Rural Rescue: Bunnies (and more) of 'Bama

[RandomWiktor]

Introduction

In exactly one month, I'll be celebrating the anniversary of four years living in Alabama. Our first year was a brutal one for bunnies; in addition to losing our eldest to cancer, we had an unfortunate brush with toxoplasmosis that claimed three in the blink of an eye. I was sufficiently traumatized by the events that I avoided rabbits for close to two years outside of three I briefly fostered and placed: one who I found in a city park, one who was abandoned at my workplace, and one who was unwanted by his previous owner.

I have been doing small pet and small exotics rescue for years, as well as rescue transporting for dogs, and did not stop despite my withdrawn involvement with rabbits. Last year, however, a rescue partner I sometimes transport for informed me of a dwarf rabbit at the animal control shelter in need of a bunny-experienced placement, and decided it was time to get back in the game. Like all homeless pets in Alabama, rabbits face significant challenges here due to a lack of education and progressive thinking on their care in homes and shelters. It is a problem compounded by the lacking availability of rabbit rescues.

Until recently, I had only the aforementioned animal control bunny (Pat), and a lionhead (Frederick) who was being given away in a parking lot. These two males have bonded and are what I would consider "my" bunnies. Then, several months ago, a desperate owner moving out of the country surrendered her 8+ year old spayed rex rabbit Phoebe to me.

Once people catch wind that you're working with a species that there aren't many available options for, requests for help come flooding in. There are now four more bunnies who will be available for adoption once they are sterilized (a lionhead, two dwarf rabbits, and one "mutt"), all recent arrivals, all from animal control shelters not equipped to house them.

This blog will be devoted to any rescued rabbits I work with, as well as some of the other critters looking for homes here in Alabama. My next post will be a rabbit roll call with photos of all the bunnies

 

[Azerane]

You're doing a wonderful thing I can't wait to read more about it and meet some of the bunnies.

 

[surf_storm]

I can't waits to see them they sound adorable almost as cute as me lol
~Shida

 

[Troller]

Wow, your doing a great thing. Nice of you to make a blog, I'll look in from time to time just to offer kudos since its such a compassionate thing your doing.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Surf Storm, your bunny looks a lot like mine!

Which means... it's time for rabbit roll call! Apologies in advance for the 'meh' quality photos; I'll be trying for better when I get a chance.

Right now, there are seven bunnies staying with me, two of whom are "mine." So let's start there with my own bunnies, Frederick Douglass and Pat The Bunny:

Pat The Bunny was the rabbit that got me back in to owning and working with rabbits. He was at the animal control shelter in Tuscaloosa and a rescue partner sent me his picture asking if I knew anyone who worked with the species. Our local chapter of House Rabbit Society is always filled to the gills, and the only other reputable small-pet person I know is over two hours north, so I went figuring Pat would be like the other bunnies I'd worked with over the past couple of years: a brief in-and-out stay.

It turns out that Pat just doesn't have the best disposition though. Don't get me wrong: he's not aggressive, or a sprayer, or a really bad chewer. He's just... incredibly boring. The cage he was in was tiny and unenriched which leads me to think the only life he knew was sitting around in a small space with nothing to do, and even given a big space and plenty to do, he still was mostly interested in eating or laying around. He also isn't especially friendly - not aggressive, but avoids contact if he can and just sits there stiffly and grimly tolerates contact if you insist. Another two foster buns with big personalities came and went in the span of a few weeks during the next year of having Pat, but people who met him were always very unimpressed. So like most animals who prove hard to place, Pat became "my" bunny.

That brings me to Frederick Douglass! He was being given away in a parking lot along with another rabbit (who has since placed). He is super cute with a wild hairdo and a personality to match; he's active, a bit of a brat, and an escape artist. In fact, the main reason he hasn't been adopted out is that he was VERY insistent on living with Pat; even when I put him in my tallest x-pen, he would climb out and go into Pat's enclosure to snuggle. After it happened enough times, I simply made one big x-pen for them to share, and they have been glued together ever since. It's actually brought some playfulness out in Pat; they're a perfect pair.

Them, every day at feeding time

Phoebe is another matter altogether. She didn't come from someone who was trying to throw her away, but rather someone desperate to find a good home for a well-loved family pet of many years. Her owner was being transferred out of the country for work, and she knew eight year old Phoebe would be badly stressed by even an ATTEMPT to move her to Europe, between travel itself and QT. Phoebe was a house bunny who loved snoozing on the sofa with the family's two dogs, and the thought of her in a shelter broke her owners' heart, yet no private rabbit rescues had space. It was happenstance that I overheard the owner talking to a cashier at my workplace about her situation, and offered to take Phoebe with the understanding that I'd adopt her out if the right placement was found, since rabbits can't have free roam of my house, but she'd at least have a spacious, rabbit-savvy environment instead of a stressful shelter as her "retirement home." So, Phoebe is adoptable to the right situation, but I also understand that not everyone is looking for a senior bunny - especially one who can be a little grouchy despite being spayed - so if she stays, she stays.

