* What's New? at House Rabbit Society – November 2005 *


** Hurricane Katrina

* Report from New Orleans HRS

Noah's Wish (www.noahswish.org) arrived in New
Orleans just days after Katrina hit. Working with them has
been a rewarding experience.

The rescued rabbits were traumatized. The animals were
kept in a large maintenance barn. The dogs barked
constantly. The rabbits were repeatedly moved to
accommodate incoming cats and dogs. The high heat and
humidity caused many to shed excessively. The lops
suffered from the heat and there was real concern for their
survival.

Alabama Ears was the first group to come and take rabbits.
Linda and Ruth brought supplies and took some of the
rabbits. Several Noah's Wish volunteers adopted rabbits.
We even had one rabbit adopted to a home in Canada!
All were spayed or neutered before leaving or were given
papers from Noah's wish stating the organization would
pay for the surgery. The rabbits who were sent to
MD/DC/NoVA HRS were fixed thanks to generous
donations. All rabbits had adoption kits including hay, food
and toys. Noah's Wish provided brand new carriers and
collapsible cages.

The total number of rescued rabbits has yet to be
determined.

I cannot say enough about all the support we received.
There were 10 to 12 veterinarians on site, some from as
far away as Canada. Oxbow Hay supplied hay and pellets
and set up a Katrina Donation account. Oxbow absorbed
all shipping costs. Bunny Bales donated hay and toys were
donated by Busy Bunny and Bunnybytes.

Debra Doerfler and Laura Lynn Renner (HRS) came and
worked for Noah's Wish. Danielle Collins (North Georgia
HRS) worked tirelessly updating people on the rabbits'
status via phone. Gainesville Rabbit Rescue took 30 rabbits
from Baton Rouge, either reuniting them with their owners
or found them new, loving homes.

It took many people and organizations working together to
make this rescue work. I just happened to be standing in
the middle of Katrina's chaos and did what anyone would
have done. It has been a humbling experience and, at times,
heartbreaking, but I would not change a thing. Heartfelt
thanks to all of you for your support.

June Booth, HRS Educator, Slidell LA

June Booth resides in Slidell, Louisiana and experienced the
devastation of Katrina first hand. From day one, June
worked tirelessly, not only to save her own animals but for
countless others affected by the disaster. You can help
support June's important work with the Katrina rabbits
by shopping at this CafePress online shop:
http://www.cafepress.com/katrina_rabbits

Additionally, BunsNRoses (www.bunsnroses.com) is
featuring Holiday soaps and baskets this month with 50%
of the proceeds from sales through the end of 2005
donated to Noah's Wish to care for rabbits affected by the
Katrina/Rita hurricanes. The remaining 50% will help take
care of sanctuary rabbits in Arizona.

In addition to soap, we are now offering cruelty free lotion,
bath salts and sugar scrub! Give mom an energizing foot
scrubbie to get her moving in the morning and relaxing
lavender bath salts to wind down at night! Dad will love
the new "Spice" lotion fragrance. This was made especially
for "Mr. Anonymous" who loves the lotion but wanted a
more "manly" scent.

If you prefer to pay with a check, please write to me at:
laurie@... or call 480-710-7215. Let me
know what you want and I'll give you a total. Receive a
free guest size soap with every order!

For more information about Noah's Wish and the Katrina
rescue, please go to:
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_24720.shtml



** Large Scale Rescue Information

Large Scale Rescues have been keeping Rabbit Rescue
Groups very busy lately...

* Tennessee:

Bunny Rescue of Nashville has been involved with a large
rabbit seizure case. The state veterinarian had counted 51
rabbits so far that needed to be seized (dozens were dead
or dying when authorities arrived). They are allowing the
owner to keep around 30 if she agrees to allow us to shuttle

them to Nashville for spays and neuters. As of November
21, they are officially down to 24 bunnies now and things
are looking better. Bunny Rescue has been moving the
rabbits out of the building they've been in and are
desperately seeking one more garage to house 10-12
rabbits. To see the photos of these needy rabbits, please
go to: http://homepage.mac.com/lauriekay/PhotoAlbum7.html

If you can help with donations, adoptions, volunteer work,
or fostering, please contact:

Laurie Montgomery
Bunny Rescue
Nashville, TN
(615)507-0526
www.bunnyrescue.net

* Maine:

October 12, 2005: A few years back some folks in Maine
started a rabbit sanctuary, but, as too often happens, they
grew too large and are now out of funds. They have been
evicted from their home and have placed 120 rabbits
(almost all in pairs and over 5 years) in temporary housing
in a barn in Wiscasset. They have been given three weeks
by the barn's owners and the local animal control to place
the rabbits. I am helping them to search for suitable homes
for the buns.

