I believe God would have smiled upon and blessed this endeavor by Best Friends more abundantly had BF not "spun" the facts-I guess in order to elicit emotion and donations in order to see the project through. What should’ve occured ended up being frustrating, costly, and costing lots of rabbits their lives.

I am so disappointed, hurt, distrustful, and even angry at the tactics you've employed and how you continue to perpetuate lies about me and this whole situation. I think it goes against everything I believed about your organization, it's employees and volunteers, your superb past performance and your stellar reputation.

I will no longer remain silent about the basic facts of this ordeal. I’ve produced court records and all accompanying evidence to prove my rabbits were very well cared for, never neglected or abused, and that I am not a “hoarder”, as alleged in statements by Reno Animal Control and continually repeated by BF. Two different Judges ruled in my favor in two separate cases. I rescued and adopted out rabbits just like you are doing, for 28 years, only on my own dime and with only my own labor. The big difference is I ruptured three discs in my back and was unable to walk for over six months on top of deteriorating health due to metastatic cancer.

There weren’t “1000 and counting living in one “tiny back yard” often “without food or water”. They ran loose on nearly one acre with tons of shade, protection, hiding places and even burrows to protect them from the weather. They lived like rabbits! They always had fresh, running cold water, and 43 bales of alfalfa every four days spread over the acre. They received 200 pounds of fresh carrots at least once a week. Bonanza Produce often offered me discounts on lettuce, kale, apples, melons and other treats or gave me scrap produce at least once a month in addition to their regular diet. The rabbits were friendly and unafraid. They followed my friend and I around the yard, came to each of our porches numerous times a day for an extra handout, and into our houses, and not one ever ran away from us. Most of them knew their names. They were turned into one of two alfalfa fields for several hours twice a week.

I resent the picture you painted and the legacy of me you will leave for my Grandchildren, and everyone who reads your magazine, website and newspapers around the country. Reporters are still calling me every day hoping to start a feud. In my failing health I sure appreciate that.

I offered BF every penny I don’t need to sustain myself plus a very generous amount in a trust after I die and my property sells to transport my rabbits to an acre parcel in Kanab with bucks and does separated to live out their natural lives. I took $34,000 out of my savings account last year to supplement my Social Security to provide for the rabbits and their care. For me, that is not chunk change.

It is the same offer I’ve made to every Rescue Group and Sanctuary I could find around the country since 2002 when illness forced me into retirement and the Airport’s bulldozing of adjoining properties exposed my property and my rabbits to the public eye. My formerly neutered and controlled population began expanding with people throwing their former pets over my fences and juveniles cutting or tearing down fences to steal baby rabbits. I was trying to confront a growing problem as best I could for the welfare of these rabbits. My endeavors over the years, right up to the present Best Friends, does not describe a hoarder or an abuser.

I regret having to post a comment because you find it necessary to rip me apart in order to build yourselves up. I begged of you privately before to no avail and I’ve sucked it up so the rabbits might be spared. If I knew another way to defend myself even just a little, I would chose it, but it seems you just persist. I’m not a vindictive or unkind person but I don’t like continually being the focus of the same either. I’m not even certain at this point whether or not I will remove you from my trust, I’ll have to pray about it more and see where BF goes from here I guess. Despite it all, I wish you continued success and thank you for hopping in to save these precious creatures. I’m grateful to have met all the wonderful employees and volunteers I had the privilege of meeting. I just hope this was an isolated case and I certainly hope you never treat another individual as you have me.

We wish Jackie well, she has our every sympathy and we are glad that she did reach out for help. But the facts speak for themselves. Before Best Friends moved the rabbits off of her property and to the ranch there were some 1200 rabbits in her yard. Their shelter was hardly more than pieces of plywood and old trailers. The babies were being born at the rate of 30 to 40 a day. Some of the rabbits were burrowing out under the fencing and animal control asked us for help as the rabbits were getting hit and killed. Their food was basically a form of hay not suitable for rabbits and fresh hay was simply piled on old hay. The rabbits were getting basically one carrot per rabbit per week with old produce. It has taken Best Friends months to get the situation under control and get all of these rabbit spayed and neutered. Our sincere hope is that Jackie is able to now put the focus on her own needs. Fortunately these rabbits are now either adopted or in rescue groups, or soon will be, and the Great Bunny Rescue of 2006 can become one for the record books, hopefully not to be repeated.

