Featured Bun - Dudley

There are some rabbits that find homes very quickly. Others take a little longer to find their Forever Home. This is usually though no fault of their own. They use their litter boxes and have good Bunny Manners. We are starting a series featuring some of these bunnies, in the hopes of being able to find their new human parents soon!

First is Dudley. He is a ruggedly handsome Lionhead. When he first came to the shelter his mane was not near as full as it is now. Dudley came from a seizure at a mobile home- there were 50 rabbits living in that one mobile home! He stayed at the Prince Georges County SPCA for a while before getting his 2nd chance at the HRS.

If you would like to adopt Dudley, please fill out the adoption application http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/se-pennsylvania/form.html

The new and improved LL Bun Store!

Adoptapet.com

We are now listing our buns on adoptapet.com. Check us out!

Shelter News

We have had 2 adoptions in the past couple weeks- Winston and Maigo! We miss them both, but are happy to see them go to happy homes.
There are still so many bunnies waiting at the shelter for their forever homes. Take a look at our listings on Petfinder.com to see if there is a somebun there waiting to join your family for the holidays!
Also remember that Santa Pictures are coming up quickly. December 5th from 12-3:00. See you then!

Don't forget- Coming soon is our annual Pictures with Santa Event at the shelter. It is December 5th 12-3. Bring your bunny to have their picture taken with Santa! or just bring yourself for the good times!

November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month!

Celebrate with us: November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month!
We receive many calls at the shelter from people looking for a baby rabbit, or a very young rabbit. I understand wanting to have as many years ahead of you with your new companion as possible. However, please think of the older rabbits also, that may have been waiting for a long time to find their permanent home.

Thank you to the Petfinder.com blog- this is a slightly modified version of a post there:

10 Reasons Senior Bunnies Rule:
1. When senior rabbits are adopted, they seem to understand that they've been rescued, and are all the more thankful for it.
2. A senior rabbits personality has already developed, so you'll know if he or she is a good fit for your family.
3. You can teach an old rabbit new tricks. Senior rabbits have the attention span and impulse control that makes them easier to train than their youthful counterparts.
4. In particular, senior rabbits are often already house trained, or can be more easily house trained than a young bunny with a tiny bladder.
5. A senior rabbit won't grow any larger, so you'll know exactly how much pet you're getting.
6. Senior rabbits are often content to just relax in your company, unlike younger pets, who may get into mischief because they're bored.
7. Speaking of relaxing, senior rabbits make great napping buddies.
8. Senior rabbits know that toys (not shoes) are for chewing.

9. Senior pets are some of the hardest to find homes for -- so when you adopt a senior rabbit, you're truly saving a life.

10. Senior bunnies will love you special best!

Shelter News

Thank you to everyone that was able to join us at the Wine Tasting last weekend. It was a great success. We plan on doing another one in the Spring with a Bunny Hop theme! It is tentatively scheduled April 9th. More details to come.
Coming soon is our annual Pictures with Santa Event at the shelter. It is December 5th 12-3. Bring your bunny to have their picture taken with Santa. We also do a 2nd scene that is different each year. We cant tell what it is going to be, you have to come to find out! There will also be some fun raffles, and the amazing Grab Bags. Please stop in to join us with or without your bunny to support the shelter.

We hope to see you there-Come for a while, or stay the whole time.
The bunnies thank you!

Halloween is coming!

We know that Halloween is over a month away.  But with the weather getting cooler, I thought it was a good time to post this.  If you adopted from us, please send us pictures and let us know how they are doing!

Darrol

Happy Tails

Have you adopted a bun from the SE PA-DE House Rabbit Society?  Contact us at goodhareday@gmail.com with your pictures and story.
This is the story of Taz, adopted by one of our volunteers:

My Name is Schotzie Now


Taz was about a year old when he came to the House Rabbit Society. His time was up at the SPCA. He was as cute as could be, a Netherland Dwarf and all of one pound 10 ounces. He had tattoos in his ears, so he was used either for breeding or as a show rabbit. You won't usually see pure breed animals turned in to the SPCA. Taz had some behavioral issues, so he probably wasn't serving the purpose of either a breeding rabbit, or for show. He was turned in to the SPCA as if he was an appliance that was brought back to the store because it did not work.

