Harvey, who was known for nibbling on geraniums, eluding coyotes and bringing joy to the Northwest neighborhood, died Friday.
He was about 10 years old.
“I called him ‘Harvey the magic bunny,’ ” said Lynne Lincoln, 72, who buried Harvey in her front yard.
Harvey, who had many nicknames, from Peter Rabbit to Hop Hop, was believed to have been abandoned a decade earlier on a busy road not far from the neighborhood.
He quickly became a fixture in the area, an ambassador of sorts. And although he belonged to no one, everyone took care of him.
Malina Nelson, 5, assured The Columbian he was not the Easter Bunny.
Malina, who fed Harvey carrots, knew the bunny long enough to confirm “he doesn’t hide eggs.”
Many in the neighborhood were surprised to learn of his passing.
“I just saw him last Sunday, taking a sunbath,” Joe Lane, 57, said as he sprayed weeds Friday morning.
Lane said the bunny, thought to be a red New Zealand, “was always a pleasure.”
Joan Houser, 60, who frequently walks two Shih Tzus throughout the neighborhood, would often spot Harvey’s reddish coat as he hopped through the ‘hood.
“He always seemed as happy as can be,” she said.
Harvey was outgoing, and not afraid of relying on the generosity of others, residents said.
At Barb and Larry’s house, he frequently snacked on apples. Down the road, he would dine on a plate full of dried papaya and bananas. And he had a hard time resisting Rudy’s roses and June’s geraniums.
But he gave back, too.
“He was never skittish; he would let you pet him,” said June Agrimson, 82.
Harvey would often go on long sojourns, without anyone knowing for sure where he was. Only six months before his death, after missing for an unusually long spell, he was found at the humane society. That visit was noteworthy, because it was discovered Harvey was actually a girl.
In the end, Harvey is believed to have died from eating something toxic, or simply old age. His — her — last resting place is in a simple grave, marked by a cross, in a spot in Lincoln’s yard where Harvey often liked to sit.
“He was an institution,” Lincoln said.