If any of you have room for a pair or more, please contact
me. The couple no longer have a phone, so you may
contact me at 603-569-9372 or through e-mail if you can
help or have any suggestions. We need assistance not only
in taking rabbits, but also in transporting rabbits across
New England. If you can help, please contact me.

Caroline Hess
HRS Educator/Fosterer
NH House Rabbit Services
wchess@...
603-569-9372

Ohio:

November 2005. The Buckeye House Rabbit Society is in
urgent need of donations (money, supplies, cages, hay,
pellets - see Wish List below) for a crisis in Lorain County,
Ohio. In October 2005, we became aware of a situation in
which a woman is hoarding roughly 100 rabbits in her home
and detached garage. Our first goal was to capture and
separate to prevent any more litters and also to keep them
from injuring each other and themselves. We are now
trying to capture the remaining 10-15 rabbits who are still
loose in the attic and basement and are still reproducing.
A local vet has already spayed/neutered 30 of the rabbits
and has agreed to spay/neuter every one of them.

Local humane officers and shelters are very reluctant to get
involved, so a small number of Buckeye HRS volunteers
are trying to manage the situation in the woman's home. She
is allowing us to come in to clean cages, capture rabbits,
bring supplies, and transport groups to/from the vet for
spay/neuter. The woman does not work and is therefore
unable to afford hay, pellets, basic supplies, and veterinary
care. She has so far been cooperative and is willing to
have us find homes for as many rabbits as possible.

The rabbits, for the most part, are all healthy and between
the ages of 1 week and three-years-old. We are trying to
find both permanent and temporary homes for as many as
possible. The Buckeye House Rabbit Society has been
able to take only a few of these rabbits into foster care
since all of our foster homes are full. We've also identified
only a few needing medical treatment and they have
received the necessary veterinary care.

If you are able to assist with donations, temporary or
permanent homes, spay/neuter, transporting rabbits, or
cage cleaning, please call Kristen Doherty in Cleveland
(440-543-4959 - no email please). Shipments of
hay/pellets (from Oxbow Hay Co to one of our foster
homes in Ohio) are welcome.

WISH LIST

1. Monetary donations
2. Cages in good condition (medium or large size)
3. Exercise Pens
4. Timothy hay, timothy pellets, and small quantities of alfalfa
hay and pellets (for babies)
5. Wood stove pellets (for litter) or other safe litters
6. Small-size litterboxes
7. Water bottles
8. Small, heavy crocks for food and water

Monetary donations, marked Lorain County Crisis, may be
sent to:

Buckeye House Rabbit Society
P.O. Box 5767
Athens OH 45701

Kristen Doherty
Buckeye House Rabbit Society Fosterer/Educator
Cleveland, OH
440-543-4959
http://www.ohare.org/alerts.htm


** New Los Angeles Mandatory Spay/Neuter Policy

The mandatory spay/neuter policy for the LA City shelter
rabbits is finally going to become a reality, thanks to years
of work on my part and the help of the many volunteers
and adopters who flooded the Animal Services Board of
Commissioners on September 27 at Los Angeles City Hall.
Thanks to Bona Tucker of PetSave Foundation, and
Kynama Wald and Scott Sorrentino of the Rescue and
Humane Alliance in Los Angeles, who worked with us to
create a 9-point list of recommendations for treatment of
shelter rabbits and shelter rabbit volunteers.

As of October 12, 2005, all rabbits adopted from the Los
Angeles City Department of Animal Services must be
neutered prior to going home. The adoption fee for rabbits
will be $50 to offset the cost of neuter, which is quite high
in Los Angeles. There are currently six shelters in this
large, sprawling, and demographically-diverse jurisdiction,
with three more shelters being built. This policy will have a
positive impact on slowing the population growth of
unwanted rabbits in Los Angeles, as the Department of
Animal Services impounds approximately 700 rabbits per
year.

