MORE THAN 1,600 BUNNIES............

THE FINAL COUNT, INCLUDING THE NUMEROUS CASUALTIES LAYING DEAD THROUGHOUT THE ENCLOSED YARD AND INSIDE THE HOME, SURPASSED ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED RABBITS TAKEN FROM JACKIE'S COMPOUND. FOR MANY WEEKS AFTER THEY WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE TEMPORARY RANCH LOCATION IN RENO, PREGNANT MOTHERS WERE STILL HAVING BABIES AT A RATE OF OVER 40 PER DAY.

I would like to clarify some FACTS for anyone not directly involved with this rescue. I arrived in Reno shortly after the bunnies had been brought from Jackie’s to the initial rescue site or “the ranch”.

Let me also clarify that I am NOT an employee of Best Friends but rather an individual who volunteers my time in various parts of the country.

Best Friends employees, public volunteers, veterinarians and veterinary students from across the country should all be commended for their efforts in this rescue.

My personal experience with this rescue goes far beyond Reno. I took and fostered 17 of these bunnies when I left Reno as they were in need of extensive medical attention.

They (as with most of the Reno bunnies) were ill with coccidia. Coccidia are small, one-celled organisms that are common to the intestinal tract of mammals. When these protozoa multiply out of control, they can cause disease symptoms, called coccidiosis. Animals under stress (i.e., their living conditions at Jackie’s) are at high risk for coccidiosis. Symptoms include mild to severe diarrhea, blood and/or mucus in the feces and dehydration due to diarrhea. The disease can be fatal.

I treated them several times per day for over three months. Just as all was looking well, they were diagnosed with pasteurella.

Pasteurella are bacteria that are the most common pathogen in the domestic rabbit. This bacteria secretes an endotoxin that can result in a pneumonia which is slow to resolve. Infection with the bacteria can result in rhinitis, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, abscesses, genital tract infections, and septicemia and abscesses. The bacteria can be transmitted in the air or contact with an infected animal. It initially colonizes the pharynx, and then moves to the nasal cavity and surrounding tissue, with the potential to spread to the rest of the body.

Again, I treated them several times per day for over three more months with a different antibiotic as well as a nebulizer (a nebulizer is a device used to administer medication in forms of a liquid mist to the lungs).

These precious little bunnies survived yet again. Just as I began to consider finding loving homes for them (they were almost a year old at this point), one of them (named Dot for the tiny white spot on his nose) developed what appeared to be a spot in one of his eyes.

I took Dot to a specialist who determined that he tested positive for E. cuniculi. The “spot” in Dot's eye is literally a hole that is being eaten through his eye from the inside out. More than likely he will develop cataracts and become blind; he may even lose his eye and this is a best-case scenario if we can control the bacteria so it doesn't kill him.

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a protozoal parasite. Little is known about its biology, but it is thought to be transferred from mother to offspring prior to birth, and possibly shed into the urine of infected rabbits. The organism is thought to travel through the body in white blood cells, the cells that normally fight disease, and may infect the tissues of the rabbit’s brain, kidney, spinal cord, heart, liver and lungs. It has also been known to cause damage to the eyes (uveitis).

I was told that many of the Reno rabbits were suffering from this and it is generally at this age when symptoms may begin to appear. One week after this devastating news, another one of my bunnies named Jackson came down with symptoms. However, Jack's symptoms included head tilt, which in my opinion, is one of the most heartbreaking signs of illness/injury to see.

Jack is suffering a rapid onset of this condition and is being treated aggressively but the outcome for him is unsure. If this debilitating parasite takes his life he will leave behind his mate, Carmen. Rabbits mate for life and breaking this bond can cause severe trauma to the mates left behind.

Head tilt, also known as torticollis or more commonly as "wry neck" is a condition in the neck in which the head tilts toward one shoulder and simultaneously the chin rotates toward the opposite shoulder. Symptoms can be swift and devastating, or may slowly develop over time. Effects can be minimal (slight head tilt), or horrific (rolling uncontrollably). The unfortunate thing with head tilt is that even when cured, 99% of them will suffer a relapse, regardless of the method of treatment.

Symptoms can include head tilt, lack of balance, rapid side-to-side movement of the eyes, hoping in circles and rolling. I HAVE EVEN SEEN SEVERE CASES IN WHICH THE RABBIT'S HEAD IS TILTED SO BAD THAT ONE EYE DRAGS THE GROUND AS THEY ATTEMPT TO WALK. THIS OBVIOUSLY CAN LEAD TO MORE HEALTH ISSUES WITH THE EYE BECOMING INFECTED OR WORSE.

The doctors and I fear that this may be just the beginning of all of my bunnies becoming ill yet again.

As you can see, animal hoarding doesn’t just affect the animal victims. Hoarding imposes an enormous, time consuming, financially draining burden on many people, let alone the continued torture these defenseless animals continue to suffer.

The conditions and state that the Reno rabbits/bunnies originated from at Jackie’s home are atrocious and incomprehensible. These rabbits suffered severe pain and anguish (and many still continue to); there were countless, unnecessary deaths due to Jackie's negligence.

