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April 22, 2006
Rabbit Story on National Public Radio
We received an email through the "Make Mine Chocolate!" address alerting us to this story that aired earlier this week on National Public Radio's Living on Earth program. Needless to say, as a long-time listener and supporter of NPR, I'm very disappointed. I did not personally hear this story; our local stations do not carry this program. However, a transcript is available at http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=06-P13-00015#feature4
While the breeder in the story sounds as though she's trying to be responsible in making sure her Easter rabbits are going to good homes, the bigger picture is that many of these rabbits will still end up in shelters, with rescue groups, or set free to die because their families were not prepared for the reality of living with a rabbit. The "Make Mine Chocolate!" campaign was started specifically to combat the problem of people giving/getting live rabbits at Easter, only to become disinterested in them in the following weeks or months.
Please read the transcript, then contact them and politely explain why this story is troublesome. The contact information for the show is
comments@loe.org
(1-800-218-9988)
Living on Earth
20 Holland Street Suite 408
Somerville, MA 02144-2749
NPR's contact information (including a "pitch page") is at
http://www.npr.org/contact/
Please request that they do a story on Easter rabbits from a rescue groups' perspective. Be sure to include our web address at www.columbusrabbit.org and the "Make Mine Chocolate!" address at www.makeminechocolate.org.
Let's tell them that the rabbits "living on earth" are not disposable pets.
If you need help getting started, I have drafted a sample letter that can be used for both NPR and Living on Earth. For an electronic copy (in MS Word) please contact me at terri@columbusrabbit.org.
Posted by Terri at 4:44 PM
Capital Area Humane Society
Want to know what's going on with our volunteers at our local shelter? You can now when you read our blog's Shelter News. Look for updates soon!
Posted by Karalee at 3:34 PM
April 17, 2006
Polly likes Laundry!
It's not "Shake N Bake and I helped!", it's "Polly, and I helped!", with laundry that is, not chicken. We already know that Polly does not like chicken...remember the chicken gumbo soup in her food bowl when we found her and poor skinny Polly waiting for real bun food?
Polly is working hard at Kelly and Kyle's to thank them for opening their home and hearts to her while she is in foster care. Polly felt like laundry was just the way to help so she dove right in, literally, and is sorting her way to the washer!
You can see little helper Polly at:
www.columbusrabbit.org/polly/pollyblog.html
Posted by Danielle at 7:15 PM
April 15, 2006
Update: Rabbit thrown out with the trash
Polly is her new name and being a spoiled house rabbit is her game! If you blinked you would have missed how long it took Polly to go from rags to riches!
I took Polly to the vet the day after I got her. Thankfully, she got a good checkup overall--teeth looked good and ears were just waxy, no infection, but this poor little skinny rabbit who weighed 3.5 lbs needs to gain at least 1 lb, maybe a tad more to be at a good weight. Gee whiz, that is about 1/3 of her current body weight she needs to gain. I guess we can understand why--what rabbit wants to eat chicken gumbo soup!
But don't worry, she is having no problem eating her way to a healthy weight! She loves pellets, hay, greens and fruit. She is thankful for real food. She will be spayed once she has gained enough weight.
Kelly McCafferty (and Kyle) are the proud new foster parents of Polly and say that she is doing fantastic. She loves to run around and explore everything and loves to jump up on the couch! She is such a loving bun too; will sit in your lap and snuggle in for a nice long petting session.
All I can say is what in the world is wrong with people? Who could throw this sweet, wonderful, loving rabbit out with the trash???
Posted by Karalee at 3:03 PM
April 13, 2006
A Rising Star
Elaina’s public is demanding to see her again. On Monday, April 17th, she will be making another live TV appearance on WCMH Channel 4's new pet segment with Bob Nunnally. A quick call to her agent (AKA foster parent Danielle) verified that she was available. Of course Karalee will be showing a proper pen set-up again and talking about proper rabbit care. But our money’s on Elaina to steal the show again!
Tune in to Channel 4 at noon on Monday, April 17th to watch Elaina charm another news crew!
Posted by Karalee at 10:16 PM
April 12, 2006
Elaina: The Perfect Spokesrabbit
Danielle's foster bun, Elaina, made her television debut last Monday on the WSYX Channel 6 noon news. Karalee’s plan was to show Elaina enjoying her pen set-up. The pen looked great, and of course Elaina was just adorable. The newscasters may have been the ones talking, but she was the star of the show! She hopped curiously around her pen, exploring her surroundings and checking out the people talking about her. When one newscaster started to put her Cottontail Cottage in her pen, she couldn’t wait! She was so excited that she kept standing up, making it difficult for him to set the cottage down! As soon as he did, she jumped inside as if on cue! People could actually see this rabbit had a personality.
