2 New Members of the Warren

I went to the Porter Co. Animal Shelter on Saturday and pulled 2 rabbits that are very good candidates for our Petco program. It was a male and female living together in one cage and neither neutered (sigh).

The boy is Jasper, about 7 pounds and with some lop in him from the way his ears are droopy (much like Harrison's). He's white with gray rings around his eyes, gray ears, and brownish gray markings on his back and butt. He's quite a charmer, with his dark eyes and manly jaw.

The girl is Jodi, about 4 pounds and either a full mini lop or mostly mini lop. She's white with gray Himmy markings (sooty nose, gray ears) and very light markings on her back. She has dark eyes and so far loved getting newspaper to shred.

I felt bad breaking them up but my vet thinks Jodi is pregnant (as do I - they've been living together since 6/25, so I'm sure Jasper took care of things on his end). Jodi is getting spayed now (for her health, too, since Jasper is twice her size, and she could have complications if she tried to give birth), and Japser will get neutered hopefully in the next week or two.

So I'm back up to an even dozen. Time to light the "NO Vacancy" sign again :-)

Mama

Two Adoptions and Carson is in Petco!

Nadia, my second foster bunny to graduate to living at Petco, was adopted on Sunday. There were two approved adopters meeting the 8 rabbits we have available up here. Nadia went home with a young woman who doesn't have kids (a quieter home was best for Nad). The other approved adopter was a family with a 10-year-old or so daughter.

The daughter met everybun (except for Cassandra), and it was down to Greta and Joshua (Josh being one bun I brought back from Indy on 7/3). The girl picked Joshua!! They're getting him tonight. I had a vet visit scheduled to get a handle on Joshua's sneezing and stuff, to see if there was anything I should be doing for him, and they're going to be there for the exam, too. He and the girl really hit it off, and he just loved being petted. I think she'll have a great confidant and snuggler in Joshua.

Since Nadia had been living in the Merrillville Petco, her being adopted left an empty hexi. I had mentioned Carson to the chapter head before, and she felt it'd be fine to enroll him into the IHRS system. It was hard leaving him at the Petco, but I'll know he'll do great there. He's such a sweet guy, and he'll love everyone who comes to see him. I'm trying not to think about my "empty cage" syndrome, and I know it's for the best that he's at the Petco. A lot of people will get to see him and fall in love with him. Hopefully his forever home will find him soon.

Mama

Caspian at Work

Last Thursday, we were getting out of work early to get a jump start on the holiday. I asked my boss if I could bring in Caspian to "cute-n up the office" - she said yes. So, Caspian got to come to work. I should have brought my camera.

Everyone loved him, especially when I put him down on the floor and he went hopping around, entering other peoples' cubicles and offices at whim. (I work in publishing.) The production group really loved seeing him hop around, especially since his lop ears bounce and he moves along. He even did a few binkies, though mostly out of sight of his adoring fans. He stretched out on the floor in the hallway, too, for a little bit. He stayed that way until I brought some of the gang over to check it out and one touched his big fuzzy feet and made him sit back up again.

I think Caspian liked being here with me, and it was nice to have somebun cuddly here at work.

Mama

Bunny Swap

Well, all sorts of things have been going on in the warren in the last few weeks. Kristie, my first foster bunny "graduate" who went to live in Petco, is back with me. She was getting stressed out at the store (she'd been there for 6 mos., I think).

Greta, Kristie, and I went down to Indy on June 22nd for bunny dates. Harrison came along, too, and he went to a different foster home and I got Cinnabun to keep my big bun slot filled. Kristie was pretty cranky on the first date, so she was left alone for the 2nd date and the meeting with a potential adopter of a single bun. Greta did okay on the dates, but the first boy bun didn't really hit it off with the girl buns there. The adopter of a single bun, though, did pick her. I was going to hand her off to her new Mama that following Saturday. Kristie, Cinnabun, Greta, Jazmine (a bun for another woman in NW Indiana to foster), and I all came back home.

That following week, Greta stopped eating. We were at the vet every day getting X-rays and other tests done to see what the problem was. Unfortunately, her new Mama (a first time bunny owner) decided that she should probably choose another bun instead - Greta has a few other issues that might cause problems in the future. Poor Greta. She's pretty much back to normal now. I did get to learn how to give subcutaneous fluids, though, which was a goal of mine.

Then after work on July 3rd, I drove down to Indy to trade Cinnabun for Cassandra, another former foster bun of mine who has gotten into some trouble. She had bit a few of the volunteers at the Petco store where she was, and this last one nicked a blood vessel. So the decision was made to pull her from the store, and I brought her back home to live with me. She is a lot sweeter than she used to be, but she did nip me on my wrist when I was putting the refilled pellet bowl back into her pen. It didn't bleed, but it bruised right away.

