** What's New? at House Rabbit Society ~ Nov. 2004


** I'm Dreaming of a White Bunny

From November 25th through January 5th, Sweet Binks
Rabbit Rescue http://www.rirabbits.org is conducting a
holiday event called "I'm Dreaming of a White Bunny."

For those of us that are true bun lovers, we usually do not
discriminate rabbits by the color of their coats or the color
of their eyes. We see the "inner bunny" and the rabbits for
who they are as individuals. But why are ruby-eyed, white
bunnies not cherished and appreciated by everyone who
loves rabbits? Why are white, ruby-eyed buns so hard to
place many times?

Those answers vary from what I have learned. After
questioning many folks this question, several responses
were given. One thought was that the red eyes seem to
represent a devilish appearance or something evil. That
thought is somewhat ridiculous but many people say they
are "freaked out" by red eyes.

Other thoughts range from a boring appearance,
representative of laboratory rabbits or just flat out dislike.

Is it because albinism is somewhat rare and when it is seen,
it is shunned as something abnormal? That doesn't make
sense though as other albino animals are cherished, such
as tigers, buffalo, snakes and wolves.

For those folks that love our ruby-eyed friends, I have
heard descriptions of their eyes being the most soulful, with
eye colors ranging from lavender to pink with bluish tints.
Some have described loving the white, ruby-eyed buns as they
represent their childhood past - whether their first bunny
was a ruby-eyed, white bun or they associate them with the book
Alice in Wonderland.

Sweet Binks currently has 13 ruby-eyed, white rabbits for
adoption. Most of them have been here over 6 months and
we have yet to have a single adoption inquiry for any of
them. We push so hard for these buns but people just
naturally fall for other more colorful rabbits. Some of our
ruby-eyed friends here have the most incredible
personalities and we know that if given a chance, folks
would fall madly in love with them.

Therefore, this holiday season, we are going to try to open
some minds to consider adopting a BWB (big white
bunny). If you are considering adopting a bunny soon, we
hope you will consider a ruby-eyed, white friend first!

To read more about our holiday event, check out our web
site: www.sweetbinks.org

Be certain to visit our cafepress store to see all of our new
designs including, our wonderful holiday-themed white
rabbit goodies: http://www.cafepress.com/sweetbinks



** Holiday Safety Tips

Reprinted from Leith Petwerks FunBun newsletter:
http://www.leithpetwerks.com/bunfun

The holidays can be full of hustle and bustle. Make sure
your home is safe for your rabbit by remembering these
simple tips:

- Natural, untreated Christmas trees (various evergreen
varieties) are usually not dangerous to rabbits. Be sure to
check for treatments including colorants, flocking,
pesticides or fire retardant. Often you can be most
assured of this information when purchasing a tree from a
"tree farm." The people there will likely be very familiar
with their product.

- Eating the needles and wood will leave them with pine-
fresh breath, but doesn't pose a serious danger. This is also
true for poinsettias; while ingesting a fair amount of this
plant may cause mild stomach upset (which is true for
just about any item not in any animal's normal diet), there
is no serious danger. (See the ASPCA for confirmation of
this information: http://tinyurl.com/724zn.)

- Consider natural decorations for your tree, and/or make
decorations from non-toxic items found around the house
and in craft stores. With animals in the home, it's the
perfect time to make construction paper garland, string
popcorn and cranberries into garland and using pinecones
for decorations.

- Christmas lights can pose a serious danger if your rabbit
has access to chew on the wires. If wires are exposed,
cover them in split-flex.

- Don't use tinsel, the thin strips of colored silver, gold or
other colors. These small strands are really attractive to
pets of all types for some reason, and can cause serious
problems if ingested. Likewise, avoid leaving strips of
string or ribbon around; while many items can be chewed
and ingested, the ingestion of a long string of matter can
pose serious problems in the intestines that requires
surgery. Some sources recommend leaving ribbons off of
packages completely if pets could have access to them.

