'It was going to be a bad year': Good Samaritan saves farmer from bartering rabbits

CTV Northern Ontario: A tough trade Sudbury man says high hydro bill forced him to put family pets on swap site. Carrie Trownson reports.

A cash-strapped family of seven will not have to trade away their rabbits to survive through Christmas, thanks to a Good Samaritan who helped stock their shelves with food for the winter.

Farmer Richard says he's been struggling to make ends meet under the weight of his hefty hydro bills. "Our Christmas was looking pretty bleak," Richard, who lives on a farm outside Sudbury, told CTV Northern Ontario. "It was going to be a bad year… As a father, I can honestly say I was a bit ashamed."

Richard’s farm has enough chickens to meet his family's needs for meat and eggs, but chickens can't cover all of a person's daily necessities. "You can't make toilet paper on a farm. We don't have fields so we have no flour," he said.

In dire need of supplies but too proud to ask for a handout, Richard offered up his pet rabbits for trade on Facebook swapping page.

Kristine LePage of Sudbury noticed his offer online, and decided she would try to help.

"I tried to offer him money, he didn't want money," she told CTV Northern Ontario. "He wanted to barter. He didn't want to accept things that he couldn't give (something for) in return."

But LePage was persistent. She asked others from the community to chip in so she could stock his family's shelves with food and other necessary goods for the winter.

Now they have full cupboards – and they don't have to give up their precious rabbits.

"It means I can actually pay my hydro bill, (and) the bills that actually need to be paid," said Richard's wife, Rachel.

Richard said he's overwhelmed by the generosity of LePage and those who joined her with their contributions. "How do you say thank you to someone like that?" he said. "How? You just can't."

With files from CTV Northern Ontario