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!