Tiny Tim, a paralyzed guinea pig found abandoned at a Simpson County, KY library after Christmas, will soon say goodbye to his new friend, a paralyzed rabbit named Scoots.

The pets' owners, the Maris family of Franklin, Kentucky, said Scoots came from a litter of four their mother bunny bore in July. Jo Maris and her husband, Dutch, said they're giving Scoots to an organization that rehabilitates special-needs animals at a rendezvous in Asheville, N.C.

“It's going to be a happy, emotional day,” Jo Maris said. “These people sound wonderful. He's going to get the best care he can possibly get.”

The organization, Sabrina's House Rabbit ResQ, is based near Rocky Mount, N.C., and takes in “exotic” domestic animals, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and degus. The organization is primarily a sanctuary for rabbits with difficult issues, although it has rescued peacocks and bald eagles.

The Marises are uncertain whether Scoots' paralysis is a birth defect or self inflicted, which is common because bunnies have especially fragile spinal cords.

“Tiny Tim can drag his (legs) behind him, but the rabbit's are splayed out to the sides. It can move around, but it can't hop,” Jo Maris said. “It doesn't show any signs of hurting.”

Dutch Maris said Scoots is very quiet, like most rabbits, and doesn't have qualms about being handled. Tiny Tim, conversely, likes to chatter.

“If his bottle runs out of water before we catch it, he lets us know in no uncertain terms,” Dutch Maris said.

The animals are separated because rabbits weigh quite a bit more than guinea pigs, but that hasn't kept Tim from offering encouragement to his furry compatriot, Jo Maris said.

“I hear Tiny Tim talking to Scoots sometimes. He squeaks a lot, so he must be telling him something,” Jo Maris said.

The couple said they received a lot of positive feedback locally since adopting Tim, who was discovered at Franklin's Goodnight Memorial Library on a freezing January morning. A California woman, after learning of Tim's plight, setup a Web site www.guineapigfun.com/tinytim, soliciting donations to cover his medical expenses. She also shipped guinea pig supplies to the Marises.

The Marises took Tim to a veterinary clinic in Nashville a few months ago to see if Tim's paralysis was caused by a treatable Vitamin-C deficiency. Unfortunately, X-ray results ruled out the possibility of Tim using his hind legs. However, Dutch Maris said Tim leads a cheerful existence, laden with attention from the couple's 10-year-old granddaughter, Becca.

Jo Maris reported the recent formation of the Pet Assistance League with two friends, Vicki and Kristen Sharer.

The fledgling support group tries to help low-income families in spaying and neutering pets. So far, about 45 animals have been fixed for free or cheap as a result. Normally, the services cost anywhere from $39 to $150, Maris said.

The league speaks in schools and to civic groups, has held two animals-in-disaster meetings, and produces a show on pet-care issues with Franklin-Simpson High School students on a local-access channel in Franklin every two weeks, she said.

Vicki Sharer said the league had a summer campaign, offering free spay-neuter services for pit bulls.

“To me, pit bulls are the most abused animals on the planet. They come in from dog fights, bloody and scarred up,” she said. “The sad thing is they're trained to be that way. They're not always going to be a mean and nasty dog.”

Sharer said the group has given away lots of dog food and is looking for volunteers.

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By Doug Waters