- To improve safety, you can place a smaller tree on a
table or other piece of furniture such as a sideboard or
chest. The last time we had a tree in our home, we bought
a small 4 ft variety and placed it in the center of our dining
room table, laying the presents on the table. [We've since
given up -- with four dogs and two rabbits, having a tree is
just asking for a huge mess.]

Another option that will provide the highest level of safety
while freeing you to decorate with all the lights and glass
you wish is to restrict your rabbit's access to the tree. You
can set up an x-pen around the tree to keep bunny out, or
place the tree in a room that your bunny doesn't have
access to. This is sometimes tough, for of course you want
the tree in a high traffic area... and you want bunny there
too! But, it's an option.

- While we all like a fat and jolly Santa, we don't want fat
bunnies! To that end, don't deviate from your rabbit's
healthy, balanced diet by sharing holiday treats with them.
Some, such as chocolate, can cause serious dangers, and
a spike in sugar intake can cause stomach upset and
general GI tract troubles. Even natural treats such as
raisins and dried cranberries can be overdone; play it safe
and treat in moderation!


** Bunny Buddies

Karen Johanson - HRS Rabbit Center Health Care Coordinator

The Richmond Rabbit Center has launched an exciting new
program called "Bunny Buddies." Bunny Buddies are
regular volunteers who sponsor one particular rabbit with
whom they feel a connection or who needs some extra
attention. Buddies spend some extra time each week with
their bunny, giving them love, grooming and playing with
them, and assisting the shelter staff with monitoring their
health. In this manner, volunteers can concentrate their
time with one special bunny and establish a bond between
them rather than everyone trying to give five minutes of
love to 40 rabbits. The bunnies benefit because they gain
a human whom they can trust and love; the volunteers get
to spend time doing what they love best: playing with the
rabbits; and the shelter staff has help with the day to day
monitoring of health and grooming.

Bunny Buddies has been a huge success in its first month
of existence. Over twenty volunteers have chosen one or
more buddies, and almost 3/4 of our rabbits now have a
special friend! In particular, the children of volunteers are
thrilled to have a rabbit who is their special pal, and they
have started a new trend of reading to their buddies while
their parents clean pens! The rabbits, in turn, enjoy the
gentle attention given them by the soothing sound of a
voice reading a book. Indeed, some of our shyest rabbits
are already showing signs of increased trust and
confidence!

Helen was a very shy rabbit who ran from even the
slightest touch. Terrified when approached, Helen hid in
her box and avoided contact as though her very life
depended on it. A month ago, one of our most dedicated
volunteers agreed to work with Helen as her Bunny
Buddy, and the results have been astonishing. Helen is
still very cautious, but she will not hide when you
approach her pen, will sit still for petting, and understands
that she is safe in our company. Helen still has a long way
to go, but with her Buddy's help, she is learning to trust
and enjoy human companionship.

The ultimate goal of the program was to make the bunnies
happier and get them adopted more quickly, but it is
showing perhaps an even greater success with the
volunteers, who are finding extra time and loving every
minute of it!



** Hayward Rescued Rabbits & Lucky Updates

Both of these California rabbit cruelty cases are still on a
legal track. All parties have entered "Not guilty" pleas and
are scheduled for pre-trial in December. For more
information about both of these cases, please go to:
www.haywardrabbits.org
www.luckyrabbit.org

Following is a list of the fine people, organizations and
companies who donated energy and supplies to help the
Hayward Rabbits Rescue Post Card Drive and petition
signing. We could never have accomplished such outreach
without your invaluable help. Enormous thanks to each
and every one of you.

Susan & Tom Harrow- Rabbits N More
www.rabbitsnmore.com

Haviva- Rabbit Rescue Inc. in Ontario, Canada
www.rabbitrescue.ca

Jennifer Johannsen- Bunny Bytes
www.bunnybytes.com

Alex Logsdon - Zooh Corner Rabbit Rescue
http://www.mybunny.org

Lisa & Paul Matheson - The Busy Bunny
www.busybunny.com

Theresa Mazzei- S.E. PA/DE HRS
http://houserabbit.usersource.com/

Amy Spintman - Cats & Rabbits & More
http://www.catsandrabbitsandmore.com/products



** Lavender Bunnies Help House Rabbit Society!

Sweet smelling Lavender Bunnies have found a way to
help House Rabbit Society.

