Hard Truths in Rescue

Recently at the rescue, we had to put a moratorium on intakes.  We were very much at our capacity.  It's difficult, because you want to save them all.  You want every unwanted animal to be safe and cared for.  However, every rescue organization has a responsibility to know its limit.  It is the first and most important lesson that every rescuer needs to learn. 

This year has been terrible for numbers of surrendered rabbits.  We receive dump calls and emails nearly every day.  As much as we want to, we cannot take them all.  The bulk of these calls are from people who bought a rabbit on a whim, and got tired of it after a few months.

"We got the kids a rabbit for Easter, and they're not taking care of it any more."

"We bought a baby bunny, but it's started biting and it smells."

"I have a rabbit, but I'm tired of it."

"I'm getting a puppy, and I don't want to take care of the rabbit too."

Oftentimes when we explain to people that we cannot take in their unwanted pet, they become irate.  "Isn't that what you're here for?" they ask.  Sure people.  Like it's our fault that they made an irresponsible decision, and we're terrible for not fixing their mistake.  They want to feel good about getting rid of their pet.  They don't have to feel as guilty giving it to a no-kill organization as opposed to the pound.

Well, the sad truth is that we cannot take them all.  We take in the ones we can.  A lot of time, we do squeeze in "just one more" - such as a special case of a splay-leg bunny or a bunny in danger of being PTS.

What would happen if we did try to take them all?  A rescue is supposed to be a sanctuary.  It's not a forever home, but it's a means to reaching one.  An animal in a rescue should by all means be in a sanitary environment, provided daily nutritional needs, and necessary vet care.  If this cannot be provided, there is no point to taking in the animal.  It's going from one bad situation to another.

Everyone likes the feel-good stories of rescue, but the fact that we cannot save them all is one that people would rather ignore.  You are the good guy if you can take in unwanted animals, but if you have to say no, you are the bad guy.  Rescuers can feel like the bad guy when saying no.  You come to the realization though, that you are not the reason this animal is not cared for.  Rescuers saying "no" are not the problem.  They are being responsible.  It is the irresponsible decisions of people that put these animals in jeopardy in the first place.

Will the overpopulation of animals ever cease to be a problem?  I highly doubt it.  As long as there is greed, ignorance, and poor decision-making on the part of the general populace, there will be unwanted animals.  We combat it by trying to educate people.  Don't breed your rabbits or other pets.  Don't buy a bunny for Easter.  Please be a responsible pet owner and research a potential pet's needs before acquiring one.  Adopt.

When we do say no, we offer alternatives.  We try to keep animals in their homes.  Correct behavioral problems by spaying/neutering.  Provide advice for destructive behavior.  Help people understand the needs of their pet.  We offer alternatives to taking their pet to the pound.  We suggest species-specific forums to re-home pets.  Give advice if they must use Craig's List (which we don't recommend - always ask for a re-homing fee if you use a website like CL).  Sometimes, that is all we can do.

People need to be more understanding when we must say no.  If you don't like it, then make a commitment to foster.  The more foster homes there are, the more animals rescues can save.  Donate toward vet care and daily needs.  Rescuers fund much of what they do out of their own pockets, and funds are sadly limited!

Please be a responsible pet owner.  Spay and neuter pets.  Don't make impulse purchases.  Above all, get it through your head that you are taking on the care of a living, breathing, feeling creature who deserves love, attention, and a healthy environment.

Human Ignorance Strikes Again

Today I had the sad duty of saving two bunnies from a bad situation.  Our rescue works with my local humane society, Suncoast.  Well, yesterday I got an email from Suncoast asking for help.  They had received a call from a lady who wanted to get rid of two bunnies.  She couldn't afford to feed them, so she said that she would let them starve to death or let them go if somebody didn't pick them up.  She said she couldn't afford to bring them over to the humane society (so WHY did she take them in the first place??)  Suncoast has a service to pick animals up, but they charge a fee.  It's understandable.  Gas certainly isn't free.  So...Suncoast asked if we could help.

Unfortunately, our rescue has more bunnies than we know what to do with at the moment, so we have absolutely no space for anybun else.  Suncoast would take them, but we needed to get them there somehow.  I offered to go pick up the buns and transport them over there.  I was so worried about those bunnies!  I made arrangements with the lady to pick them up...and I was hoping she wouldn't do anything rash before I got there!

They all but shoved those poor bunnies at me.  I asked them if the bunnies had names.  No, they didn't.  I asked if they were male or female.  One of each...in the same cage.  She said, "They've been humping each other, but I don't think he can reach her."  Great.  The female is most likely pregnant, and I told the lady so.  She didn't care.  There was one nasty piece of carrot in the cage.  They must have ONLY been eating carrots.  Their poops were ORANGE.  There was a bit of urine-soaked pine shavings in the cage.  It smelled to high heaven.

Before I took them to Suncoast, I cleaned out the nasty cage and gave them some hay.  They LOVED the hay.  I doubt they had ever had any!  Fortunately, they seemed pretty healthy, at least outwardly.  They were both very friendly.  Their nails were extremely long.  I should have brought my nail clippers, but the humane society will clip them.

They got to chill out with me for a little bit.  They enjoyed getting petted.  They are just darling.  The female is a white mini-rex (possible mix) with gorgeous blue eyes, and the male is a little Dutch mix.  It boggles my mind that this lady was threatening to starve them to death or let them go, which is a death sentence anyway.

The humane society is taking care of them for now, but we're hoping that we can find placement in our foster program soon for some of the Suncoast buns.  If you live in southwest Florida and are interested in fostering or adopting a bunny, please visit www.pigsnbuns.org for more information.  We need your help!!

