The Latest from the Great Bunny Rescue
No shortage of Easter Bunnies this year! At the Best Friends rescue ranch outside of Reno, they’re still being born at a rate of about 40 every day!
(Sure, they’re all separated by gender by now, but this is still the fallout from what was being engendered, so to speak, before Best Friends got started on this extraordinary effort.)
All told, there are about 1,200 at the rescue ranch, and more yet being gathered up from their old backyard as they emerge from their underground warrens -- usually with babies.
(Where are Wallace and Gromit when we need them?!)
The good news:
ADOPTIONS: We’ve had more than 150 applications. One of them is from a rescue home in Seattle that’s offered to take 300! Most of the rabbits aren’t yet ready to be moved, but these applications potentially account for close to half of them all. That’s hugely good – but there’s still a long way to go.
SPAY/NEUTER AND VET CARE: All moving along well. Our sanctuary medical director, Dr. Michael Dix, spent last weekend at the rescue ranch, joining the spay/neuter marathon and checking on overall medical ops. More volunteer veterinarians are coming and going regularly from all over the country.
How you can help:
* ALERT YOUR LOCAL MEDIA: Everyone’s looking for “cute” Easter stories at this time of year. And we sure have cute video – including a shot of “the flying bunny!”
But there’s a message in all this: Lots of people buy rabbits from pet stores for the kids at this time of year. A few weeks or months later, when the novelty has worn off, the rabbits end up at the local shelter – or worse.
So, if you have contacts at your local TV or radio station or newspaper, please let them know about the Great Bunny Rescue of 2006.
* ADOPT A BUNNY OR TEN! Baby rabbits can be adopted as pets as soon as they’re old enough to be spayed or neutered. The older ones prefer a backyard “rabbitat” for up to 10 bunnies. They won’t be house pets, but they’ll be a delightful addition to your household. We’ll guide you through the simple setup.
* DONATE TO THE GREAT BUNNY RESCUE
$50 provides special medical care for a single bunny
$100 provides medical care and a bunny spay/neuter
$500 takes care of a group of 10 rabbits, gets them fixed, and helps place them in a new home anywhere in the country
Lots of great things to do for a really urgent and timely cause.
Have a very Happy Easter, Passover, or whatever else you and your furry friends may be celebrating this weekend. And thanks so much for helping the bunnies do the same!
The Bunny Team at Best Friends
[photo credit: Clay Myers]