Go Ask Wally (the Bunny): New Advice Column With Wally the Ponytailed Rabbit

NATICK, MA - What would Wally do?

He’s already a bonafide Internet sensation, and probably the biggest bunny celebrity to hit social media.

Wally the Bunny has 217,000 followers on Instagram, and he’s been featured in numerous media outlets, including People Magazine, CNN, Good Morning America and the Boston Globe.

This summer, Mamamia Fluff, a celebrity news and gossip page on Facebook with 27K followers, shared a video of Wally. The post received 199,234 likes and 465,924 shares.

Wally’s an “explosively cute” angora bunny with giant, fluffy ponytailed ears, and would force a grin out of the crabbiest of the curmudgeons.

Patch featured the Natick bunny, and his rise to fame earlier this year, detailing his mom Molly Prottas’s introduction to social media by her students at Brookline High School.

Now, Wally (and Molly) are going to assist and entertain Patch readers each week with the advice column “Go Ask Wally.”

Wally’s got a keen perception of the human spirit, and is emotionally mature, as well as empathetic. The bunny (and his mom) will field questions that range from life’s conflicts and local politics to social etiquette to general hygiene and fashion tips. If Wally thinks the question is beyond his scope of expertise, he will field it to his administrative team.

“I would say he has a great perception of the human spirit, and, since he’s not a human, of the ‘emotional’ spirit in general,” said Prottas. “Wally has always been very attuned to his feelings and wants to understand himself. Because Wally is an Angora rabbit, and looks very different than the classic rabbit, he has always confronted challenges with his identity. He’s been called a poodle, puppy, dog, cat, all sorts of mixes between kangaroos and koalas ... and he constantly hears, ‘That’s a bunny?!’ So, while he courageously exudes pride in who he is - and loves being a bunny - he has also struggled with feeling different, alone, and misunderstood. He is simultaneously unafraid to be himself (and encourages others to do so as well, celebrating uniqueness and individuality), but is also very sensitive to criticism and disappointment.”

Prottas said when Wally is ashamed or embarassed, instead of hiding from these emotions, he wants people to know that these kinds of emotions are OK.

“So while he’s exuberant, imaginative, and confident, he also shows people that it’s okay to feel and understand harder emotions too,” said Prottas. “He is also a big proponent of imagination and play. It’s how he understands and improves his reality - by being silly, pretending, and imagining. And, of course, he’s extremely fashionable with his bellbottom-paws, neatly clipped cheeks, and big, fuzzy ears...so he knows a thing or two about fashion as well.”

So what say you? Have you a question for Wally? We will compile them here at Patch and feature one question and answer each week. Send your questions to charlene.arsenault@patch.com. Or post your query in the comments section.

Photo Credit: courtesy Molly Prottas