The County of Los Angeles, which has an even higher
volume of impounded rabbits, has had a neuter policy in
place for over three years.

Thank you all who attended and spoke, and thank you to
everyone who could not make it but who signed our
petition to the mayor. Thank you for being there for the
shelter rabbits. There was no doubt about it: it was a great
day for bunnies at City Hall!

Michelle Kelly
Los Angeles House Rabbits
www.larabbits.org


** Phoenix

In October, SaveABunny, San Francisco/ Marin House
Rabbit Society (www.saveabunny.com) received a call
from a shelter requesting emergency rescue of a companion
rabbit who had been doused in lighter fluid and set on fire.
The young white and gray rabbit, since named Phoenix,
suffered second and third degree burns on his back possibly
from deep cigarette burns. His ears had been so thoroughly
torched that they melted and were black and crisp to the
touch.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
generously offered their expertise, as well as a $2,500
reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction
of the individual responsible for the crime. The heinousness
of the crime incited animal lovers to offer support and
donations for his extensive veterinary care. In great part,
thanks to the public outcry for justice, the police arrested
a juvenile suspect and the District Attorney's office is
pursuing two felony Counts--one for animal abuse and one
for torture.

Phoenix survived one of the worst cases of animal abuse
seen in the county and has since lost both of his ears. He
has been on a treatment protocol of pain medication,
antibiotics, and of course, lots of love and care. He is
healing and will not be available for adoption for many
months. We are extremely grateful for your calls, emails
and letters of support and concern.

To read more about Phoenix and the latest legal updates,
to make a donation, or to get contact information to write
the District Attorney's office thanking them for taking this
case so seriously, please visit:
http://www.saveabunny.com/specialneeds2.php?id=589.
(Please note that graphic photos are displayed.)


** HRS Announces Chapter Grant Program

House Rabbit Society is happy to announce that our new
chapter grant program has so far funded two chapter
grants, to the St. Louis and Kansas City chapters (with Colorado
next in line), to help with these chapters' operating expenses.
As funds for this program continue to grow, we hope to
be able to fund more of our chapters' efforts in the future.


** Busy Bunny Launches Affiliate Link Program

You all know Busy Bunny as the makers of the fabulous
bunny treat baskets. Through a new special arrangement,
with any purchase made using this link, the Busy Bunny
will give 10% of the proceeds to the House Rabbit Society.
You must always click this link (also found on the HRS
webpage:
(http://www.rabbit.org/links/mail-order-resources.html) or
bookmark this exact URL:
http://www.nexternal.com/shared/affiliates/?
CS=bsybunny&Affiliate=3&Target=Store


** National Veterinary Conferences Update

The Kansas City and St. Louis chapters participated for
the third year at the Central Veterinary Conference which
was held in Kansas City this past weekend.

This was by far our best year ever at the cvc, we ran out
of our health and behavior packets which meant we had
over 150 vets and vet techs come to our booth and get
packets and talk with us about rabbit health. I even talked
with a veterinarian from Taiwan.

There were over 2,000 vets in attendance and over 7,000
attendees total for the conference. This was a huge
success for the benefit of rabbits!

We received lots of business cards and people who signed
our guest book, we are in the process of putting all of that
into a spread sheet and if you are interested I will be
happy to forward the vet and vet techs name to your
chapter if they are located in your area, just let me know.

Also, another exciting opportunity is that the cvc announced
this year that they will be expanding their conference to
include 2 more conferences, a West Coast conference
and an East Coast conference. The West Coast
conference will be held in San Diego and the East Coast
conference will be held in Baltimore. If the San Diego
and Maryland chapters are interested in being a part of the
cvc, I can't encourage you enough, it is a great experience
and well worth it.

If you are interested in getting info on either of the
conferences, please let me know and I can forward that to
you. Also, I have pictures of our booth if you would like
to see how we set it up.

