Oh goodness. I recently found this forum, and I feel that I need to add my story to those already posted. Where to start? I am an ex-volunteer of LMRR Florida (2008-2009). While I was there, we had a wonderful group of volunteers who tried very very hard to make life better for the rabbits and other creatures under Ms. Corsonâs care, and we finally all left when we could not take the awful conditions, illness, and death any longer.
Let me address some points and concerns from Pippâs post. They are certainly valid points.
There are two sides to every story. I don't know any of these people, but I'm a journalist. We never believe anything at face-value. This campaign against Little Miracles has been going on for quite some time, and it appears to originate with one person, or a small group, the ever-present disgruntled ex-volunteer segment of the rescue world.
The complaints do not come from one person or group. LMRR originated in New Jersey, and yes, that is where the original group that spoke out against her came from. However, there have been several other groups of people who have spoken out again LMRR since then. I can only truly speak for the group that I was a part of, however, I have since listened to their stories, and based on the similarities of our experiences, I fully believe them. As for the group I was part of - several other volunteers, including myself, visited LMRR and naively thought we could fix it. I thought that Ms. Corson was simply overwhelmed and needed some help. We recruited lots of volunteers, worked for more donations, and worked extremely hard to make things better (Brings up another of Pippâs points -
Do I think LM in can do a better job? With help and funds, yes, of course
-I do not share the same opinion, and this is why). After a while, it became clear that things were getting worse, not better, and not for a lack of effort on our part. Ms. Corson kept bringing in more rabbits after we repeatedly begged her not to â there were too many. When I left, she had run out of cages and actually had a bun living in the hay bin. Our âgroupâ left in August of 2009. This does not include the odd volunteer here and there over this period of time who also gave up and left. This was a mass exodus of 7 or 8 volunteers. There was another mass exodus in summer 2010. I want to stress the point that NONE of these groups knew one another until AFTER leaving/dealing with LMRR. People look for others who have had similar experiences, and well, we found each other.
I am not merely a disgruntled volunteer. I was truly concerned by the things I was seeing. The decision to leave was agonizing, because I was horribly worried about the conditions the bunnies would be in after we all left. We were the only ones doing anything. I just couldnât support her any more. I realized we were all enabling her. I would like to share some actual correspondence between myself and another volunteer before we left LMRR:
Yeah, I totally respect your decision to quit. I've been thinking about it for quite some time. I'm just tired of continually making excuses for Kristie⦠I'm just torn. I love those bunniesâ¦I feel like I can't leave them...but at the same time, you're right...she's being enabledâ¦Hmm...I just keep getting more and more disturbed about things⦠I wish we could start our own rescue! I want to be part of a rescue I'm proud of...not one where I'm constantly worrying about the welfare of the buns and fighting bad press (which is around for a reason). (Quote from my actual email)
This is why we left. I donât do this because I have tons of time on my hands (I donât â I work a very strenuous job 45-55 hours a week, volunteer at another rescue, and have my own 2 buns, 2 guinea pigs, hamster, and fish tanks, plus a social life), nor do I do it because I have some sort of personal vendetta against Ms. Corson. I have my own opinions of her personally, but thatâs neither here nor there with this issue. This issue is about the safety of the rabbits and other animals in her care.
Kris appears to be good at getting vet care and caring for the rabbits, she gets them spayed/neutered, she's good at fundraising, seems to be good at organizing volunteers, and she seems to be able to largely ignore the ridiculous rescue politics.
Yes, she APPEARS to be good at these things. The one thing Iâll agree on â she is good at fundraising. As for the rest â I personally witnessed many rabbits who needed vet care who did not get it. I can give you names of rabbits, particular instances, and approximate dates if you wish. She promised us she would bring the bun to the vet on her next day off. This almost never happened. These were rabbits who needed more than things like sub-q fluids or ear mite treatment. These were serious issues, like EC. I will not say she NEVER took any to the vet â she did occasionally, but this was not the norm. She is good at begging for volunteers, but she hated dealing with the day-to-day organization of it (and didnât really take part), and therefore the job got delegated to me. I had to constantly fight to KEEP volunteers, as she tended to chase them away. She does get rabbits spayed/neutered, but there were a few we came across that were supposedly fixed, and were not. There were rabbits that sat there for a year or more before getting fixed. She may act like she is âaboveâ rescue politics, but she most certainly is not. She has given her share of unprofessional rants.
