Giant rabbit 'Alex the Great' delights social media in his custom Mercedes
Bugs Bunny eat your heart out. Alex is Instafamous and he's got a license to drive.
Known to his friends and fans as "Alex the Great," the 4-year-old Flemish giant rabbit lives in San Francisco with his rescuers, Josh Row and Kei Koc.
With combined followings on Instagram and TikTok that number 100,000, Alex is a bona fide influencer. His fame has come through brand partnerships, celebrity meetings and appearances at San Francisco Giants' games. And his ride.
He motors around in his custom-made wheels, a toy Mercedes-Benz that Row, a mechanical engineer, adapted so the rabbit can drive.
"Once he figures out what everything does, he just takes off," Row said.
The car originally had a "go" button that Alex could press, but Row switched it to a key ignition and electric bike batteries so children could not accelerate the car.
Despite his current celebrity status, Alex was not born into the limelight. He was rescued from a meat farm in Modesto, California when he was three and a half weeks old.
Row and Koc found Alex by chance, looking online for a Flemish giant rabbit in the area. They wanted a breed that was known for its docile temperament, so it could accompany them on their volunteer work.
Since he was a year old, Alex has provided fluffy companionship as a certified therapy animal through the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He visits local hospitals, airports and charity events, and he's member of San Francisco International Airport's Wag Brigade.
Alex has touched many lives, Koc said, bringing Instagram fans and even strangers to tears.
Row's favorite experience with Alex happened a couple of years ago, walking down the street in San Francisco. He and Alex were stopped by a woman who began crying at the sight of the big furball.
She told him that her father had recently passed away, and during the last two days of his life, spoke only of a giant rabbit that came to visit him in the hospital. The woman thought her father was imagining things, but a hospice nurse told her that, in fact, a rabbit had come to visit.
Meeting the creature that brought her father so much joy in his final days brought her to tears, Row said.
"We're helping other people in ways that we never thought that we could," Row said.
But Alex's true claim to fame is being a "Bay Area sport fanatic," as his Instagram bio states. He first became popular in 2021 at San Francisco Giants' games as he was going through training for animal-assisted therapy.
He now makes regular appearances hopping around the home turf at Oracle Park, greeting fans and foes alike.
Alex even signed a contract with Topps, an American collectible company, for his own baseball cards, Koc said.
In his spare time, Alex can be found cuddling with his owners and snacking on his favorite foods — organic mixed greens, spinach and endive. He enjoys traveling with his owners across the U.S., visiting metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago, Dallas and Seattle.
Since Flemish giant rabbits typically live only 8 to 10 years, Koc said she hopes Alex will one day be remembered for the impact he's had on others.
'He's part of history for me,' Koc said.
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