Although she may have good intentions, a true rescuer is selfless and not selfish, and places the animal’s quality of life before their own needs and wants. This is a harsh reality that some may dispute but the world needs to be educated about animal hoarding. In addition to impacting the victims (the animals themselves) it affects the entire community as well.

Following is an excerpt and definition of animal hoarding from CFA Midwest Region:
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What is Animal Hoarding?
“Hoarding is an illness which is characterized by the excessive accumulation and retention of things and/or animals until they interfere with day–to-day living such as the care of home, health, family, work and social life. Severe hoarding often leads to public and personal safety and health hazards. The collection of newspapers magazines, old clothes and other items may cause fires while animal hoarding can spread contagious diseases. People who hoard animals are compelled to save everything - even dead animals.

What do we know about this illness?
In a study done of 54 cases of hoarding 76% were woman, 46% were 60 years of age or older and worked in caring and teaching professions. About half lived in single person households. The animals most frequently involved were cats, dogs, farm animals and birds. The median number of animals was 39 but four of the cases had more than 100 animals living in the household. In 80% of the cases animals were reportedly found dead or in poor condition. In 60% of the cases the hoarder would not acknowledge the problem. Finally, 60% of the hoarders studied were repeat offenders. “The rate of recidivism is nearly 100 percent. Even with counseling hoarders simply move and start again.
People who hoard animals are becoming well-known to animal care professionals. They exist in almost every community, large or small, rural or urban. They can be ranchers, farmers, breeders and animal rescuers. They come from all walks of life. While animal care specialists recognize these people are in need of psychiatric help, almost no scientific literature exists on this topic.

What is the Impact of Animal Hoarding?
· There are a large number of animals present in a single household
· The caretaker does not provide the minimal standards of care and neglect often results in starvation and death.
· The caretaker is neither able to provide this minimum care nor appreciate the impact of this on the animals, the household and the human occupants of the dwelling.
· The caretaker fails to act or recognize the negative impact of the collection on themselves, others and the animals.

Hoarding by definition is a condition in which animals are deprived of even minimal care. The degree of deprivation will vary in each situation, depending on how long it occurs before discovery. As conditions deteriorate and crowding increases, irritating levels of ammonia develop from accumulated feces and urine, disease among the cats may spread, injuries are not treated, sick animals are ignored, and the early stages of starvation begins.

As conditions worsen, animals die from starvation and untreated illness or injury. It is not unusual for dead animals to be found among the living with cannibalization having begun.

Even when confronted with how they are living -- feces deep on the floor, dead animals laying about the home, and other horrendous conditions – the hoarder often fails to recognize there is anything wrong.”
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The graphic description above illustrates the exact conditions in which the Reno rabbits/bunnies were found. Animal hoarding is a very real, unfortunate reality that occurs everywhere and the public must be held responsible when this occurs.

This situation was more horrendous than anyone who was not part of this rescue could imagine.

Many bunnies died, literally screaming, some in the palm of my hand from open abscesses that were open down to the bone, injuries or illness, all stemming from their living conditions.

Jackie states that she provided conditions in which bunnies live their lives naturally. The FACT is, once human intervention has occurred, the equation of “nature” has been disrupted and they no longer exist in their “natural habitat”. Yes, rabbits do live in burrows, breed rapidly, eat grasses, etc. but this all happens in the open wilderness, unhindered by humans, where nature has a perfect, intricate and deliberate cycle. During their life cycle, rabbits establish their own territories, birth their young, relocate to different areas, fall prey to their predators and die natural deaths from various things, keeping the population and “natural” cycle as nature intended.

The area where Jackie had them was enclosed, and in turn, hundreds of babies were being born into very unsanitary conditions, i.e., urine and feces several feet deep in places. They were not provided with enough of the correct type of foods. This created an enormous stress for territory establishment and in turn many injuries and deaths occurred. As this unnatural cycle continued to spiral out of control, many of the young whose parents had died or were killed did not survive either.

The atrocity described above does not even address the issues of inbreeding. As in most animals, when inbreeding does occur, there are birth defects and many systemic problems that cannot be seen until symptoms occur later, many of which are not curable. Again, during the normal course of nature, animals have an inherent ability to disperse after birth keeping inbreeding very minimal.

THE INTENSE ANGER THAT I HAVE TOWARD JACKIE AND HER IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR CONTINUES TO MANIFEST EACH TIME I SEE, TREAT AND TRY TO COMFORT DOT AND JACKSON. THESE DEFENSELESS CREATURES CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THREE TIMES PER DAY FOR MOST OF THEIR LIFE, THEY HAVE BEEN AND ARE BEING SEPARATED FROM THEIR KIN, FORCED TO INGEST MEDICINE, HAVE NEEDLES STUCK IN THEM TO DRAW BLOOD OR DROPS PUT IN THEIR EYES.

I hope that this serves as a lesson to Jackie and the general public.

If you or someone you know is involved in animal hoarding, please report them to the appropriate authorities before it gets out of control.

Unnecessary suffering can be prevented if everyone does their part. There are countless resources on the Internet and at your local animal resource centers.