Ridiculously cute

One of the fringe benefits of working at the shelter six days a week is being among the first to see the new arrivals. Today, we were surprised to see a little of Harlequin bunnies who are only FOUR WEEKS OLD! Oh. My. Word. It is hard to get any work done with these furry little distractions around.

My new baby

Apparently this little sweetie was seized by the authorities due to abuse or neglect. Unbelievable! He's just a doll, as you can see.

Poor baby!

This is Snowball. She's one of the most neglected bunnies we've had lately. Her beautiful English Angora fur was a mess! It didn't look like anyone's ever brushed her. She was 2/3 mats and 1/3 bald! I spent 45 minutes on Monday, and another 45 minutes on Tuesday, grooming her, and I'm still not done. Of course, a lot of the mats needed to be cut off. Her nails are so long, they are growing in a weird shape!

She is really nice, though. I think she'll get adopted eventually.

They're getting so big!

The three baby boys are getting so big! This is Presto, the ringleader, trying to look innocent. They eat a lot, play a lot, and sleep a lot. Looks like they will be nice big bunnies. I am getting a little worried that none of them has been adopted yet; there is a prejudice against white bunnies, and I was hoping their babyish cuteness would counteract that. Not so far. It's the red eyes, believe it or not.

Check out the ears!

This is 3-month-old Lily, a little furry package of sweetness. Seriously, look at the pink nose! And the huge ears! She's just adorable in every way. When you come near her cage, she hops over inquisitively. She squirms a little when you take her out of her cage, but she's sweet and curious. Awww. I bet she'll get adopted soon.

Our newest resident

This is Charles, an English Lop. I'll try to get a better photo of him sometime; you can't really see how huge and long his ears are in that photo. (They drag on the ground.)

He came in a couple of weeks ago, but has been at the veterinarian's due to an eye infection. He seems nice, although his English Lop appearance makes him look depressed all the time. Actually, he gives the impression of being a high-class sort, maybe a bit of a snob, some lower-level aristocrat (like a baronet) who thinks he's all that and a bag of chips. He is condescending to stay in our primitive "shelter" until he is whisked away to a more suitable location. Having said that, though, he is a sweetheart. He seems mellow and patient.

He wags his tail! How cute is that?!

This is George. He came in a couple of weeks ago along with Maxine. They were strays, found in a field here in Phoenix. George is friendly and affectionate. (Noah taught him to "give a kiss". When you open his cage door, he comes over, and if you say, "Give me a kiss!" he puts is sweet little mouth right up to yours. Aww.) We noticed something else about George when we brought him outside to play this week: he wags his tail! Check it out!

Note: toward the end of the video, he rubs his chin on the wicker tent. This is called "chinning", bunnies do it to mark their scent on something, to establish it as theirs. It is funny to see how quickly bunnies will chin whatever's in their pen when they're put outside to play. Possessive little critters!

Presto

Presto's the male of the three babies found in a field. He's got a little bit of gray on his nose and ears. His ears are hilarious. He is friendly and curious. He likes being held and snuggled. Isn't he a cutie?

Stress Relief

Here's a good way to relieve stress:

Pick up a baby bunny. About 5-6 weeks old works best, but it doesn't really matter. First just look at the ridiculous cuteness of the bunny. Then hold the bunny in front of your face, and snuggle right into his/her soft, fluffy self. Close your eyes and relax. Repeat as often as needed. If that bunny gets tired of you, just pick up a fresh one.

New babies!

These baby bunnies are only five weeks old! They are just adorable, and friendly, too. They were found in a field somewhere. I just don't understand how anyone could abandon such tiny, helpless creatures. It's a miracle they weren't eaten by coyotes; who knows if there were more when they were left? But it looks like they couldn't have been stray for long; they seem healthy. Now we'll spoil them and find homes for them.

They are two girls and a boy. I have suggested the names Pearl, Petunia, and Presto.

Our Crazy Bunny Girl

This is Phoenix. She came from a shelter in L.A. Before that shelter, she was at the humane society there, scheduled to be euthanized because she was unsocialized to people. Somehow, she escaped euthanization, and ended up at a rabbit rescue. That rescue became overcrowded, and transferred several bunnies to us (Phoenix, Katmandu, Sumatra, Nijinsky, Chad...).