I also took in 2 short-term foster buns because their old foster Mama had to take in a relative who needs surgery and there are allergies. Honey, a gray-ish agouti Dutch, is 11-12 years old, and I feel very honored to be caring for this matriarch of IHRS. She's finally starting to warm up to me - dried fruit treats really help, as do great butt scratches I give her. Joshua is the other bun I took in. He's a brown agouti and has upper respiratory issues at times. He's pretty sweet.

I certainly have no more room at the Bunny Inn!!!

Mama

Caspian, the Explorer

I had Caspian out tonight a couple of times - the first, in a snuggle session on the couch when I got home from work; the second, upstairs while I lay on the floor reading. Well, after ump-teen million times of him, um, getting frisky, with various parts of me (shoulders, legs, head, etc.), he will stretch out to rest for a few seconds (30, tops), then be back grunting, circling, and showing his misplaced lust. Tonight, I lay reading undisturbed for 45 seconds, then turned to see where Caspian was. He was down three stairs! With me chaperoning/spotting him, he went down to the last step, where I scooped him up and said that if he got too close to Harrison, Harry would eat him. I mean, Harry is twice Caspian's size, easily.

What a quick learner! I guess if he can't get me interested in what's he's selling, he'll go find someone who is :-)

Mama

Caspian, the Cuddle Bunny

Finally, Caspian's amorous advances are slowing down. He still jumps from one end of his house to the other when he sees me, and I've finally figured out why. He wants to be held! Is he the oddest bun or what? When I hold him, he just nestles his head under my chin or on my shoulder and just laps up the attention. The first night I held him, he was licking my face and neck. He will give the occasional grooming nip, and sometimes his love switches to the kind that shouldn't be shown by a boy to his Mama, but otherwise he's the quintessential lap rabbit.

I finally got a cuddler!! :-)

Mama

Am I a Bad Mama....

To be laughing at Caspian's, um, problem? He's still very randy, and he's been launching himself at me if I have the top door to his house open. He'll then try to attach himself to my arm and molest me. Well last night, I was bent over and talking to him while standing near the short side of his cage. No door or anything nearby - just the bars between us. He flings himself at me and I hear "clunk" as he hits the metal bars of his cage. I couldn't help but laugh. I could almost hear him thinking "WO-MAN! WO-MAN!" like he was a cave-bun or something. The incident didn't even slow him down.

So am I a bad bunny Mom to laugh at this?

Mama

Caspian - Doing Well

Caspian has calmed down a tiny bit from his surgery. He's definitly eating more (though not lettuce), and there is no swelling or redness or anything from the incision or empty spots. I do still have to pin him to the floor of his house with one hand so my other hand can handle the pellet and water bowls (literally) unmolested. I'm going to take him in on Sat. to get him microchipped.

Mama

"Shop for Hop" is Now Open

In an effort to raise some money for rabbit rescue-related causes, I am crafting items to sell on Etsy.com:

WhiteStix's Shop for Hop

People who order from me can choose where the donation (listed for each item) will go - Red Door (no-kill shelter/foster system), the Indiana House Rabbit Society (rescue/foster system), or an emergency fund that I'll send to help with costs entailed from big seizures of rabbits anywhere in the US.

I'll be making several other kinds of afghans (including a doll-sized version of the one there now), heavy and warm winter scarves, and (if I can figure the patterns out) stuffed rabbits. I'm hoping to come up with some bunny-safe crocheted toys to make, so I'll keep everyone posted. My kids (foster and otherwise) don't play with the stuffed carrot I have now, but other buns might love to toss a carrot-shaped toy with jingles in it.

Mama

New Member of the Warren

Okay, so yesterday I go to the Porter County shelter to help with the five rabbits they had. I was going to sex them and take some photos for their website. I go in and see four of the rabbits in the cages they usually use for them, and I look for the fifth bun. (They usually use a Tommy cage or something similiar for the "overflow".) I go around the corner behind the one small wall, and come face to face with this face:



If Calvin and Jessica would have been able to have kids, I'm sure they would have looked like him! So, I had him briefly checked at my vet (along with Rose), then we swung back to the shelter for me to fill out adoption forms on him. He was surrendered to the shelter on 5/27 (they thought he was a girl). And I was able to see why he was surrendered after interacting with him at the vet's office. If you looked up "randy" in the dictionary, you'd see a pic of his fuzzy face! If it moves, he wants to mount it - my leg, my hand, my chest if I'm holding him. Needless to say, he's getting neutered Monday.

His name is Caspian Peter. And yes, I'm a long-time Narnian!

More updates and pics later. The boy barely sits still and hasn't eaten much. As soon as he sees me, he goes nuts trying bust out and have his way with me. Hopefully the surgery will put a stop to his Oedipal complex.

Mama

News

Hi, everyone. A quick update before announcing a new permanent member of the warren.