CVC East, Baltimore Convention Center, March 31-April 3
CVC Central, H. Roe Bartle Hall, Kansas City, August 26-29
CVC West, San Diego Convention Center, October 27-30
www.thecvc.com

Jennifer Habernal
Educator/Fosterer
Kansas City Chapter
www.mohrs.org


** Rabbits in the News

* Bunny's Racket Saves Pregnant Woman's Life

Pet Wakes Man, Who Finds Wife Unconscious
August 2005
PORT BYRON, Ill. -- An Illinois man says a $10 pet
rabbit may have saved the life of his pregnant wife.
Ed Murphy said the rabbit was unusually noisy one night,
banging and jumping up and down in her cage. He tried to
ignore the racket, and piled noise buffers atop the cage --
but the pet would not let him go back to sleep.

It was then that he noticed his wife, who'd seemed to be
sleeping heavily. In fact, he said, her eyes were wide open,
staring out sightlessly. He called 911. Darcy Murphy was
quickly taken to a hospital, where she remained five days
for treatment of gestational diabetes. Murphy's doctor
warned that a hypoglycemic coma can be fatal. But she
credited the rabbit with telling the husband "Wake up.
Something is wrong with your wife."

* Rabbits – Perfect Urban Dwellers
http://www.satyamag.com/aug05/hawthorne.html

* Seattle Park Hopping with Too Many Bunnies
http://tinyurl.com/b6fmv

* Giant Pink Bunny Erected on Mountain
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1541732.html

* Oldest Fossil Rabbit Unearthed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4274129.stm



** Holiday Shopping Supports Rabbit Rescue!

Time to purchase HRS fund raising premiums for the
holidays! These fabulous items will make great gifts for
family and friends this holiday season:

*Beautiful Rabbit Rescue Calendar
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~jmlogan/preview_2006_pg2.html
(Benefits St. Louis HRS)

*Fun Men with Buns Calendar
http://www.vrra.org/gifts.htm
(Benefits Vancouver HRS)

*Lovely Custom Rabbit Christmas Tree Ornaments
http://www.vrra.org/trish-art.htm
(Benefits Vancouver HRS)

*Delicate Radkos Christmas Tree Ornaments
http://www.allearssac.org/shopping.html
(Benefits Sacramento HRS)

*"Reflection Of Compassion", (Aijo-no-kagami), a series
of watercolor paintings, featuring rescued rabbits, based
on the legend of the rabbit in the moon. Note cards, tote
bags, T-shirts and other custom merchandise.
http://www.cafepress.com/saveabunny and
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/art4animals.
(Benefits SaveABunny, San Francisco/Marin HRS)

*And don't forget the HRS Cafe Press Store! We now
have new holiday-themed items, as well as a darling
doggy tee-shirt for your rabbit loving dogs to show off
their support of HRS.
http://www.cafepress.com/hrs,hrs2,hrs3
(Benefits National HRS)



** Chapter and Educator Updates

* Vancouver

A 'hoppy' time had by all at Rabbit Festival 2005

With over 200 people through the door, and almost a
comparable number of bunnies, Vancouver Rabbit Rescue
and Advocacy's 2nd annual Rabbit Festival was our busiest
and best attended yet! Held in part with the BC SPCA and
at the Vancouver SPCA's shelter, Rabbit Festival 2005
proved that rabbits are very popular and well-loved pets
in Vancouver. This year we had four wonderful vets donate
their time and expertise by offering free medical check ups
and advice for over fifty rabbits, and we also had a very
popular nail clipping table. Rabbits of all breeds, colours,
and sizes were in attendance, and several lucky patrons
were able to hold the seventeen-pound albino Flemish Giant!

As Rabbit Festival is just as much about education as it is
about having fun, we had several informative tables and
posters that highlighted proper rabbit food and housing, the
demise of rabbits sold in pet stores, and a petition banning
the sale of rabbits in pet stores. The movie room was one
of the most popular venues at Rabbit Festival, where
videos on your first house rabbit, your rabbit's space, your
rabbit's routines, and introducing rabbits were being shown
at intervals throughout the day. Kid's Corner was busy
with demonstrations on how to handle a rabbit (using
stuffed buns), displays of good rabbit foods and the very
popular colour-it-yourself bunny medallions. VRRA's
Urban Rabbit Supply store was also very popular. Here
you could find straw and wicker mats and balls, tunnels,
cardboard castles, Oxbow food, books, and other treats
for your favourite pet. Not surprisingly, the concession was
another hot spot, with rabbit cookies, cupcakes, and
brownies baked and donated by volunteer Christine Engels
being sold by donation.