Next post: four bunnies from Animal Control.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Now let's talk animals in Alabama.

When I lived in New York, I was able to work with a number of wonderful no-kill animal shelters. They were set up in buildings with kennel runs and daily adoption hours like most shelters, but they were well-funded and organized, had good exposure, favorable adoption rates, and only euthanized for serious health or temperament issues. I think these shelters were able to exist because of the animal keeping "culture" of my area; animals who weren't show-quality/working line breeding stock were generally spayed or neutered or you got the side-eye from everyone; dogs and even most cats spent more time indoors with the family than anywhere else; leash laws and fences were strictly enforced, and if there was a stray dog on the side of the road? Goodness, traffic stopped because surely that was someone's beloved pet gone missing!

Needless to say, moving to rural Alabama was... quite a culture shock. Alabama is, to be perfectly honest, a good 40+ years behind the curve in pet-keeping culture in most places. Spay/neuter is not the norm, and people still think breeding pets willy-nilly regardless of health, temperament, and lineage is a perfectly acceptable way to make money, show kids the miracle of life, or just make a cute baby version of a family pet you liked, and who cares where the babies wind up? Leash laws don't exist or are poorly enforced, and many counties have no animal control. Free-roaming dogs and cats are the norm rather than the exception, and strays are so common that I can honestly say dogs are the most common roadkill around here beyond armadillos. Large packs of feral dogs and colonies of feral cats are, in fact, common. Shelters are poorly funded, poorly staffed, high-kill, and have minimal exposure and organization. No-kill shelters are virtually unheard of, with only small-scale, private, foster-based rescues supporting a modern approach to animal adoptions. Our one little county shelter had over 134 dogs and cats surrendered in FIVE DAYS this past week.

As you can guess, a place so utterly out of sorts with America's most popular companion animals is a train wreck for exotics, pocket pets, and of course: bunnies. Stores still sell them cheaply, people still think it is okay to get them as Easter presents and later discard them, spay/neuter is rare, and shelters don't know how to deal with them. So when rabbits end up in animal control, private rescues scramble to find anyone with experience to take them.

There are three main shelters I work with personally when it comes to fostering and pulling: Cheaha Regional Humane Society (previously Calhoun County Animal Control), Bibb County Rabies Impound, and Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Control. Normally my interactions involve loading my car with 5+ crates and relocating dogs to fosters, vets, and rescues; occasionally it involves pulling dogs to foster myself. And every once in a while, I get a phone call about small pets and birds. Lately that "every once in a while" has become a little more frequent!

Let's start with Cal! Cal was at the Cheaha Regional Humane Society for nearly two weeks, waiting in a back room filled with hundreds of barking dogs for someone to rescue him. He was found roaming as a stray in the streets of Anniston, and picked up by Animal Control. Cal is very sweet and tolerant of handling, which means he had to have been somebody's pet once. Nobody came looking for him, and being a young male a few months past Easter, I suspect I know his story.

Only a week after Cal, the same person who told me about Pat sent me a photo of Tyrion, who had been at the animal control shelter for some time. I couldn't get him for nearly a week, and apparently in the space of that week, someone abandoned a LOT more small-n-furries; when I arrived and said I was there to pick up the rabbit, they said, "which one?" Turns out there were two others surrendered, and - as I found out when I reached the back room - a pair of gerbils as well (yes, we got the gerbils, too!).

Tyrion seems to have been neglected in his former home. He is EXTREMELY thin, though his teeth look great and he's alert and active. He also has sore hocks and some matted up fur from what has clearly been inappropriate housing for much of his life:

My unexpected bunnies were Cersei and Jaime. Yes, we have a Lannister theme going here, mostly because Cersei and Jaime are siblings and Tyrion is a little lion. I think making a fundraiser to neuter the Lannisters will go over well on the internet!

Jaime

Cersei

I'm really hoping - animal control had no info for me - that these two were previously housed separately. Cersei does not appear pregnant but I am always worried when intact opposite-sex rabbits are surrendered at the same time. Once funds are raised, everyone is getting fixed, so Cersei and Jaime can live together safely.

Here is what two of the three foster pens look like with inhabitants newly added, for anyone interested; the only thing different now is I added a plastic barrier between Cersei and Jaime's pens to avoid any through-the-bars naughtiness; I don't know if it's possible but I don't want to find out!

My next post, which probably won't be for a few days, will have details about fund raising and an equally furry but many-more-legged new arrival from an abandoned apartment. Hint: Any arachnophobes may not want to click the picture (I'll link it in case anyone has a serious fear).

 

[pani]

My unexpected bunnies were Cersei and Jaime. Yes, we have a Lannister theme going here, mostly because Cersei and Jaime are siblings and Tyrion is a little lion. I think making a fundraiser to neuter the Lannisters will go over well on the internet!

:laugh:

 

[Azerane]

Here is what two of the three foster pens look like with inhabitants newly added, for anyone interested; the only thing different now is I added a plastic barrier between Cersei and Jaime's pens to avoid any through-the-bars naughtiness; I don't know if it's possible but I don't want to find out!

