said the bunny is still with the Arlington DES and could show up anywhere in the area on its continued search.

“The bunny seems to be a big fan of the Capitals, so the bunny could possibly just show up at practice today or tomorrow,” Golkin said.

Golkin said the bunny’s rescue is an important reminder to check your trash before it gets picked up.

“We’re the ones who rescued him from the trash and recycling,” Golkin said. “It just shows the importance of sorting your recycling and trash and compostable materials, because you never know what you’ll find.”

What will happen if the bunny doesn’t get claimed? Golkin said that isn’t a consideration at the moment.

“We don’t want to even think about that, we are focused on getting him back to his people or person, and we’re going to use all our resources,” Golkin said.

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