I found this exchange between Jackie and Best Friends very upsetting, and the tone significantly detracted from my respect for the Best Friends organization. I joined Best Friends after Hurricane Katrina hit. I have donated several hundred dollars over the succeeding months. One aspect of the Best Friends Organization I have most applauded is the positive, non-judgemental tone of most of the organization's web postings.
I read the book on the history of the Best Friends organization, and couldn't put it down. I loved the descriptions of the idealistic friends, both of each other and of the animals, who sacrificed everything in their lives to help cats and dogs and other creatures who had depended upon humans but been callously discarded. There were times in the past when the group of friends were hanging on by a thread, overwhelmed with far too many animals being dropped at their doorstep, scores of cats crammed into trailor accommodations, and barely enough money to feed the animals for another week or two. Always, some miracle happened (coupled with true grit and resourcefulness on the part of the founders) that kept the organization going another week....another day.... Sometimes the "miracle" was help from a wealthy benefactor.
So how can a latter-day employee of Best Friends, taking the name "RabitRangers," take such a sanctimonious, judgemental attitude toward an individual whose spirit and actions were much more in keeping with the original founders of Best Friends than would appear to be the spirit of "RabbitRangers", the product of a $40,000,000 a year income organization that can afford to give pigs "tummy tuck" operations?
All I know about Jackie and the Rabbit Rescue is what I have read on the Best Friends web site. The early postings described a woman who started out with a legitamate rabbit rescue operation with years of successful service, spaying and neutering rabbits and finding them homes, but then who became overwhelmed with serious health problems (metastatic breast cancer! What a nightmare!) just as news of her rabbit shelter had spread to the point that far too many unspayed or neutered bunnies were being dropped over her fence. Now she is callously referred to by Best Friends as a "hoarder," probably the cruellest appellation you could throw at a woman who spent most of her life helping animals as responsibly as she was able to.
What would have been the responsible thing for Jackie to do, given her circumstances? The Best Friends web postings made clear that the last time the local Animal Control organization intervened with her operation, almost all of the bunnies were killed. Clearly, when she realized she was overwhelmed, Jackie appealed everywhere she could for help. A year before the "Rescue," when she had "only" 400 rabbits, she had pleaded with Best Friends for assistance, but Best Friends coyly remarks that they 'misunderstoond ' Jackie when she said she needed help with 400 bunnies and thought she meant 40 bunnies. Best Friends certainly shares some of the responsibility for not responding sooner and letting the numbers mushroom to 1,600! Even if Best Friends could not have personally taken on the entire project at that time, some effort could have been made to separate the sexes, and obtain additional support for Jackie.
There really are not a major disrepancies between Jackie's story and RabbitRangers', at least not in facts, just in "spin." I think the "spin" RabbitRangers puts on the facts is altogether cruel, and shows an immature lack of empathy and understanding. Jackie spent $34,000 dollars of her own money in one year desparately trying to keep the bunnies alive. She doesn't pretend she was able to give them optimal care or meet all their needs, that is why she sought help from other organizations. She never went out "collecting" rabbits to hoard them, she just took in rabbits that would otherwise have been killed. Help from the "authorities" would only have led to killing all the rabbits. Best Friends postings have pointed out how extremely difficult it was for even an experienced team to find all the rabbits, let alone separate all the males and females, let alone spay and neuter them, so it is certainly understandable that Jackie alone could not bring the rabbit reproductive explosion under control. She donated whatever she could to Best Friends, and made them a major beneficiary in her will. Clearly, she has loved rabbits all her life and tried to help them with everything she's got. Hers is a "cautionary tale" for would-be rescuers, and other loving, idealistic rescuers have ended up with the ignominy of being called "hoarders" when their operation spins out of control, but the only moral of the story is that rescuers need to work more closely together, and support one another when one rescuer appears to be becoming overwhelmed. The moralistic, condescending tone of RabbitRangers to Jackie is not an encouraging example of that sort of mutual support and understanding. Why would any other rescuer becoming overwhelmed risk turning to a large ample-funded organization like Best Friends for help when they observe the sort of humiliation the "help" has caused her?
I would like to see a web-posted apology to Jackie from Best Friends, or at least from RabbitRangers. I believe other clear-thinking supporters of animal rescue work would like to see the same thing. The world of animal lovers applauds Best Friends for the fabulous work of the Great Rabbit Rescure, but does not applaud this sort of unkind behavior. Let us remember Michael Mountain's "kindness revolution."