Yes it is possible, it's happened to more than one person in the past

They're all such cuties. How anyone could ever just abandon their pets is well beyond me.

 

[lovelops]

Your doing a great job and Cal reminds me of my Brooke who was thrown out of a car in Tenn somewhere and was found. People can be so horrible.
You deserve a pat on the back for all you are doing and those animals owe their lives to you and your overwhelming kindness.

Keep up the good work and please keep us posted!

Vanessa

 

[BlancoBunBun]

My friend said the same thing about culture shock when she moved from Long Island to South Carolina. She said it is disgusting how people treat animals as disposable down there. I am glad you are there - hopefully you can educate some people - even one person makes a difference!

 

[Aubrisita]

Wow....just wow. I am so glad that you are there to help these poor bunnies. They are all adorable.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Happy news, folks! Thanks to help from our local chapter of the House Rabbit Society, Birmingham EARS, Cersei has a home lined up and will be getting spayed on Tuesday! The individual getting her is an experienced house bunny owner with another bun who just lost its companion. So happy for her! Also working on setting an appointment for the three males to be neutered so we can get them forever-homes, too.

 

[lovelops]

My friend said the same thing about culture shock when she moved from Long Island to South Carolina. She said it is disgusting how people treat animals as disposable down there. I am glad you are there - hopefully you can educate some people - even one person makes a difference!

I know what you mean my family is from South Carolina...


Vanessa

 

[RandomWiktor]

First, bunny updates:
1. Cersei was spayed and found a home through Birmingham EARS, our local chapter of HRS. Once healed up from her spay she will be living with a sweet male bunny who lost his companion recently.
2. The three remaining boys are scheduled to be neutered in early August, after which they will be eligible for adoption. Tyrion, the skinny bunny with the hock sores, is healing really nicely. Jaime is proving as much an escape artist as Cersei was and has been moved into a taller crate. Cal remains a non-troublesome presence (heh).
3. We just got in four kittens today; they were abandoned in a family's driveway, and when they took them to the county shelter, they were turned away due to the condition of the animals. They are all emaciated, flea anemic, worm infested, and have URIs:

We are getting these guys vetted in the hopes of having them back on their feet and in new homes ASAP. There are two males, two females, and despite their poor condition, they are very friendly.
4. What I alluded to in my last post re: arachnophobia: another recent addition was a female rosehair tarantula brought in by a police officer. He went to an apartment to evict a resident; the resident had already abandoned the property, and with it, the tarantula. Since no animal control shelters in the area deal with exotics, they brought her to me. She is in good health despite an inappropriate enclosure and her abandonment; I will get photos soon. She's been hiding out since moving into her new quarters.
5. A long-term resident, foster dog Freddie who we've had for nearly a year, finally found his forever home a week and a half or so! We're all happy about it

 

[pani]

I'm glad Cersei and Freddie on their way to forever homes! Hopefully the other buns will find their forever homes soon after their neuter. It's also good to hear that the kittens are in good hands, although it's sad they're in such poor shape.

I'm not sure I'd be able to take on a tarantula... it was really great of the police officer to bring it to you. I'm sure some others wouldn't be so kind.

 

[RandomWiktor]

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated! Let's recap:
1. Everyone's neuters went off without a hitch.
2. Cersei the bunny found a home via Alabama E.A.R.S.
3. Phoebe and Cal were adopted to a home in New York that adopted Jabba the Hop, now Jackie, another 'bama bunny of mine, a couple of years ago.
4. Tyrion and Jaime went to a home together in Massachusetts
5. Theo, a very sweet little rex bunny I'm not sure I got to post about on here, came to me as a stray with advanced pasteurellosis; his feet were full of painful abscesses, he had respiratory and ocular drainage, was very emaciated, and CRAWLING with fleas. I kept him comfortable for the last two or so months of his life, but he succumbed after never really responding to veterinary intervention. I am furious on behalf of this abandoned bunny, who was so gentle and trusting that he approached the woman who picked him up as a stray, not even knowing fear enough to keep away from her huskies. He passed away in my arms; he loved being held and petted.
6. This leaves us with just my two personal buns, Pat the Bunny and Langston Hughes! And that will probably be it for a while; when we had seven (O_O) bunnies at the house concurrently, it wreaked havoc on my husband's asthma. We are redoing our basement soon and after that we *might* be able to work with bunnies again, but until then I am going to have to do networking and transport for them only.
7. On a brighter note, networking and transporting is going well so far! I just had the pleasure of bringing a sweet bunny named Shelby from a vet office in Northport where she'd been living after being found as a stray, to her foster home with Sanctuary Animal Rescue - which between me and another volunteer who used to be part of E.A.R.S is probably going to be doing some limited rabbit adoptions (this is their second one recently).

I'll try to get some pics up soon. It's been busy! We had to drive to Ohio to meet our transport and get all of the placed bunnies north; a total of 15 animals went on the trip, not just bunnies, but dogs, cats, hamsters, and geckos.