Cris De Cuyper, HRS member and owner of Lavender Fanatic
(www.lavenderfanatic.com) has designed Lavender
Bunnies (http://tinyurl.com/6u7rg) to sooth and delight you
after a hard day of litter box scrubbing. Cris has generously
offered to contribute 30% of the sales of these hand-sewn
bunnies to HRS. Be certain to check out the other lovely
lavender items available at: www.lavenderfanatic.com.

Thank you Cris!



** Business Too Good at Refuge

The Arizona Republic - Nov. 4, 2004
Cary Aspinwall

Business booming for Regina Whitman, unfortunately.

Whitman's business is caring for injured and abandoned
animals, displaced by encroaching development and
damaged by predators in the Queen Creek area.

She rescues jackrabbits and cottontails, birds, tortoises
and other animals, which live at her Desert Cry wildlife
refuge until they can be released back to nature. Many end
up living permanently at the refuge because they won't be
able to survive in the wild. But the hares and rabbits are
her calling. And a room in her home has become the
temporary, rabbit-chewed refuge for the animals she saves
since a pack of dogs recently destroyed one of her
outdoor caged areas, killing two of her antelope
jackrabbits.

Another jackrabbit, Chew Chew, survived the attack and
will live permanently at the refuge because it won't know
how to survive on its own.

Whitman studies her rabbits and hares while rehabilitating
them, writing and publishing papers on caring for them.

Her eyes well with tears and her voice shakes as she
describes how they can become attached to one another,
even life mates. In one corner of the room, she has a
domestic rabbit and a guinea pig she rescued that are like
an old married couple.

"They can be very devoted mates and parents," she said.
"That's a very big part of my work. It's not just raising and
releasing them, but studying them."

Chew Chew bats away her arms as she tries to pick up
one of the younger cottontails, trying to protect it.

"This is what people don't know about these animals, how
social and protective they can be," she said.

A former veterinary technician and Bronx Zoo volunteer,
Whitman bought her acreage south of the Hunt Highway
about 11 years ago to open her own refuge. She left 2
acres of her 3.5-acre property untouched so as not to
disturb the wildlife.

But so much of the area around her is being disturbed by
the shopping centers and neighborhoods breaking ground
daily.

She's worried about what will become of the native
animals, and how she will be able to afford to care for
the displaced ones.

"These animals are losing their habitat hour by hour and
day by day," she said. "They need square miles to survive
and forage and eat."

Not only does she need funding for the feeding and care
of the animals she rescues. She said she needs donations
of items such as bleach, trash bags, postage stamps, rabbit
pellets, hay and pine shavings.

She's also looking for anyone with construction experience
and tools to volunteer to help her repair the outdoor caged
area for the rabbits and hares.

"It's what you do for the animals that counts," Whitman
said.

Donations to this marvelous sanctuary are needed and very
much appreciated by all who safely recover and reside at
Desert Cry in Arizona: http://tinyurl.com/4e5o7

Contact: desertcry@... or 480-987-3544



** Another Store Selling Rabbit Fur

(Extracted from a Fund for Animals Action Alert)

Juicy Couture, one of today's leading "hip" everyday
fashion lines, has started selling rabbit fur handbags! Please
contact them at: contactLA@... and at
contactLondon@... to politely, yet firmly,
let them know how thoroughly disappointed you are with
their decision. Please point out some of the cruelties behind
fur (see notes below), as well as some of the
environmental hazards. Urge them to immediately pull
these handbags from their line and let them know that until
they do, you won't be a customer.

Additionally, it would be good to inform Juicy that other
international fashion houses like INDITEX (which owns
ZARA) has recently made the compassionate decision to
immediately remove fur from most of their stores and will
be removing all fur from all stores as of January 2005.


