Miss Moody (left) and her mate, Popeye

We lost yet another resident today.   For some reason, they tend to go in groups of three.   Today, it was one of our big white New Zealand bunnies.  Miss Moody, so called because sometimes she was your best friend and sometimes she hated the mere thought of your pitiful existence, was suffering from a calcified abscess in her lung.  We don't know how long it's been there, but it must have been a while because she was barely able to breathe.

Unlike cats or dogs, who make it pathetically obvious when something is wrong, rabbits will hide it.   As prey animals, they can't let on that they're injured or (in the wild) they'll be targeted by predators.   This really sucks for people who run rabbit rescues.   Everything will be perfectly fine one day, and the next you have a dead rabbit on your hands that you didn't even know was sick....it's like you never really get a chance to to try and help them.   There are some obvious ailments, like upper respiratory infections for example, that come with sneezing...so we can tell by the sneezing that there's something wrong.   But unless you're really paying attention (and know what to look for), you may be completely blindsided.

With Marley, I had a feeling something was off....I could tell by the way he was acting that something wasn't right.    With Moody....I had no idea she was secretly suffering.  It's so hard when you think "if we knew, we could have helped her."   But like I always say: You can't save them all.

Hop Along Hollow lost a resident today.   Marley was a big black half-lop (meaning one ear flopped down and the other one stood straight up), maybe a little on the older side...although we can never be too sure with rescues.   He had been acting strangely for a few months but we had blood work done on him a couple of times and everything kept coming back negative.  We chalked it up to old age because mostly he was just lethargic and seemed to have arthritis.   I brought his condition up again on Saturday to Linda, the head honcho here at the shelter, because he just wasn't right to me...something was off regardless of what the blood tests showed.  Linda scheduled him to go into a foster home tomorrow so he could be watched consistently, but he left us sometime late last night or early this morning.   The necropsy showed congenital heart issues, including an enlarged aorta.  No wonder the poor guy didn't want to move around...every little movement was a strain on his heart.   It just really sucks when even the ones you've rescued just can't be saved.

On a lighter note, I had an experience today that I think even most parents of human children will appreciate.
My parents are going out of town for the holiday weekend so I told them I would watch their cat, Junior, while they were gone.  We went to pick him up earlier tonight, and my step-mom is totally freaking out about leaving him (he tends to freak out a little in the car and also has a minor medical issue).    One thing about Junior is that he doesn't "do" cat carriers.  He has a little kitty leash that supposedly works perfectly find when my parents use it on him.   I, personally, find it to be a little pointless because he's normally so freaked out he doesn't budge on the short walk from the house to the car.   So we go to leave, I'm carrying Junior (in his harness and leash) out to the car.   I open the car door and the cat FLIPS OUT.  He latches onto my shoulder blade, drags himself onto my back and launches himself off into the garden, all the while still attached to the leash which is wrapped around my hand.   He is totally wiggin' out now that he realizes he's still attached and he's just literally flipping all over the place like a psycho.   I don't want to just "reel him in" because at the time, I forgot about the harness and didn't want to choke him....so I bend down to grab him and he bolts (still attached) into the garden again.   Well now, he's half hidden behind a plethora of giant leaves, kicking and clawing and just freaking out.   Then he BACKS OUT OF THE HARNESS.   I literally THROW myself into the dirt on top of him, he tries to run again but can't go anywhere, I manage to scoop him up and toss him into the car, and he immediately starts looking for another open door.  

My step-mom, of course, saw the whole thing from her kitchen window.

After I just PROMISED her that I would not lose her cat, I damn near almost lost her cat....and in her own garden.   My first thought "how embarassing" and it made me sympathize with all the parents out there who go on and on about how their child is so well behaved, or whatever, and then runs into the room bare-assed shouting obscenities.   Just....ugh!     Here I thought he was too freaked out to move and he made a run for it as soon as I moved my hand to open the car door.    Now I feel like a completely inept caregiver!    And yes, the pic at the top is Junior...perfectly fine now!

The last few days have been...well...I don't even know what word to use.
Through Hop-Along Hollow, we have a YahooGroup where people involved in animal rescue groups can post information on animals needing to be homed, lost animals, etc.

In the last three days, we've gotten about 15 emails, trying to find homes for various cats and dogs.  A few of them are uncontrollable circumstances...the owners passed away and now the beloved pets have to be rehomed.

But I can't tell you how many emails are forwarded posts from Craig's List, where people are giving away kittens or dogs...no idea that there are people out there who look for "Free To Good Home" ads so they can sell the animals to laboratories.