It was true that Taz did have some issues. The Volunteers at the shelter had to put on leather gloves and wrap a towel around their arm just to reach into his cage to clean the litter box. Taz would not only bite you, but he would not let go!


Taz was quickly neutered, hoping that would calm him down. Even at the Vet's Taz was a handful. He was put in a fish tank and given gas to sedate him enough that the vet could put him under for the operation. However, his behavior was learned over the past year of his life, and it would take time to unlearn it. We don't know why he behaved so badly, maybe his previous owners hit him. I could not imagine anyone striking an animal that weighed less than two pounds!

Since Taz was not adoptable with his biting, I took him home to foster. I was hoping I could work with him and give him time to overcome his fears. I hand fed him his carrot every morning. He would eat while I was holding the carrot to learn that my hand was good, and would not hurt him. I would handle him a little each day so he would get used to it. You should have seen the look on my Uncle's face when I brought Taz downstairs at Christmas with my leather gloves on! He thought I was nuts for bringing him into my home.

Little by little Taz's behavior improved. He doesn't bite at all anymore.  His name is Schotzie now. That means Sweetheart in German. It fits him so much better than Taz. He sleeps in bed with me, just lying at my feet or next to my pillow. He runs and plays and does binkies. Binkies are jumps for joy in bunny body language. I couldn't imagine not having Schotzie. The bite marks are gone, but the happy bunny is here to stay.


Next time you are considering adopting a bunny, please consider ALL of the bunnies in the shelter. The ones that may have a behavioral or medical problem may just turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Schotzie

Welcome to the SE PA-DE House Rabbit Society blog!  We will be posting news from the shelter here.  Please check back often. 
Its been a busy couple weeks recently.  We have had 7 new rabbits come into the shelter last week.  There is hardly a day that goes by without calls from people wanting to surrender their rabbits.  Please talk to everyone you know and tell them about the joys of having a rabbit, and also the responsibilities. 
We work with area shelters, taking in rabbits that are scheduled to be euthanized, and we are unable to accept owner surrendered rabbits.  (Unless the rabbit was originally adopted from our shelter)

Here are some of the buns that recently joined us:

Petty

Colton

Tudi

Mariposa

Chico

The bunnies need YOU!
Can you spare some time to help a bunny down on his luck?

Every Saturday morning, dedicated volunteers come to the shelter to help clean the rabbit’s cages, feed them, fill their water bottles, give them exercise, and groom them. Without these volunteers, the shelter wouldn’t exist. Without them, the rabbit you adopted would not have been saved.

Please come in to volunteer on a Saturday morning. We start cleaning about 10 or 10:30. Depending on how many volunteers come, we are done about noon or 1:00. Even if you were able to come in a couple times a year, it would be a great help. You can call the shelter to let us know you are coming or stop by the shelter.

There is always something better to do on a Saturday morning than get dirty. We all have families, jobs, and other obligations that make it hard to make the time to come in. Everyone you see at the shelter is a volunteer. Everything done for and with the bunnies is all on volunteered time. But taking that time out of our busy lives to help the bunnies is rewarding, and will bring good Bunny Karma!

This is a slightly modified poem I found. I think it is why we do what we do:

I adopted your bunny today.
The one you left at the pound.
The one you had for ten years
And no longer wanted around.

I adopted your bunny today.
Do you know he's lost weight?
Do you know he's scared and depressed
And has lost all faith?

I adopted your bunny today.
He had fleas and a cold,
But don't worry none.
You've unburdened your load.

I adopted your bunny today.
Were you having a baby or moving away?
Did you suddenly develop allergies
Or was there no reason he couldn't stay?

I adopted your bunny today.
He doesn't play or eat much.
He's very depressed,
But he will learn again to trust.

I adopted your bunny today
And here he will stay.
He's found his forever home
And a warm bed to lay.

I adopted your bunny today
And I will give him all that he could need.
Patience, love, security, and understanding.
Hopefully he will forget your selfish deed