Initially, she impressed us with her extreme friendliness and desire for attention. Someone wrote on her cage card "very sweet". Well, soon, we discovered that she was also an aggressive and sneaky biter. She'd seem fine, then suddenly turn her head and clamp down. We're not talking little nips or warning bites, but severe bites. She locked onto Noah's hand once, and wouldn't let go, even as he was shaking his arm up and down to get her to release her grip. One loyal volunteer almost needed stitches! The note on her card was edited; it now read "NOT very sweet - BITES!" She bit almost every volunteer and worker, although for some reason I never was bitten. Another sign was added to her cage: WARNING: ATTACK RABBIT.

Yet she always seemed desperate for attention, and loves to have her head stroked and scratched. So the decision was made to have her front teeth pulled, so she couldn't hurt anyone. Then maybe she'd have a chance at adoption. She's rather hyper, but still loves attention. The sign has been removed from her cage. We're really hoping she'll be adopted by a "bunny-savvy" individual someday.

Young and old

We have all kinds of bunnies at the shelter, from little babies to elderly rabbits.

Meet some of our youngest residents:


These little sweeties are about 2 months old. I don't know what has their attention in the photo, but they're listening intently to something!

Here's our oldest resident:



Sawyer (the white bunny) is about 9 years old, which is getting up there. He's not so spry, has aches and pains, but he eats well and is very happy with his devoted partner, Missy, who takes good care of him. The two of them get "playtime" outside every day lately, so Sawyer can stretch his stiff joints and enjoy the sunshine. As you can see in the photo, he spends most of his playtime enjoying the weather and catching some Z's. (He does like munching on the green stuff, though.)

I can has mor karrot?

We were at Costco yesterday, so we picked up twenty pounds of carrots and a big bag of romaine lettuce for the bunnies at the shelter. We had enough carrots to hand them out today, too. Katmandu REALLY got into the whole carrot-eating experience, as you can see.

I've Been Framed!!

Katmandu wants to speak to her lawyer.

She came from a rabbit rescue in California, and she's a beautiful white rex bunny with blue eyes. She's friendly, but can be feisty, too.

The realities of caring for animals

Usually I post cute photos of the bunnies, with (hopefully) clever remarks. But today I am feeling a bit more serious. Since we take care of about 100 rabbits at any given time, with some getting adopted and new ones arriving regularly, it's a given that some will get sick. And some will come from bad situations they can't overcome. And some will have hidden health problems we can't do anything about.

So I've learned to give bunnies medication, put ointment on their wounds, balm on their feet, and drops in their eyes. And I've learned to go on when they die. One of our Flemish Giants, Delta, died on Saturday while I was at the shelter. She's been very sick for awhile now. She had lots of digestive troubles, and as a result was very thin and small compared to the other "Flemmies". (Flemish Giants are one of the largest domestic rabbit breeds, growing to 12-15 lbs. or even more. The ones we have at the shelter are only about 10 mos. old, and they weigh at least 10 lbs.)

We'd brought Delta out to bask in the sunlight and nibble on the wild greens in the yard every day lately. She seemed to be getting weaker, but appeared to enjoy being outside. On Saturday, when I arrived, she was moving her head in an odd way. She seemed to be trying to get comfortable, or like something was bothering her. I decided to feed a bunny or two, then check on her again. When I checked back, 5 min. later, she was lying still with her shiny dark eyes wide open. Poor bunny.

Also on Saturday, some new bunnies arrived from the Humane Society. They, and some other animals, had been seized from an abuse/neglect situation by the authorities. These babies are so skinny, they are just fur and bones. It's weird to hold them and feel every bone in their bodies. They seem sweet, and are beautiful satin bunnies.

We brought the new bunnies out to play in and eat the grass and greens that grow in the yard yesterday. A few minutes later, while we were bringing other bunnies out to play in the other pens, we spotted the little black female, Clementine, loose. I caught her, returned her to the x-pen, and secured a fitted sheet to the top of the pen with clothespins.

A few minutes later, when we were thankfully right nearby, she escaped again. This time, the friendly, bunny-loving dog started chasing her, wanting to play. The little bunny screamed in fear. We headed off the dog, and I scooped up the bun. She was fine as soon as I held her. We realized to our surprise that she is so skinny, she can squeeze through the bars of an x-pen (2" wide, or less). Thankfully, we have other pens with a lattice pattern, so we put the females in one of those.

I do hope these little ones make it. We will give them lots of food and love and playtime.

Watch your back.

This is Maggie, one of the biggest bunnies at the shelter. She shares a cage with her mom, Mia, who is smaller than Maggie. Maggie's not a snuggly bunny, but she has a funny personality. She's feisty, curious, and spunky. She also tends to have a very disapproving look as she watches me put Rabbit Chow into her bowl and refill her water bottle. What could I be doing wrong?! I have no idea. There's no pleasing some rabbits.