With Christmas nearing, the story of one Missouri woman's pet bunny, as
originally reported in USA Today, has been touching hearts nationwide.

As anyone who has worked with homeless animals can attest, the effort the
job requires can sometimes feel much greater than the good that comes out
of it.

Joy Gioia, who manages the non-profit House Rabbit Society of St. Louis,
recently told Paw Nation: "Sometimes it's heartbreaking, many times it's
rewarding, and occasionally there are moments of pure gold such as what
happened with Ruby Angel."

Here is the story of Ruby Angel.

The House Rabbit Society is a nationwide organization dedicated to
rescuing, sheltering, fostering and re-homing abandoned rabbits. With so
many rabbits in need, local chapters like the one in the greater St. Louis
area usually aren't equipped to accept a rabbit brought in by an individual
who simply isn't able or doesn't want to care for the animal. However, the
folks in St. Louis recently made an exception for a rabbit named Ruby Angel.

Ruby Angel was named by her owner, an unidentified local woman, who thought
the white mark on the rabbit's nose resembled an angel with wings. When
employees at the House Rabbit Society of St. Louis heard the woman's story,
it became clear that this rabbit was an angel in more than appearance.

Ruby Angel's owner had called HRS a few weeks ago after being offered a bed
in a shelter for homeless and abused women, a safe place where she could
get back on her feet after escaping her physically abusive partner, but
where Ruby Angel was not welcome.

The woman (who remains anonymous out of fear that the man might locate her)
has owned Ruby Angel for four years. During that time, both owner and pet
have endured painful abuse at the hands of the man they lived with; in
fact, he once knocked out Ruby Angel's two front teeth, the woman said
(they have since grown back). When she turned over Ruby Angel to the HRS,
the woman's face showed scars and her arms were badly bruised.

The woman had been living on the streets with Ruby Angel when the crisis
center offered her a bed. Ruby Angel had been the only thing of value she'd
taken before fleeing her home. She had begged on the streets for money and
food, always making sure that Ruby Angel got to eat first.

Would you like to help women like Ruby Angel's owner this Christmas? Click
here to learn more.

The House Rabbit Society of St. Louis decided to take Ruby Angel in until
her owner can stand up on her own two feet again. The rabbit -- five years
old, seven pounds, probably a Dutch-Flemish Giant mix -- was placed in a
foster home and was scheduled to be spayed, per HRS policy.

The spaying was scheduled to take place on December 7 -- a day, it turns
out, on which another small miracle would occur. While performing the
procedure, the HRS discovered that Ruby Angel had advanced uterine cancer.
But because the cancer was contained when it was found, it cannot spread.
In trusting the HRS to care for Ruby Angel, the rabbit's owner wound up
saving her life -- just as Ruby Angel had saved hers.

In the meantime, members of the St. Louis HRS have been so moved by the
spirit of Ruby Angel that they've decided to help women like her owner this
holiday season. They have started a drive for the shelter that currently
houses Ruby Angel's owner and ten other women.

You can help women like Ruby Angel's owner by donating used linens, bedding
and clothes, as well as new paper and hygiene goods, hand lotion, combs,
brushes and gift cards to Target or Walmart to be wrapped as Christmas
presents. Monetary donations are also being accepted to help offset the
cost of Ruby Angel's care. Visit this special "Christmas Message" page on
the HRS St. Louis website for more information.

Says Gioia, "We are very happy with how many of our members have come
forward with donations to help a local women's crisis center all due to
[Ruby Angel's] story."