* About Rabbit Fur

On rabbit production farms, rex rabbits, the breed
preferred by the fur fashion industry, are crammed into tiny
cages and movement is restricted to increase their size.
They are not able to run or hop. These stressful conditions
can lead to disease and other health problems such as sore
hocks and even cannibalism.

The breeding females are on an endless cycle of
reproduction, often giving birth to over 100 young during
their unnaturally short 2 to 3 year life span. The rabbits not
kept for breeding are killed at around 6-7 months of age,
by methods that are totally unregulated by the government
such as neck-breaking, bludgeoning, and throat-slitting.

Furthermore, according to a recent report from the United
Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, rex rabbits
are farmed primarily for their fur, with little value placed on
their meat. Therefore, claims from companies that rex
rabbit fur is simply a "by-product" of the meat industry
are false.

The fur industry's claims that fur garments are natural
products that biodegrade quicker than synthetic fibers are
false. While purely raw fur pelts may be biodegradable, the
dressed pelts that are used by the fashion industry are not.
Before they can be made into garments worn by the
general public, pelts must be processed with caustic and
toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde and chromium,
which are extremely hazardous to public health and the
environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
actually sued 6 fur manufacturing firms in the US $2.2
million for illegally generating, storing, transporting, and
disposing of hazardous materials used to process fur pelts.



** Animal Under Attack:
Rabbit with arrows through both ears is recovering

The following Victoria, British Columbia, newspaper article
is about a rabbit who was shot with an arrow (the rabbit is
now recovering). Hopefully, the incident is an isolated one.
We are including this article because of the impressive
amount of coverage this story received in this West
Canada newspaper: http://tinyurl.com/6oa86



** HRS Featured Chapter Item of the Month

San Diego HRS sells a beautiful Sterling Silver Prayer Box
necklace (http://tinyurl.com/56bwx). The little box has a
heart and bunny motif. Inside, you can secret away a
special treasure (a whisker? a special little note?) and carry
it near your heart everyday. This lovely necklace would
make a perfect holiday gift for yourself or for a special
bunny lover in your life. All proceeds from the sales of
these silver necklaces go to the fantastic rescue, fostering
and adoption programs run by San Diego HRS; 15 years
now and still going strong! And, during the month of
December (ends Dec. 31, 2004) they are running a
special; $25 each or 2 for $45.



** House Rabbit Society Chapter Updates


* Rhode Island (http://www.rirabbits.org)

Sweet Binks recently installed a new sink, hot water tank
and drainage system in our shelter. Due to stricter shelter
regulations in the state of Rhode Island, Sweet Binks
members and friends all pitched in at our recent fundraiser
to make this possible. A very special thank you to all our
friends around New England and the companies that
donated their goods and services as well. Both rabbits
present and future will all benefit by your hard work and
generosity!


* San Diego Update (http://tinyurl.com/4nbgw)

The San Diego Chapter is getting ready for their annual
Holiday Party Dec 8th at the War Memorial building in
Balboa Park. The event will have holiday fun, food and
friends. They will have a vegetarian potluck, a fundraising
raffle and gift items for people and their rabbits. Attendees
will also be able to decorate a stocking for their rabbit and
purchase lots of holiday goodies to fill it! To learn more
about this event, see this web page:
http://tinyurl.com/4c5u3


* Colorado (http://www.coloradohrs.com)

The Colorado House Rabbit Society held its annual Bunny
Boutique on November 21st. We had a good, but not
great, turnout. At this time, we don't know what income
was generated, but at least three people are interested in
adoption, and many discussions were held with people
about the care of their rabbits.

A silent auction was incorporated into this event, one of
the items being an incredible neck scarf made exclusively
from the wool combed from our own shelter angoras (we
keep them clipped fairly short, so this scarf is proof that
angora wool can be used to spin without putting the
rabbit through the discomforts associated with allowing
the coat to grow to full length). Debby Schmidt was the
person who collected the wool while grooming the rabbits.
Nanette Blanchard spun it into yarn, and Kay Fritsche
knitted the scarf. It brought in $110, by the way--a real
bargain to the purchaser!