Thank you to all our volunteers for making our 2005 Rabbit
Festival possible and the best yet. Special thanks to
Christine Engels for making the much sought after door
prizes, to Bonnie Ayotte for making the wonderful cage
for our raffle, to Cary Campbell for concession supplies,
to the Vancouver SPCA for their support and use of their
space, and to Tisol Pet Supermarket for donating a rabbit
cage and supporting the work of VRRA.

Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy is becoming
better known. This year we were invited by the Vancouver
Humane Society to participate in Animal Rights Day. We
were also invited to have an information and education
booth at the Van Dusen Gardens 35th Year Celebration.
Both of these events gave us publicity and a chance to
pass on information and education about rabbits as pets.

We also had a very successful Calendar Launch Party this
past Friday, Nov 18th. We had a large turnout, sold over
$1000 in calendars and saw lots of super rabbit folks,
made some new contacts and had TV media people
attending.

Olga Betts
Chapter Manager, Vancouver HRS & VRRA
vrra.org


* MO HRS St. Louis

Our annual Holiday Bunny Boutique, complete with holiday
backdrop photo areas and photos with Santa, was a
wonderful success on Nov. 6.

During Hurricane Katrina, we took in 4 bunnies through
one area shelter from evacuating families. Unfortunately,
there was no home to which to return to in New Orleans,
so the two bonded pairs remained with us for adoption.
One pair has already been adopted and the other hopes to
find a good home soon.

Of course, part of our news is the receipt of the grant
which will allow us to continue handling the volume we
currently have and a huge "thank you!!" to national for
making this grant available. The increase in "disposable"
bunnies has consequently increased our costs and incurring
a severe strain on everyone's budget. In addition to the
grant we are looking into alternate methods to help costs
as well.

The other new program is called KTTK standing for "Kids
Talking To Kids." A long time bunny mom and grade
school teacher organized a children's group to teach other
children about rabbits and rabbit care. The first presentation
was Thursday, July 28. The KTTK group consisted of 13
children ranging from kindergarten to 4th grade. The
audience consisted of 25 children ages 9 to 11 attending
the summer animal care camp at our main shelter in St.
Louis. The audience was very attentive (no wiggling or
yawning) and the adults had tears in their eyes when the
KTTK group sang "One Small Voice" starting with one
child and then others joining in and finally with the children
in the audience joining them.

We are busy working on our next rabbit veterinary
conference. The surveys from our conference this past
April (in which attending veterinarians could earn 6
continuing education credits) were outstanding. We are
planning to offer more subjects at the next one and have a
regional mailing to reach even more veterinarians.
Anticipated date for 2006 is March 26.

Calendar sales are doing well and one can be obtained
from various chapters, national HRS, or from MO HRS.
For a look at Rescue Rabbits 2006 see:
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~jmlogan/preview_2006_pg2.html

To date, we've had 135 bunnies adopted for 2005.

A wonderful holiday season to all!!
MO HRS (St. Louis)
http://members.petfinder.org/~MO56/index.html


* Cape Fear HRS

I just wanted to report on the success of my first event.
Cape Fear HRS is basically just me - and a small,
motivated group of volunteers I have met since I started
this organization 2 and a half years ago. We put together
a booth at the Cape Fear Fair and Expo, your typical
county fair with 4H and agriculture displays. Our booth,
with it's "Rabbits as house pets" theme, complete with lots
of pictures and examples of good food, toys, etc. was a
definite departure from the livestock mentality evident
everywhere else at the fair so I wasn't sure how we
would be received - to my delight and surprise we won a
blue ribbon and $200 first prize!! With that
encouragement I feel ready to tackle an exotics vet
seminar in Raleigh in December.

Paula Watkins
Fosterer and Educator
Cape Fear House Rabbit Society
Wilmington, NC
http://www.capefearrabbits.org


* Sweet Binks Rhode Island HRS

Rhode Island's Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue had a busy
summer! We exhibited at the Northeast Veterinary
Conference and had many veterinarians and vet techs
stop by our booth for info packets, House Rabbit
Handbooks and more. Chapter Manager, Pamela Hood
was also awarded the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical
Associations' (www.rivma.org) 12th Annual Animal Best
Friends Award while at the conference.