Animal Rescue-palooza

Wow, what a week for the critters!!  After catching 6 sawfish in the field this week, I was quite enjoying my quiet day in the lab.  It was not to be.  The powers of work and animal rescue united!!  We found 3 less-than-a-week-old kittens.  They were pretty stinking cute.  They were cold and hungry, so me and my co-worker Amy warmed them up and drove over to Petco to get some KMR.  Once we got them warm and got some food in their tummies (and some poop OUT), they perked up and started meowing!  So cute.  My office became a kitten feeding station.  Lots of phone calls were made, and we ended up finding someone from E.A.R.S. (an animal rescue organization) to foster the litter.  Whew!  I don't really have any experience with cats, and neither does Amy (we're both allergic!), so it was a relief to hand them off to someone who really knew what they were doing!  I'm not a cat person, but they were darn cute.  We named the orange one Mercury...for the Mercury boat engines they were found under!

So after a day full of kitten rescue, I had a day full of bunny rescue!  A bunch of rescue people have been trying to save a terrified little bunny who is currently residing at the Tampa SPCA.  She's been abused and neglected, and has some health issues.  She's not doing well in a shelter environment.  Luckily, an SPCA volunteer has offered to foster little Bun Bun for 4 weeks, after which it looks like she will be traveling to a foster home in South Carolina.  Now we just have to figure out transport!

So after working on Bun Bun's situation this morning, I called a potential bunny home for our Ramona (they sadly never showed up), called a family who is being forced to give up a bunny they adopted from us due to tough economic times, and headed over to the Port Charlotte Petco.

I felt terrible - I've had an insane work week and haven't been in to Petco for a week.  Hershey was SO excited to have some exercise pen time!!  (Anyone want to help volunteer at the Port Charlotte Petco??)  I certainly enjoyed watching him binky around and nom his veggies.

Judd (the bunny being returned) showed up a short time later.  I felt terrible for his family.  They were in tears when they left - they clearly love him to pieces.  We are keeping Judd (well, now he is called Jinxie) on "hold" status for a bit to see if his family can get back on their feet - they want to take him back if they can.  What a heartbreaking situation :(

I loaded Thor up into the carrier to bring him up to the Sarasota Petco to meet his potential lady friend.  We braved the lovebugs and horrible traffic, and made it to Sarasota.  Thor and Amelia seemed to hit it off!  There was a bit of humping and chasing, but that's pretty typical.  Their new family, a nice young couple, came by (all the way from Sun City Center!) to come meet their new family members!  They are so excited about their new buns, and can't wait to take them home!  We will make sure they are bonded by the time they go home, but by the time I left Petco, Thor and Amelia were happily snuggling in a carrier.

Another volunteer, Amber, took the pair up to St. Pete, where they will be fostered until they go to their forever home.  Yay!

Review of Hop: As a bunny person and bunny RESCUE person

I went to go see "Hop" tonight.  It's pretty rare that I actually shell out the 10 bucks to see a movie in the theater these days, but it had to be done with this one!  I was super excited to see a movie about a bunny, but at the same time I'm worried that it will cause people to go buy a pet bunny on impulse - the "101 Dalmations Phenomenon".  I am happy that Universal Pictures put this message on the Hop website:

Now, I don't precisely agree with the statement that "rabbits don't make good family pets", but hopefully this will deter people from buying their kids an Easter bunny.  Buns can certainly make good family pets - in the right situation with proper care.  Of course, an impulse Easter bunny for a 3 year-old that ends up exiled to an outdoor hutch is NOT the right situation.

As a bunny person, I internally squealed (okay, maybe out loud a few times) at all the cute, fluffy little bunnies.  Yup, the movie was adorable.  I'm a sucker for those little wiggle noses and big cotton tails!  I thought the story was cute & clever.  This is a movie I will have to own!  The animators did a great job of creating talking rabbits that still looked fairly realistic!  They hopped like bunnies, wiggled their noses like bunnies...so yeah, I loved it!

What did I think as a bunny rescue person?  Well, honestly I felt that kids would be more drawn to buying action figures from the movie than real bunnies, which is a good thing.  Apparently there are Hop toys available at Wal-mart, which seems to be a good thing to me!  I'm fine with the kiddos playing with bunny action figures!

I grew concerned at a scene where Fred, the main human character, became fed up with E.B.'s antics, and tried to "release him into the wild".  My immediate thought was, "Oh no no no...please don't show him dump E.B. to get rid of him!".  Well, my fears were allayed!  When Fred tried to dump E.B., they cut to closeups of rattlesnakes, hawks. and big dogs.  E.B. made a comment that "there's a lot of carnivores out here!"  I hope this scene will make people think twice before releasing a domestic rabbit into the wild.  Kudos to the studio for making that point!

I do rather wish they hadn't shown E.B. eating candy and whole carrots...I guess we can't win them all.  They did throw in a correct fact about rabbits, however.  I nearly fell over laughing when E.B. told Fred that "for a while, the sight of a colored egg made me want to vomit.  And rabbits can't physically vomit!!"  That's a 100% correct fact, folks!

All in all, I thought it was a really cute movie.  I truly hope that it won't be the cause of any impulse purchases of Easter rabbits that will later be dumped.  As I said, I think the movie is more geared to action figures and such, but you never know.  It's up to the discretion of parents.  I hope they will make the right decision.  Please, if you are considering a rabbit for a pet, research the proper care of these wonderful creatures before bringing one into your home.  Visit the House Rabbit Society website for great care information.  And please, if you do decide to bring a pet rabbit into your life, think adoption!!  Make Mine Chocolate!