To those who plan to visit and make a decision at her Open House â I can PROMISE you it will look sparkling clean that day. First of all, things are brand new. Sheâs had a rash of volunteers and donations. It will certainly not look dirty, and I can promise you that if there are any sick rabbits, they will be hidden elsewhere. Iâve participated in cleanups. Iâve seen her hide away sick rabbits. Of course itâs going to look nice at the open house. As others have suggested, go visit unexpectedly a few months down the line. Maybe even volunteer. Honestly, if she can keep things up and genuinely take proper care of the rabbits, I would be happy. Itâs just that Iâve seen history repeat itself with her over and over â and now sheâs got more room than ever. Look at it logically. This building sheâs renting has a $1200/mo mortgage, not including utilities and other operating expenses. Her only income is donations and what her parents give her. Will she be able to keep that up, especially with a child on the way?
To finishâ¦those pictures were not taken on âbad daysâ. That is how LMRR looked nearly every time we walked in. I only wish I could share the smell in the building with you. I can vouch for the first picture on the thread (the bunny in the dirty, small dog crate) â I took that photo on August 8[sup]th[/sup], 2009 in the LMRR Florida building. The rabbit in the photo was named Hollin. The other volunteers and I would spend about 12 hours every weekend cleaning all the cages. Ms. Corson RARELY assisted. I work full time. I did what I could, but I knew it wasnât enough. I was typically over there at least twice a week (with one day being the all day clean-a-thon on the weekend). I simply didnât have the time or the funds to do anything more. There were TOO MANY BUNNIES. We couldn't keep up. When the volunteers were unable to come, cleaning didn't happen. When we dumped litter pans, the bottoms were moving with maggots. The flies were awful. Fleas were a nightmare. Black widows made nests in the corners. There was filth everywhere. It was dreadfully hot. I saw more dead bunnies than I ever cared to see. Her personal bunny, Sophie, died in my arms, and Sophieâs son Foo died the next morning. Another rabbit, Faever, had already died that afternoon. I walked into the rescue and found him dead (covered in fleas). I was worried about some kind of epidemic. Ms. Corson said she was distraught and would take them in for necropsy right away. Those two bunnies were in the fridge for well over a week before a volunteer finally buried them in the backyard. I witnessed emaciated bunnies â and they were not emaciated upon arrival. In that first picture, Iâm not sure where the âwood shavingsâ are? Thatâs the floor in back of the cage, covered in hay and poop. LMRR only uses water bottles. There was not water in that dish. When the volunteers did not feed and water, there were times when it was certainly not done on a daily basis. Ms. Corson regularly traveled to St. Petersburg on weekends (well, her weekend â she worked irregular hours), and she called me on several occasions (after she had arrived up there) to ask if I could go feed and water the bunnies. I was the only volunteer who lived close by with reliable transportation, so I was pretty much it. There were a couple times when she asked me this, and I was unable to go to the rescue due to other obligations. The bunnies did not get fed and watered on those occasions. I could go on with accounts of my experience, but I hope this is enough to get my point across.
The idea of jumping in and helping to make LMRR better is a noble one, but I fear a foolhardy one. You see, Iâve been there done that. It didnât work. I am frankly ashamed that I ever supported her, but all of us were just trying to help the bunnies. As for what would happen to the buns if she did get shut down â well, Iâm pretty sure there are a lot of folks who would be willing to help out.
I hope that in writing this, I have not come off as sounding merely like a âdisgruntled volunteerâ. These are my personal experiences, and I felt that I had to present them. You are free to make your own decision.