Harrison escaped again yesterday, somehow getting the sheet that's covering his pen off enough to see the ceiling and know he could jump/climb out. I don't think he was out long (I was out doing errands) before I caught him in the kitchen and put him back into his house. He didn't seem any the worse for wear. He's finally off kennel rest, too, and he got to explore the upstairs play area Friday night. He mastered the stairs as quickly as Cassandra did!

Speaking of Cassandra, I guess she's trying to bite the Petco employees when they go into her hexiglass cage to clean and refresh her pellets, etc. She was cage possessive here, too, so hopefully she'll either calm down or the Petco employees will learn a few tricks. I hope she's not requested to leave the store.

I have a new foster rabbit, who I have named Rose. She's from the Porter County animal shelter. She's over 6 1/2 lbs., white with black spots/blotches, and possibly pregnant. I'm fostering her for the shelter and not the IHRS. She was brought in with another girl (who looked less fat, so either not as far along in her preg. or not preg. at all) and a young male. They were all together in the same carrier or box when they were brought to the shelter, hence the guess that they're pregnant. Rose was pulling some of her fur out yesterday, so I said I'd foster her so she'd be somewhere less stressful if she does deliver. I'll keep the blog posted on what's happening with her, and post some photos when I can.

Mama

Harrison's Boo Boo

Well, I came home Friday night and guess who wasn't in his pen? Yep, Harrison either scaled the wall of his prison or did the high jump. I think he made his escape shortly after I left for work, judging from how much salad was left in his pen.

Anyway, I was able to grab him pretty easily and put him back into his pen. (He's unneutered, and I was thankful he didn't get into Julia's pen and, well, have his way with her - she's neutered, but I don't want to deal with a false pregnancy.)

I noticed that he was limping, holding his left front foot up. We made the bunny ER trip (after hours call to my vet), and after a few really cool digital X-rays, it was determined that he had 2 hairline fractures of his radius and ulna near his elbow. And he has pasteurella, for his nose was oozing some green stuff and his forearms were icky from him wiping his nose with them.

Now I get to wrestle him to give him his antibiotics and pain meds while not putting too much pressure on him so I don't aggravate the leg. I've asked the head of the IHRS chapter if he could go to a different foster home, one with at least two sets of hands to restrain him better than I can by myself.

I so wish you could get them to understand that they have to take the medicine and that it's for their own good.

Mama

Harrison, aka "Spider Bun"

Okay, I know I should be happy that Harrison is feeling better and a lot more energetic. However, I finally got to see what all the noise is about when I'm in bed at night. Harrison stood on the second "rung" of the pen he lives in, putting his front paws over the top edge and resting his chin on the top as he looked around.

Now, has anyone out there had a rabbit that can scale a pen?! I haven't taken any precautions to keep him from leaping out, for I'm at a loss here. I can put some cardboard over the top of the pen to make a sort of roof, but I'd rather not do that.

I have seen kittens scale the bars at a shelter before, but I never thought a rabbit could do it. Harrison is definitely a special boy!

Mama

Carson, a.k.a. "Hare-y Houdini"

This morning, I awoke to the sound of thumping. It sounded like it was coming from a bun on carpet. Well, I figured that Jenna or PJ must just be in their house in a way that just made it sound like that, since no buns are out when I'm sleeping and the only bun living in a pen close enough for me to hear is Harrison, and he's on newspaper-covered vinyl flooring.

Then I hear something that sounded like PJ and Jenna fighting. It happens again about 30 secs. later, so I say, "Guys, come on. Stop it." Then I hear more thumping.

So, thinking that I have 20 mins. or so before I have to get up anyway, I wander over to PJ and Jenna's house and can see they're just sitting there. I hear thumping, and squint towards the hallway. Hmm, why is there a blur that looks like Carson in the hallway? I wander back to put my glasses on and look into the hall again. There is Carson sitting there looking at me and thumping.

"How in the world did you get out?" I asked him, then wondering if he chewed any cords whilst on the lam. He freaks out and runs back into the study, behind his cage.

The cage he's in has doors on the side and on the top. I always lock the side cage, since he could push on it and open it, but I only secure the top door lightly. Well, the top door is wide open, so he had to have some how gotten that door open, jumped out of it, and jumped onto the floor. He was then unable to get back into his house. His water bottle was knocked off, too.

I moved his house out and opened the side door, eventually getting him shooed inside. I gave him a headrub, and he immediately relaxed. His breathing was still fast and shallow, like hyperventilating. He started to eat his salad right away when I gave it to him, and he seemed to have calmed down when it was time for me to leave for work.

Needless to say, I fasted the side locks on the top door, and if he gets out again, he'll have had help. I've never had a rabbit escape from his house since Calvin did it way back in 2003, so the title "Hare-y Houdini" gets passed to Carson.