Sweet Binks had their 2nd Annual Bun-efit Fundraiser on
August 13th at VASA Park in Foster, RI. It was a very
hot but fun and successful day and $3,447.00 was raised
to support the shelter. We even had some media coverage
for the event in our local paper. The event included live
music, buffet, lots of raffle prizes and an award ceremony.
It was a great day and we thank all the volunteers who
worked so hard and thank everyone who attended! We
also want to thank the many businesses that donated their
services as well.

Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue is kicking off their 2nd Annual
"I'm Dreaming of a White Bunny" campaign now through
Jan. 3rd. SBRR started this campaign to bring more
attention to the adoption of big, white, ruby-eyed buns who
are very often overlooked for adoption. Sweet Binks would
love to hear your testimonial stories about your BWB's
(big white buns) again this year to add to our web site at:
www.sweetbinks.org We also have holiday merchandise
with white bunnies and more available through our Cafe
Press site at www.cafepress.com/sweetbinks
Show your support for the underdogs of the rabbit rescue
world!

On Feb. 25, 2006, Sweet Binks will be conducting our
first major educational seminar open to the public. This
"Rabbit Education Seminar" will be held at the Rhode
Island SPCA from 10 am to 3 pm. There will be many
informative classes for current and future rabbit
caretakers such as Care & Handling, Housing Options,
Bonding Rabbits and more. Sweet Binks is asking for a
$12 donation to attend and refreshments will be offered
too. Sweet Binks is excited about this event and will be a
great way to wrap up February's Adopt A Rescued
Rabbit Month and prepare for the Easter holiday. If you
are in the Providence area, we hope to see you there for a
fun and informative time!

Sweet Binks is happy to announce Jennifer Sears-Boie has
acquired full Educator status and we are happy to have
Ellen Friedman onboard as a new Educator in Training!
Both do outstanding work with Sweet Binks and the HRS!

Pam Hood
HRS Educator, Rhode Island
President Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue
http://www.rirabbits.org


* Report from Sharon Dumas, HRS Educator, Arkansas

On November 16th, I met Susan Clear (volunteer with
Houston SPCA and Bunny Buddies) to get two rabbits
from her, Rita who was a hurricane Rita bunny from
Beaumont, TX and Doodle who has been surrendered to
the SPCA but not a hurricane rescue. In addition, I also
met Wendy Mayo who has her own rescue group called
Magic Happens out of Baton Rouge, LA to get three
bunnies that June Booth asked me to take off of Wendy's
hands. Wendy's bunnies were not technically left
homeless by Hurricane Katrina but because she had so
many rabbits to care for (17) including some hurricane
rabbits that she needs to keep until January 2006 she
needed to make other arrangements for some of the
bunnies. Susan, Wendy, my husband Chuck, and I all
met in Mansfield, LA for delivery of the bunnies.

Three year old Rita is to remain with me and will most likely
become an ambassador rabbit, Doodle has already been
placed in a new home with the Bowers family in Mena,
Arkansas and the three Baton Rouge bunnies will be listed
for adoption on Petfinder and taken to adoption days at
Petco in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The long distance
adoption of Doodle came about when Dana Bowers
contacted me about four weeks ago asking if I had any
bunnies to adopt as she had lost her pet rabbit to cancer
about two weeks prior. I was somewhat reluctant to place
a rabbit with Dana as she has a three year old son but after
several e-mails and telephone conversations I began to
think she would make a good caretaker. I did
recommend a New Zealand to her as a replacement for
the bunny that died because of their size and good
temperament. I happen to mention this to Susan Clear
during one of my conversations with her about Rita. She
told me about Doodle and that he had been in a foster
home with dogs and children and did very well. After
Dana Bowers talked to the foster home caretaker she was
excited and wanted Doodle. Susan Clear brought Doodle
to her home and cared for him for several days before the
transport.

Sharon Dumas
HRS Educator, Arkansas
idadumas@...


* Colorado HRS

We just had our Bunny Boutique and Open House Sunday,
Nov. 20th. This year, we included a demo of clicker
training, which was well attended. We made something
over $5,000, and have at least two people interested in
adopting.