We are very excited about the work that is under way to
build safe, outdoor runs, and attach our shelter to the city
sewer system. At the moment, there is little but torn-up
ground to see, but the schedule calls for completion
sometime in December. When complete, the rabbits from
eight crates or runs can have outdoor exercise time at the
same time. We have 64 crates and 6 runs, so we expect
the rabbits to get lots of exercise every week, weather
permitting.

We now have the ability to contact all of our members
who have email with a single command. The ability was
created in order to tell our membership where to find our
latest e-newsletter. This has proven extremely useful for
other purposes, too, such as alerting our members of
anything they should know right away.

This capability was most recently used when the state of
Colorado confiscated 187 mostly angora rabbits in
October. We sent email to our membership and they
passed it on to people who had interest in these rabbits.
We understand that there are now no more than 30
angoras remaining who need homes. Although the state
has no requirements for these rabbits to be housed in a
home, many of the people who have responded to our
appeal intend them to be house-rabbits.

In an effort to get the remaining angoras placed, one of
our members, Sandy Roberts, has worked with a spinning
and weaving shop in Hot Sulfur Springs (one of our
mountain communities) to have a demonstration of using
angora wool in spinning. Nancy LaRoche, co-manager of
the chapter, will be there to discuss rabbit care (emphasis
on living in the house) and explain that angoras should be
kept clipped relatively short. Of course, that wonderful
angora scarf will be there to demonstrate the realities of
being able to spin the wool while keeping it clipped. Sandy
and Nancy are trying to work out a plan whereby the
remaining angoras will belong to the chapter, without our
having to house them. We can then require that homes for
them meet our requirements.


* San Francisco/Marin (www.saveabunny.com)

A sweet SaveaBunny foster rabbit played the role of
ambassador for white bunnies everywhere when he
recently took part in a fashion photo-shoot for Klipingers
Personal Finance: http://tinyurl.com/3oecy

The SF/Marin Chapter is gearing up for their annual Open
House Holiday Party, featuring fine foods, silent auction
and gift sale, and bunny-love in abundance. The party will
be held on Dec.12.


* Richmond Rabbit Center (http://tinyurl.com/5egtm)

Our Nov. 28th Holiday Party was a wonderful success!
Tons of bunnies were lucky enough to have their holiday
picture's taken by our fabulous photographer, Ken Mark.
Thanks to Carolyn Mosher for providing refreshments and
items for yet another successful auction! Sales at The Hop
Shop boomed thanks to Phyllis Tenney. Thank you to all
the volunteers who helped with our 4th Annual fundraiser.
Special mention goes to Aimee, Alex, Andrea, Carol,
Gayle, Janice, Karen J., Mitsuko, Sara and Yuri for all
their hard work.


** Holiday Shopping for You and Your Bunnies!

Looking for great bunny-themed holiday gift ideas? Visit
these bunny-friendly web-sites that help support their local
rabbit rescue organizations:

1) www.cafepress.com/hayward_rabbits
2) www.cafepress.com/bunny_art
3) www.cafepress.com/hrs,hrs2,hrs3
4) www.cafepress.com/evonnes_art
5) www.catsandrabbitsandmore.com/products
6) www.cafepress.com/sweetbinks
7) www.cafepress.com/michrr
8) www.cafepress.com/runningrabbit
9) www.cafepress.com/rabbithaven

Check-out www.cafepress.com and do a search on
"rabbit." You'll find many wonderful rabbit-themed items
that are perfect for gift giving.


** Give a Holiday HRS Membership to a Friend!

Purchasing a membership to House Rabbit Society would
make a perfect holiday gift. It's easy to buy one. They only
come in one size. You won't have to search for a parking
slot and you won't have to look for a matching bow.

You and the fortunate recipient will both know you are
supporting the largest house rabbit advocacy organization
on the planet. Please consider buying those on your
holiday list a gift membership today. All members receive
the Society's newsletter, House Rabbit Journal.

A yearly tax-deductible membership costs only $18 or
$25 for international memberships. Please go to:
http://rabbit.org/hrs-info/joining.html



* On behalf of the rabbits, thank you. *