Mama

PS Carson was thumping all during playtime last night. I don't know whether he was freaked out that there was a huge white rabbit downstairs, that we were getting another earthquake, or what. Maybe he was giving me some sort of ultimatum and I failed his test so he "escaped."

New Foster - Harrison

I drove down to Ft. Wayne last night to take in one of the 4 rabbits the IHRS pulled from a kill shelter there. All are big buns - 10+ lbs. - and I took the guy who seems a bit down on his luck. Harrison is a big, white guy, who is very underweight and has rough fur and some weepy eye discharge. He's got pink eyes - the first pink-eyed bun I've had at my place, and he has a very "old soul" look to him. I think he was kept in tough circumstances, crowded with other buns, and that they weren't given enough food and water. I think he was lower on the totem pole dominance-wise, so he probably got the least of everything.

He doesn't seem very perky or very aggressive, though hopefully he'll start showing some spunk when he fills out a little more. He's going to the vet on Friday, and he'll get a good going-over. We think he's a Flemish Giant (his ears are big and either floppy because of their size/his not able to control them well because of being week or (I think) that he's crossed with a lop and is sort of helicopter-lop-eared). I'm sure his personality will come out as he settles into foster care and realizes that he's on easy street.

Anyway, he's the poorer off of the 4 rescued (they were all in one hutch at the shelter), so he'll be able to relax and recover in my nice, quiet home, where the pellet bowl never empties and water is plentiful. Here's hoping there's not much wrong that clean conditions, good food, fresh water, and a little lovin' can't fix
:-)

Mama

Empty Nest

I drove down to Indianapolis this morning with Marja and Greta, who were going on a date with a guy-bun named George. I had Cassandra with me, too, for she was going to move into the Greenwood Petco.

Marja and George hit it off really well. She was the first girl he dated, and when Greta, Mae, and Arwin didn't hit it off as well as she did, Marja went on a second date. George's Mom and Dad picked Marja, and I'm really happy. Marja really made great strides this last week or two, actually kicking her feet out and relaxing fully when getting a head/cheek rub. George's parents are thrilled, especially since you can actually pick Marja up without too much fuss (while the same can't be said about George). I feel horrible that I never got pics of her, but anyone interested can see her pics on the IHRS website:
http://www.indianahrs.org/adoption-details.aspx?id=356

All three of Marja's babies had already been adopted, so I'm so glad that she finally got a home, skipping the Petco digs altogether. It was really funny when it was time for George and Marja to leave. Since George doesn't like being picked up, I put the carrier in and we hoped he'd hop in. Well, Marja went inside of it instead, so George got to ride home in the cardboard carrier that had Marja's pellets, some hay, and salad in it. I know Marja is really happy with George, and this just goes to show it.

I drove Cassandra to the Greenwood store after leaving the Speedway store where the date was. (I'm going to make a list of all the Petco stores I've been in and see if I can visit all of the ones where we have buns up for adoption.) Her hexi that she'll be living in might not be as much square footage as she's used to, but at least the top is high enough that I don't think she'll hit her head if she stands up. It was harder leaving Cassandra at the store than watching Marja go home. Marja is my first foster bun to be adopted, with Kristie and Nadia still in Petco awaiting those special bunny parents. I hope Cass doesn't think I abandonned her or that she did something wrong.

So now I'm down to 6 buns from an all-time-high of 9 (Mario transferring to Robin's house a few weeks ago). I'll actually have time for my own rabbits now. Wow, now there's a thought! :-)

Mama

Pics of Cassandra

Here are some photos of Cassandra, the big (7+lbs) girl. She's so goofy, and you just have to love those ears!








The last one isn't well lit, but I loved her getting tired of having her picture taken and trying to hide under my book.

Mama

Pics of Mario

Here are a few photos of Mario, another foster bun. He's now at another foster home, freeing up some time for me to work with Greta, the new foster bun who is still really shy.






I'll miss this little guy. He has such energy, and he'll be sure to entertain whomever adopts him with his antics.

Mama

Pic of Lil' Miss

Here's a photo of Lil' Miss, the foster bun that I took back to her old foster home.




She'll await her forever home in foster care instead of a Petco store. She just wasn't settled or calm enough to do well in a store, so hopefully someone will fall in love with her through the IHRS website.

Mama

Cassanda - Big, Bold Girl

Cassandra mastered going up and down stairs last night. It took Nadia several days to get the hang of them. I guess Cassandra's size helped. Cass even went back into her house on her own, going down the stairs and into her pen (not far from the bottom of the stairs). I'm going to see if she'll go up the stairs for play time on her own, too.

She was dancing all over and even flopping in bliss when she was out last night. She's such a joyful rabbit. Someone is going to get a great bun when they adopt her.

Mama