Vacaville sheep named finalist in annual Cadbury Bunny Contest

By BRADY HALBLEIB

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    VACAVILLE (KOVR) — A local sheep in Vacaville is now a top ten finalist for the annual Cadbury Bunny commercial.

The sheep, named Timmy, lives at the Funky Chicken Rescue Sanctuary. He was chosen as a finalist out of thousands of submissions across the country.

It takes a lot of treats to get Timmy ready to help his owner, Darcy, feed the animals every morning and every evening. Timmy is one of more than 200 rescued animals thriving at a Funky Chicken Rescue Sanctuary.

“It’s a labor of love and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love these babies so much,” co-founder Darcy Smith said.

But Timmy holds a special place in her heart. She wanted to share her love for Timmy by submitting his picture and video, with the iconic bunny ears, to the 2023 Cadbury Bunny Contest.

With some luck, Timmy made it to the finals.

“To think one of my rescue animals could be in the commercial is super fun,” Smith said.

In true “under-sheep” fashion, Timmy hasn’t had an easy life. He was rescued as an orphan from a farm in Utah where an infection left him unable to walk.

“Four different vets told me that he needed to be euthanized, that he would never walk again. But I knew he would,” Smith said.

With the help of leg braces, Timmy slowly began to walk, run and even hop.

“It’s amazing how far he’s come,” Smith said.

She says winning the contest isn’t only for Timmy. The prize means $10,000, split between $5,000 for the winner and $5,000 to a non-profit helping rescued animals.

“If Timmy wins, we would just use all of the money, the whole $10,000, to take care of the animals,” Smith said.

Timmy has to compete against nine other selected animals.

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