And I can't tell you how many emails are about animals that have just been abandoned somewhere.

One email was for 2 black Siamese mix kittens...only a few weeks old.
Another was for a kitten who was the soul survivor when she, along with her mother and siblings, were left on the side of a busy road and everyone but her was hit by passing cars.
Today, I got an email for 2 twelve-week old puppies who are at pound in Nashville, TN...they were tied to a dumpster, a bag of food left next to them, and just left there.   TWELVE WEEKS OLD!   And now they're on death row because no one has claimed them.  If they don't get adopted in 14 days, they go for the big sleep.  

There just aren't enough shelters to house all of these sad cases, and not enough funding for the ones we do have, to keep all of the animals that come in alive for more than a few weeks.  A lot of people feel that with education and proper training, eventually the overpopulation of unwanted pets will decline...  But if anything, I feel that in the last year or so, it's gotten worse.

The economy is bad, the country is being ravaged by destructive storms, people are losing their income, and their homes.   Most shelters will turn down new animals because they're already overcrowded, and the ones that will take in new ones require a drop-off fee, which most people don't have.  In desperation, they turn their animals lose, or dump them somewhere, hoping that someone will take them in. 

While I agree, that if people would spay or neuter their pets when they get them, and avoid adding to the massive amount of unwanted pets in the first place, then by default the number of animals in need will decline.  But a lot of people out there still think that "Puppies and Kittens" is a good business.  They still think they can buy a chihuahua at a pet store, breed it to another chihuahua from another pet store (both of which, most likely came from puppy mills and are inbred with birth defects they will now pass down), that they can sell the cute little puppies for a few hundred dollars each.   What they don't realize is that 3-4 million animals are put to sleep every year because there are just too many!  Between puppy mills, reputable breeders, and "backyard" breeders (people who have no license to breed or any discernible breeding background), there are just too many animals and not enough homes.   Out of every 5 puppies born, 3 of them will end up in a shelter at some point in their lives.  Now imagine that those same three were never neutered and had puppies of their own...that's another 15 dogs (assuming each has another 5).   9 of those will end up in a shelter.   And so on, and so forth.   

I wish I could save them all, but I know it's impossible.  Most days, I just pass on the emails that look the most urgent...the animals on death row, mostly.  The others, I have to delete.  If I sit there and look at them, I cry and I worry.   When I first started volunteering at Hop Along Hollow, one of the first things I was taught was "you can't save them all."   Maybe one day, there won't be any to save...but until then, I have to keep telling myself that.  My boyfriend told me today that if I worry too much about it, I'll give myself an ulcer.  I don't know exactly how one gets an ulcer, but I know that ulcers or not, I can't worry about it.  I can't think about it.  I can't stress about it.   I can do my part to pass on the information as it comes to me, and hope that even just one life is saved. 

If you, or someone you know, is interested in helping animals - even if you can't adopt - there are ways to pitch in.  And no matter how insignificant it feels, I promise it will make a difference.

You can:
Foster - short term or long term.  An empty cage at a shelter means an available spot for another animal.  Plus, an animal that learns to live in a functioning home environment is much more likely to find a permanent home in the end!
Clean cages - believe it or not, this is the highlight of my week.  It's not just helping the animals (with rabbits, sometimes I feel like they couldn't care less because they just start tearing paper or kicking hay around within 10 minutes anyway), but the people who run the shelters can't do it all on their own.  Volunteer for ONE DAY and I promise you will have a whole new perspective on what goes on in a rescue environment. 
Walk/Brush/Play - You have no idea how badly animals shed in the summer time until you're amongst 70 of them all shedding at once.   They need to be brushed, bathed, exercised, and socialized.   A kitten who is terrified is NOT going to get adopted when compared to one who is outgoing.  Even if you sit on the floor and just pet an animal for 5 minutes, you are showing him or her that not all humans are scary!
Donate - You'd be surprised what $5 can get a shelter...a bag of cat food, or litter, some treats, or toys....Or your $5 can be combined with someone else's $5 and a giant bag of food can be purchased which will feed multiple animals.  A lot of rescues also need litterboxes, newspapers, blankets or towels - stuff you may have lying around and have no use for.  Heck, those cardboard tubes that your toilet paper and paper towels come wrapped on...Rabbits LOVE those!  And you don't have to put in any extra money for them!    A lot of rescues will even take your empty cans and bottles.  If you just toss them in the recycling bucket and don't worry about returning them for the 5 cent deposit, collect them for a month (or a week depending on how much you drink!) and donate them to a rescue. 