Nancy LaRoche
Co-Manager
Colorado House Rabbit Society
www.coloradohrs.com


* MD/DC/NoVA HRS

MD/DC/NoVA has been active lately, and have been
involved with both Hurricane Katrina and the Nashville
cruelty case. The chapter took in one of the Nashville
rabbits, as well as the last 9 (of the 45) rabbits rescued by
Noah's Wish in New Orleans. About half of the Katrina
rabbits came already spayed/neutered and the chapter
took care of the rest, and half had coccidia so we treated
all of them. One had an acute ear infection. One had a
tumor when she was spayed in LA so we had an X-ray
done on her and her lungs looked clear.

The chapter sends their thanks to Laura-Lynn Renner, who
took her vacation in New Orleans and transported the
rabbits on her own dollar back to Maryland. In addition,
Jodi Robertson and her husband Kevin Tisdale generously
offered to house the rabbits for a short while until they can
be taken to a vet and distributed to foster homes
throughout Maryland, Washington DC and Northern
Virginia. Dr. Keith Gold of Chadwell Animal Hospital
graciously offered to help with the medical care of these
rabbits. And Steve Nearman, Lisa Mock, Diana Rekos,
Wendy Spey, Mara Hurwitt, Barbabra Storck, Monica
Felix and Laura-Lynn Renner served as the generous
fosterers for these (now) lucky rabbits.

Laurie Kuhn
Fostering Director,
Kathleen Wilsbach
Chapter Manager,
HRS MD/DC/NoVA
http://www.rabbitsinthehouse.org


* San Francisco/ Marin House Rabbit Society

The best way to describe our recent Chapter activities is the
quote from author Charles Dicken's, "It was the best of times.
It was the worst of times." In the past few months, we have
seen the best of human regard for animals and the worst.

Cinnabun
On a summer day with temperatures surpassing 100 degrees,
a 4 month old, Cinnamon colored, Holland lop boy waited
for help that never came. He had escaped from his outside
hutch, crawled under a fence and was hit by a passing car
breaking his leg in two critical places. After several days, he
was ultimately surrendered to our Chapter by his family
who had found him wounded in the gutter.

Cinnabun, as he was soon renamed, captured the hearts of
rabbit lovers with his zest for life, despite his sad beginnings.
It took a community to help this brave, little rabbit. Thanks
to donations and support from the rabbit lover community,
Cinnabun was able to see veterinary specialists who made
every reasonable effort to save his leg. Ultimately, it was
determined that the nerve damage was so extensive that it
was in Cinnabun's best interest to have the leg amputated,
as well as his tail, which had been degloved when he was
struck.

Cinnabun spent several months recuperating at a very special
foster home. It became clear that Cinnabun was a very active
bunny who wanted a bunny friend of his own. After careful
consideration of prospective adopters, Cinnabun was
adopted to one of his benefactors who had closely followed
Cinnabun's progress and had a sweet, spayed girl bunny for
Cinnabun to love. Cinnabun is now living the life of love and
luxury that we wish for each and every rabbit. To read more
about Cinnabun and his heartwarming rescue story, please
see: http://www.saveabunny.com/adopted2.php?id=512

* Oakland Animal Services
Flea markets are no place for underage baby bunnies!
Crammed in small wire cages containing up to 12 rabbits per
cage, more than 30 tiny baby bunnies were recently
confiscated from a vendor at an urban flea market. They are
temporarily being held at a San Francisco/ East Bay area
animal shelter while an investigation is being conducted.
Foster homes and adoptions are very URGENTLY needed
to avoid euthanasia due to overcrowding at this shelter. If
you can open your heart and home to help these babies , or
existing shelter rabbits now at risk, please contact me
immediately at: saveabunny@....

* Josh Kornbluth Show on PBS
We hopped on the opportunity for our Chapter to be
featured, along with craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, on a
new PBS talk show hosted by comedian Josh Kornbluth.
The episode focused on the ways that craigslist builds
community and how people can find all types of unusual
resources and activities, such as volunteering with rescued
bunnies! Between playful banter on the ins and outs of
litterbox training, rabbit care pointers and plenty of
adorable rabbit photos, including the host snuggling on the
sofa with Esmerelda, an 11 pound French lop mix girl, we
were able to educate a large audience of people about house
rabbits in an entertaining and informative way. To read
more, please visit: http://blogs.kqed.org/joshkornbluth/?p=48

