A sign in a window in Pittsburgh's Cultural District invites people to view the Peep Show housed within.

	Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette One of three homeless rabbits living in a window at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown. Click photo for larger image.

Pedestrians who stop to peek see three live rabbits -- one of them white, two of them blue-gray.

The rabbits are temporarily living in a small, gold-framed, street-level window at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, 107 Sixth St., next to the Byham Theater. They are residents of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and they need homes.

The Renaissance staff contacted the North Side shelter after reading a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette column highlighting the need for permanent homes for rabbits whose owners took them to the humane society because they were unwilling or unable to care for them.

"I love animals. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the season of renewal [Easter] than to help give these abandoned animals a fresh start with new families," said Barbara McMahon, the hotel's general manager.

Last year more than 200 rabbits were surrendered to the society and dozens more were taken to other shelters. In the past five years, the humane society has sooner or later found homes for all the rabbits in its care. None has been euthanized. There are currently about 30 rabbits in need of homes just at that one shelter.

The bunnies in the window are Forest, Opal and Mr. Snuffles. Humane society staff and volunteers handpicked the trio for display because they are calm and healthy.

Their temporary window home has a thick layer of straw, a water bowl, a water bottle and a constant supply of food, including fresh hay and fresh greens supplied by hotel chefs and cooks. The window rabbit hutch is monitored constantly by the hotel staff with regular visits by shelter staff and volunteers. A fan ventilates the area. The rabbit habitat is larger than the window, allowing the animals to get out of the sun -- and out of the view of passers-by.

Hotel and shelter staff have received several complaints from rabbit lovers who don't like live rabbits being used in an Easter display. Several people also sent e-mails to RabbitWise Inc., a Maryland-based organization that advocates for the proper care of rabbits.

Lana Lehr, managing director of that group, said that after speaking to Gretchen Fieser, director of public relations at the humane society, she is satisfied that the hotel and shelter "have covered all the expectations for quality rabbit care."

The Pittsburgh Peep Show window contains contact information for the humane society, and literature about adoption and proper rabbit care is available at the hotel's front desk.

Anyone interested in adopting Forest, Opal, Mr. Snuffles, or any other shelter rabbit, must go through the usual adoption process. All of the shelter rabbits have been neutered and health-checked by a veterinarian. The adoption fee is $35.

On Sunday, staff and volunteers plan to bring rabbits to the hotel's Easter brunch for a "meet-and-greet." No one will leave the hotel with a live rabbit. Instead, children will be given chocolate bunnies.

For further information, view the humane society Web site at www.wpahumane.com; call 412-321-4625; or go to www.rabbitwise.org.