Remember, it may not seem like a lot but it all accumulates and every little bit helps!
And please remember to spay or neuter!  You're dog does not look "bad-ass" with his testicles bouncing around between his legs!   It looks painful!  Not to mention that spaying/neutering will help solve A LOT of behavioral issues, such as spraying, biting, digging, running away, humping, and chewing!   If you know someone with an unaltered pet, please urge them to get their animal altered.  There are a lot of low-cost clinics out there...all they have to do is ASK! 

PS - If you're interested in joining our yahoogroup, please do!  Go to YahooGroups.com and search for BrandeesBunch

 Congrats to Goldie on her new home!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there (whether you have human kids or animal kids)!

We spent yesterday morning down at Hop Along Hollow cleaning cages.   My boyfriend and I tag team it and it usually takes about 2 hours for us to do the whole shelter, which consists of anywhere between 25-30 cages.   We have 14 pairs and 15 single rabbits, totaling 43 rabbits....and that's just the ones that are available for adoption (not sick or injured) and not including the few we have in foster homes. 

Of course one of our longtime residents, Goldie, was adopted yesterday afternoon...but almost immediately, a new one came in to take her place.   A seven year old boy that someone just decided one day they didn't want anymore, so they stuck him in a box and left him at a pet store.  Imagine doing that to a human kid?  Of course, some people HAVE (and worse) but at least they're punished for it.   You can't leave a human kid in a box at the store because you just don't want him anymore, and get off scott-free. 

At 7 years old, a rabbits life is more than half over (in general, they'll live 8-12 years).  He's considered an old man.   The chances of him getting adopted are slim to none.  Which means he's pretty much guaranteed to spend the rest of his life behind bars...and he's 100% innocent.

But at least at The Hollow he'll have a clean cage, fresh food and water, a warm place to sleep in the winter and a cool one for the summer.   He'll have people come in to visit him everyday, sometimes give him a treat.  One way or another, he'll be taken care of and not neglected.  Not dumped in a box somewhere because someone grew tired of him.  

This reminds me of a story I read a few months ago, about a girl who went to the Emergency Room, gave birth in a bathroom stall, and dumped the newborn baby in the trashcan on her way out of the hospital.  The baby lived for a few days but subsequently died.   This happened in a state where they have Safe Haven laws, meaning you can drop off any baby within 10 days after it's birth to any hospital, police station, or fire station and no one will ask you questions.  You're giving up the rights to your child but at least he/she will be taken care of.    This woman was IN THE HOSPITAL.  And just tossed her baby in a trash can.   How do you live with yourself? 

It's always depressing when you hear stories like this because as a species, human beings are able to make choices between right and wrong.   Animals make choices based on survival and instinct.  We make choices based on selfishness and greed and a sense of self-importance.   A woman CHOSE to throw away her baby just as someone CHOSE to just dump their rabbit...a companion for 7 years, in a box at a pet store.   Both knew what they were doing and did it anyway.   There's no sense of responsibility, no compassion, no love.  Just an old toy that wore out it's welcome or an unwanted burden in the form of a newborn.

It's really just pathetic and sad to think that, as a species, as a race, these are the kinds of choices that human beings make on a daily basis.  Lives are disposable...there's no emotion, no attachment. 

If you take away anything from this post, it should be to always be responsible for your actions and show some compassion with the choices you make.   What's easiest for you may be hurtful (or harmful) to others....including the creatures that can't speak for themselves...whether they be animals or newborn babies.

So today is Thursday, and I'm totally ready for the weekend to just get here already!  

Today I wanted to share something with you all that really irritates me.   

I really hate it when people ask me questions about something they know I'm proficient in...such as animal care for example.  I give them a ton of advice and they choose to blatantly ignore me.   Then, when they have a problem, as a DIRECT RESULT of ignoring my advice, they come crying back to me to help them fix it.

I REALLY hate that. 

My opinion is that, if you are asking for advice from someone you consider to be an expert in their field, it's probably because you don't know a lot about the subject.   So if you disregard my advice, why would I want to help you later on?  The truth is, I don't.   But...99% of the time, the advice you asked for and then subsequently disregarded, led you to go out and purchase a new pet, that you now have to find a new home for.   Which means, that if I don't help you, the animal has to suffer.   

The same applies for pet stores.  No, the pet stores aren't asking for help and disregarding it, but hear me out.

I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a pet store and seen an animal in there who is clearly sick.   The problem, is that pet stores don't want to spend the money to have their animals looked at by a vet (even though it's required by law in most places).   If I leave the animal there, it suffers.  But if I buy it, the pet store makes money and gets another one to replace it.  So now, I've just perpetuated the problem.

