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June 1, 2008
Why Events Matter
My apologies for the long delay between posts. Life has been very busy lately between preparing for the CHRS spring picnic and the arrival of my family, who visit every Memorial Day weekend.
My mother and brother are mad about dogs, which means they rarely travel without the family pug. This passion made attending the Pet Promise Rescue Run an easy sell. The CHRS booth was staffed by Julie Schram and Laine Kathary, who had the misfortune to be located in the shadow of a neighboring building. When I stopped by to visit, both were freezing but their enthusiasm was undiminished.
It didn't take long to figure out that this event was largely dog-oriented, with a minor role for cats. While appreciative of Laine and Julie's efforts, I had to wonder if they (and Jeremy Cook who helped with setup) were wasting their time. The answer came from a rather surprising source.
Several years ago, I started monitoring the showbunny mailing list in order to anticipate any possible backlash against our "Make Mine Chocolate!" campaign. As its name suggests, showbunny targets those who breed and show rabbits. I quickly learned to scan the list to avoid upsetting topics but occasionally a topic comes up that is mildly interesting.
One such topic started in response to a request for help concerning a doe and her babies who were apparently sick with mastitis. One intrepid poster suggested the obvious: get them to a vet. Well, this immediately created a firestorm since a number of members of the list are against vet treatment for rabbits. More than a few respondents accused the poster of being an animal rights supporter and another asked if she considered her rabbits to be her property or her children. Another respondent said that she provided vet care for her dog and goats but not the rabbits. Things settled down only after the poster unsubscribed from the list.
Needless to say, I found this whole topic fascinating. I do not consider my rabbits to be my property (as I do my car and my house) nor do I think of them as my children. I suspect most dog and cat people feel the same way. But for a lot of people, rabbits are still very much considered livestock and not companion animals. Those of us who share our homes and our lives with rabbits must necessarily consider them our children, clearly demonstrating that there's something a bit daft about us.
So why do events like the Pet Promise Rescue Run matter? Because each one of them is an opportunity to link in people's heads an association between dogs, cats, and rabbits. Each of these events is a baby step towards moving rabbits from the category of livestock into the category of companion animal.
Thank you, Julie, Laine, and Jeremy for giving up a big chunk of your Saturday for this very worthy event!
Posted by Sue at June 1, 2008 10:13 AM