Let's not get lost in the blame game and lose sight of the real victims in this case - the rabbits. Undoubtedly, both parties - Jackie and Best Friends - could and would have done things differently, in hindsight.

The sad fact is that people who try to run private rescue organizations often fail - it's expensive, time-consuming, disheartening. I've seen it many times. This is a lesson to rescuers everywhere that, unless you have sufficient resources, no-kill also means limited acceptance. You have to be able to say "no", to turn away people who plead for help, to shut the doors when you reach capacity.

I don't blame Best Friends at all for their "spin", whether accurate or not. It's what they HAD to do to get the needed media attention, to grab the heart-strings of potential adopters and benefactors. Jackie should be happy that her rabbits are finding homes, not complaining about the necessary work Best Friends did to help her.

And I am sorry for Jackie, who clearly cared and tried. Unfortunately, good intentions are not enough and are not an excuse. The results speak for themselves.

Best Friends doesn't need to trash anyone to look good; by calling people names, BF only makes themselves look bad.

I place the blame squarely on the irresponsible former "owners" of the rabbits, and on our communities, who choose to do little or nothing to prevent unwanted animals in the first place, and then provide "catch and kill" as the only solution. Enacting mandatory spay and neuter laws, and requiring all unaltered animals to be licensed for breeding goes a long way toward preventing this sort of thing from happening. If all of the cute bunnies at the pet/feed stores had to be spayed and neutered before being purchased by the typical irresponsible person, they wouldn't have had the chance to breed after they were dumped over Jackie's fence when the original "owners" were tired of them. She did the best she could, and asked for help when she couldn't care for them properly any longer. No one can ask more from her than that.

Just the fact that BF stepped in to help was enough to win them respect and admiration. I was shocked and deeply disappointed to see the verbal abuse subsequently heaped on Jackie. Whatever happened to the positive organization BF originally set out to be?

Jackie's post is ironic, in that she perfectly outlines a typical hoarder's activities and self-justifications. I'm sure that at one time she had good intentions, all hoarders do. But to leave this many animals to be cared for by others, regardless of their condition, is what a hoarder does.

Anyone who knows rabbits, or who is involved in legitimate rescue, has educated themselves to know that 200 pounds of carrots should not be part of a healthy rabbit diet.

I too am a rabbit rescuer. I too have had a serious cancer to fight. I too was unable to walk without a cane, due to arthritis in both knees. I too have had one unspayed and one unneutered rabbit dumped on my property.

When I first saw baby bunnies running out of the corner of my eye, in denial I thought they were rats. The following day, I say one again .... and it wasn't a rat. I didn't throw up my hands and say 'oh how cute, there's nothing I can do.' Instead I spent 5 hours sitting in the middle of the rabbit yard looking at every rabbit trying to identify the mom. Once identified (by her drooping belly), I was able to net her when I fed the following day. I followed the babies back to their nest and dug them up from their burrow. The unneutered male was easier to identify because he was mounting every bun in sight. My plans were that if this were to happen again, I'd put up intrusion proofing on top of my already installed chain link fencing. According to Jackie she had at least $34,000 in her savings. At the very most, it would have cost her perhaps $5,000 to put up an entirely new security fence around her one acre property.But she chose not to. She can not put the blame for this situation on others.

Just because you have cancer and are undergoing chemo (like I did) it doesn't mean you loose your ability to deal with situations .... unless you are a hoarder.

I'm appalled by the negative comments about Best Friends. Be honest. Would those of you who are making these comments have even tackled this situation? Our organization is used to large scale rescues and we would not have been able to take this on. Neither would you.

Veterinarians can attest to the extremely poor condition of the rabbits and the major abscesses, diseases and injuries they had to care for. And the volunteers can testify as to the number of dead bodies they had to pick up from Jackies yard.

In addition, this web site belongs to Best Friends. If they were as sanctimonious and cruel as described, they would not have allowed Jackie's post, nor the others to remain. Best Friends has nothing to hide. The situation is what it is.

There, but by the grace of God, go I.

Hang in there, Jackie.

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:
***
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.”
***
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.