* Second Annual Buns Day Fundraiser
Inform Pilates Studio in San Francisco is hosting the Second
Annual "Buns Day" fundraiser for SaveABunny on Sunday,
December 4. Participants at this fun, "tone your tush" themed
Pilates exercise class receive a gift bag of treats for
themselves, as well as the chance to bid on desirable silent
auction items, including massage, salon and restaurant gift
certificates, and other products and personal services. To
learn more , or to make a donation if you are unable to
attend, please see:
http://saveabunny.com/events2.php?nmid=140

* Shopping/Merchandise
We are thrilled to offer a new line of merchandise, including
T-shirts, tote bags, notecards, mousepads and much more,
entitled "Reflection Of Compassion", (Aijo-no-kagami).
This exquisite series of 5 intricate watercolor paintings is
based on the ancient legend of the rabbit in the moon.
Across cultures, and in various forms, the tradition of an
image of the rabbit in the moon tells the tale of selfless
sacrifice and unconditional love. Each original design features
a special rescued rabbit who has either been adopted from
SaveABunny or is still patiently waiting to find his/her forever
home.

You can now conveniently shop for a good cause at our new
Cafe Press store, SaveABunny Salon at:
http://www.cafepress.com/saveabunny. Also,be sure to shop
online at our new ebay store at:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/art4animals for fun, funky
and artful items, including original mosaic and decoupage
artwork from Chapter Manager Marcy Schaaf, New items
will be added regularly to both sites. We will also soon be
offering select items for sale at our foster center in the
SaveABunny Salon currently being built. 100% of the
proceeds directly benefits rabbits in need. Shopping online
at major stores nationwide? You can help rabbits by using
the iGive link on our website: http://tinyurl.com/8oaml , and
up to 30% of your purchase price will be donated to
SaveABunny, SF/ Marin HRS. Shop A Little. Save A Lop!

Marcy Schaaf
Chapter Manager
SaveABunny
San Francisco/ Marin House Rabbit Society
www.saveabunny.com
415-388-2790


* HRS Headquarters/Richmond Rabbit Center

The Rabbit Center has had a very successful 2005,
teaching a variety of classes (grooming, T-Touch, animal
communication, Reiki, clicker training, etc,) hosting a
number of special events (Valentine's Day Bonding and
Kissing Booth, our annual Easter party, International
Rabbit Day store sale, a Holiday Toy making party, and
soon, the Holiday Photo party). 85 rabbits have been
rescued (85 of whom were adopted so far this year)
beginning of the year!

We have also implemented the Fair Share for Rabbits
program, which provides educational materials, care
literature, hay, limited financial assistance, and publicity to
the dozens of animal shelters we work most closely with in
the Bay Area, via a tremendous group of outreach
volunteers known as Fair Share volunteers. As this
program develops, we hope to provide more and more
resources to our city, county and private animal shelters,
to help them to better provide for the rabbits in their care.

If you live in the Bay Area, please visit our web site:
www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center to find out more about our
programs, events and adoptable rabbits. If you don't live
in the area, please remember to visit us next time you come
to Northern California.



** Join House Rabbit Society

If you are not a member of House Rabbit Society, please
take this opportunity to join us. A yearly tax-deductible
membership costs only $18, or $25 for international
memberships. All members receive the Society's
newsletter, House Rabbit Journal. Please go to:
http://rabbit.org/hrs-info/joining.html


** In Remembrance of Three Dedicated House Rabbit
Supporters

House Rabbit Society mourns the recent loss of three
dedicated house rabbit supporters.

We recently were informed of the passing of Tony
Bergering, President of the House Rabbit Society of
Ontario. Tony was responsible for educating countless
Canadians on house rabbit care.

We have also learned that Dr. Don Davidson, the husband
of Jan Davidson, longtime HRS fosterer and educator in the
Yosemite region of California, recently died. Don was
extremely supportive and encouraging of Jan's tireless
rescue and educational work. Don will be sorely missed.

Diane Kaiser passed recently, and left House Rabbit Society
a generous planned gift through her life insurance policy.
Diane's generosity has already enabled HRS to increase
our educational and adoption programs in 2005, benefiting
many more rabbits. We thank her and her family for her
caring and compassion.

Tony, Don and Diane were huge supporters and lovers of
rabbits and their compassion and kindness will be missed
by us all.



** On behalf of the rabbits, thank you. **