The best thing was the main news anchor was quite impressed with Elaina and said, “Wow! She seems really smart! Is she smart?” Karalee said, “YES! Rabbits are very smart!” But no one had to tell us that; we already knew!
Posted by Karalee at 10:11 PM
April 8, 2006
Another rabbit thrown out with the trash
Well, I have another rabbit in my basement that was thrown out with the trash.
I received a call from an older gentleman near East High School saying that he found a rabbit in a cage by the dumpster. He called animal control who told him they could not do anything and gave him my number and said I would come pick the rabbit up. Nice, huh? Not sure where they got that information.
So, I told him we were full and that he could take the rabbit to our local shelter. When I told him where it was located, he said he could not afford gas to drive there with the cost of gas. I offered to pay his gas but he said he did not want to drive all the way there anyway. I asked him to bring the rabbit to me and I would take the rabbit to the shelter the next day but he said the same thing, "all the way there, I don't have enough money for gas to get to your house". Soooo.... I told him I would pay his gas if he could please bring the bun to me. When he struggled with the answer I said "I promise I will pay your gas. Honest I will pay you". I did pay him very well.
As it turns out, he owns a home and he was talking about those big city trash cans they give people. He opened his van door and brought out this darling small lop who was shivering and whimpering in this small dirty cage. The water bottle had spilled all over so the rabbit and everything else was wet. THERE WAS CHICKEN GUMBO SOUP IN HER FOOD BOWL. I about flipped. That was the first time that I had seen a rabbit being fed soup. There was a lot of cracked corn at the bottom of her cage that had gotten all wet. I think she was being fed cracked corn on the cob that people give squirrels.
She is very, very thin with a somewhat blotted belly. We put her in the pen and she was so like my little Peanut, standing up, looking all around, very friendly. We left her alone for a little bit then checked her out. She was NOT easy to pick up or hold down so we were limited on what we could do. She was very frightened and kept whimpering. After we clipped her nails and made sure she did not have any immediate problems, I put her back in her pen. She immediately turned right around and put her head down under my leg and wanted me to pet her. She absolutely knows that we saved her from a terrible fate.
Are you getting the picture now.....huh, what shelter??? I don't know anything about a shelter.
I so appreciate what the man did to help this rabbit, and I really do not like people very much. The things that could have happened to this rabbit if that kind man had not rescued her and cared enough to call me.
You can see a picture of her old cage and one in her new pen at:
www.columbusrabbit.org/polly/pollyblog.html
Updates to follow soon.
Karalee
Posted by Karalee at 2:21 PM
April 5, 2006
Are you ready for an Emergency?
It must be Spring: the days are longer; birds are singing; flowers are popping up. And though it’s still early in the season, nature showed its mighty force in the storms that ripped through the Midwest last week. For us in Central Ohio, it’s a timely reminder to update our family disaster plans and make sure they include our pets. The American Red Cross (www.redcross.org/services/prepare/0,1082,0_239_,00.html) recommends having a three-day supply of the basics for each family member (food, water, medications, batteries, radio, flashlight, etc.).
Likewise, the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) recommends similar planning for your companion animals. (www.uan.org/ears/disaster_tips.html). A week’s supply of food, water, and medications should be stored in airtight containers that can be accessed easily during an evacuation. Keep carriers on hand for transporting each pet. Be sure to have identification for each animal in the event you are separated. Because rabbits don’t wear tags and collars, a good way to do this is to have a photo of each pet. Even better is a photo of your pet with your family. A photo can offer proof to rescuers that a certain pet belongs to you. Before disaster strikes, call around to locate area hotels that allow pets. It also never hurts to ask if a hotel’s “no pet” policy would be waived during a disaster. Remember that human shelters rarely allow companion animals on-site due to health concerns, so you should be prepared to take your pet to a local shelter or temporary shelter for safekeeping. Most shelters will allow you to visit your companion animals while they are being housed.
Keep all of your emergency supplies together in a central location to make finding them easy when they are needed. A little planning can help keep your entire family–human and non-human– safe during an emergency.
Posted by Karalee at 4:40 PM