Sometimes I think back to how blissfully ignorant I was of stuff like this.   Before I became a volunteer in animal rescue, I had no idea that animal abuse was taking place in pet stores; the very places that claim to LOVE animals!  (And yes folks, neglect - especially of a sick animal - is abuse!)  I had no idea that people would actually go to pet stores, buy an animal, and then release it onto the street a few weeks later, for any number of poor excuses...I mean "reasons."  Back then, I had no idea what a puppy mill was, or what really happened in slaughterhouses (you'd think that one was self-explanatory but hey! I was ignorant!).  

As nice as being blissfully ignorant was, I'm glad I know now what's going on out there.   Because now I can do something to help.  No, I can't single-handedly shut down every puppy mill in the country, or stop people from throwing rocks at a stray bunny that some dumb-ass let go to fend for itself (true story), and I can't stop people from throwing their 7-week old puppy from the 3rd floor window of an apartment building, subsequently breaking it's leg (also a true story).   But if ONE person takes my advice seriously and doesn't get a pet they aren't prepared to handle....if ONE person adopts from a rescue instead of perpetuating the pet store/breeder cycle...if ONE person brings their pets to be spayed/neutered and prevents a plethora of unwanted litters....if ONE person removes an animal from an abusive situation, not knowing anything about how to care for it, but just knowing they HAVE to get it out of there....Then I've made a difference.  A HUGE difference.  

Have you ever heard that saying "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world?"   That's kind of how I feel about animal rescue.   I might not change the world all at once...but every little bit helps!

Fun Fact:
Did you know that rabbits have a 28 day gestation period, can give birth to 4-10 babies depending on the size of the mother, and can get pregnant again within THREE HOURS of giving birth?   They can also stop the birth process if danger approaches, and continue delivering their babies when it's safe?   Oh yeah, and females reach reproductive age at 4 months old!   Now you know where the saying "Breed Like Rabbits" came from! 

I've really been wanting to start a blog devoted to my love of animal rescue for a long time, and I've always been afraid that people would find it boring, so I never started one.   But this past Saturday, I was down at Hop Along Hollow talking to a young woman named Susan who was there to adopt a bunny from us.  

I feel bad for people who come to The Hollow to adopt a bunny and haven't done a stitch of research beforehand.   The amount of information I can spew out off the top of my head is overwhelming, even to me.  But Susan took it all in stride, and I could tell she was trying her best to remember everything.  She is the one who convinced me to write a blog so...here we are.
 
I often wonder why so few people don't think it's necessary to do a little bit of fact-finding prior to getting a pet.  ANY pet.  A dog, a cat, a rabbit, a fish, a bird, a snake...whatever the case may be.   I can't tell you how many times I've heard the sob stories of people who went out and bought an animal, and are "heartbroken to have to give him/her up because of ______."    Allergies, lack of time, lack of space, lack of money.... I've heard it all.  And in the end, the ones that suffer are the animals who can't say so for themselves.  

For every rabbit we adopt out, 2 more come in.  Destined for life behind bars for at the least a few weeks...more likely, a few years.    The babies are lucky...they don't stay long.  Everyone wants a baby.   But if you're over 6lbs, or have pink eyes, or are over a year old and considered to be an "adult"....you'll be sitting behind those bars for a very long while.  

Sad but true.   Pet stores are the worst because they have little to no knowledge of the requirements of the animals they are selling.  People come in, say "aww how cute," open their wallets, go home with their shiny new toy...and in 6 weeks it ends up in a cage at a shelter, or set free on the side of the road somewhere, or worse...put to sleep.  3-4 MILLION animals are euthanized every year because shelters and rescues are so overcrowded.  It's a damn shame, to put it mildly. 

So before I start crying and go off on a tangent, let me summarize by encouraging you to RESEARCH before bringing an animal into your home...and if you do decide to bring a fur-kid (feather-kid, scale-kid? etc) home, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE adopt from a shelter or rescue!   And encourage OTHERS to do the same! 

Fun Fact:
Did you know that rabbits have more in common, physiologically, with elephants and horses than with any other creature?   Like elephants and horses, rabbits require a constant supply of fresh hay as the primary component to their diets.   98% of the rabbits turned over to rescues due to "allergies" are because people are allergic to the hay, not the animal!

Please provide feedback!  Constructive criticism is WELCOMED with open arms!  Questions, comments....as long as you're POLITE! please post them!