What's New at the House Rabbit Society
May 2007

**Tribute to Rainn MacPhail, IHRS Volunteer/HRS Educator
From Dawn Sailer-Fleeger, Indiana HRS Chapter Manager:

It is with great sadness that I report the loss of a special
Indiana House Rabbit Society (www.indianahrs.org) volunteer,
licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and compassionate friend to
all creatures, Rainn MacPhail. Rainn passed away in a car
accident the morning of April 27, 2007 on her way to work at
the Koinonia Environmental and Retreat Center at Manchester
College.

Rainn has been a tireless supporter of rabbits and other
animal species in the state of Indiana going back many
years. She was truly Fort Wayne, Indiana's Mother Theresa
to the animals. Rainn's accomplishments in this capacity
are too numerous to list. Her most recent contributions
include assisting in the care of the 180+ rabbits seized
from a neglectful breeder at South Suburban Humane Society
near Chicago, IL. As recently as April 26, 2007, the day
before she died, Rainn and another volunteer successfully
captured Sampson, a domestic rabbit released to fend for
himself
(http://www.indianahrs.org/adoption-details.aspx?id=286).

Rainn's contributions to animal welfare for house rabbits,
wild cottontails, and various other species in need who
stumbled across her path will be deeply felt and dearly
missed.

* New Book about Rabbits!

Rabbits: Gentle Hearts, Valiant Spirits – Inspirational
Stories of Rescue,Triumph, and Joy showcases twenty-four
uplifting true stories, including contributions by best-
selling authors Susan Chernak McElroy and Dr. Bernie Siegel
and a Foreword by Dr. Michael W. Fox. Full-color photographs
and artists' illustrations enhance the reading experience.
The back matter contains educational articles and a resource
section.

Nearly every story highlights a rescue from a traumatic
or life-threatening situation, with the emphasis then on
the happy life that results from compassionate human care
and the rabbit's resilient nature. Many of the stories are
about rabbits originally rescued by the House Rabbit
Society, The Fund for Animals Rabbit Sanctuary, Brambley
Hedge Rabbit Rescue, or Best Friends Animal Society.

The complexity of a house rabbit's nature is showcased: the
curiosity, intelligence, sociability, and courage. A unique
feature of the book is the "About Rabbits" sidebar that follows
each story, explaining aspects of these often-misunderstood
creatures and containing tidbits of wisdom about their psyche,
instincts, and physical attributes.

Discover for yourself why readers are impressed with the
book's inspirational message and beautiful format. It's a
book for compassionate animal lovers of any age.

Note: The book is available at a discount for those wishing
to raise money for and awareness about rabbits. Contact author
Marie Mead at orders@novamarispress. Those wishing to purchase
individual copies can do so at Marie's website
(http://www.celebratingrabbits.com). The book will be
available at bookstores and online sellers late this month.

** Mutts Promotes Rabbit Adoption
http://muttscomics.com/news/index.asp?idnews=574&newsCat=news

From the web site above (click the link to see the comic strip
that went along with it):
Easter is a warm and wonderful time of the year, but many
bunnies are invited into homes only to be turned out when the
jelly beans and Easter bonnets are put away. Not surprisingly,
this MUTTS print published on May 2, 2001, is a popular
reminder of these annual mishaps. (Find it here). The fact is
rabbits rarely make good pets for children. They are ground-
loving creatures who feel frightened when picked up and held.
Families often learn this too late, and turn to the only
refuge for the domesticated creatures: the local animal
shelter. If you think you might be able to share your home
with one of these adorable creatures, now is the best time of
year to find them available. Find out if you might make a home
for a bunny by visiting the House Rabbit Society website. The
bunnies need you, but only if you can make a good home for them!

** HRS Volunteers Write Article for E: The Environmental Magazine

Choose Chocolate, Not Fur: A Rabbit Reality Check
By Marie Mead & Nancy LaRoche
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3667

** New Bun-E-Tees and More

http://www.cafepress.com/bunetees
100% of any proceeds from merchandise with the HRS web site
on it goes to national HRS.

** We Want Your Rabbit Stories

HRS is still publishing Rabbit Stories on the HRS-Announce
e-mail list, but we need your help. Please send your rabbit
stories to laura@.... This feature will return with
a new story next month.

** Rabbits in the News

* Rabbits wrecking Australian isle
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070422/sc_afp/australiaenvironment
An explosion in the rabbit population has "trashed" the World
Heritage listed Macquarie Island, which is home to endangered
penguins and albatrosses, the World Wide Fund for Nature said.

* Bunny trail leads right to her door
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/orl-
rabbitwoman07apr05,0,1594858.story?coll=orl-shopping-
headlines
Feature about HRS educator Steffanie Schrader's work with
Orlando Rabbit Care and Adoptions.

** Rabbit Web Site of the Month

Super Bunnies Rabbit Hopping
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE9OXATfF0o
This YouTube video shows clicker trained rabbits running an
obstacle course. All of the rabbits were adopted and the
video advocates rabbit adoption.

**Chapter Updates

* Colorado Chapter
http://www.coloradohrs.com/

This year, our annual Spring Fling will be held on Saturday,
June 16th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at our beautiful Colorado
HRS Chapter Headquarters! People are welcome to bring their
rabbits for the outing and will be able to rent cages to ensure
their safety while the humans are visiting or shopping.
This year we have planned seminars by rabbit-savvy
veterinarians, clicker-training expert, and lamp rewiring
demonstrator. Nancy LaRoche, a collaborator on the new book
Rabbits: Gentle Hearts, Valiant Spirits, will be available
to sign autographs.

We will have booths offering bunny nail-trims, bunny massages,
bunny photos (with or without human companion), bunny vet
advice, and everyone's favorite - PEOPLE FOOD! Any proceeds
from booths go to care for our shelter bunnies. Additional
fun for attendees will be found in the Bunny Burrow Gift shop
sale, prizes won by purchasing Surprise Eggs, voting for "The
Favorite Bunny", used toner and cell phone recycling contest,
and an exciting Silent Auction.

We are now promoting a fund-raising project titled "Change a
Bunny's Life with Your Change" with cute bunny-themed plastic
cups for people to take home and collect their spare change.
This will be an ongoing fundraiser with funds earmarked for
special projects, of which the first is "Better Building for
the Bunnies". This project is geared to add windows and or
skylights to the bunny rooms to provide natural light.

* Indiana HRS
http://www.indianahrs.org

Indiana HRS (IHRS) has had a busy year with 66 rescues and
53 adoptions. This is in large part due to our expanded
Petco adoption program (5 Indianapolis stores). This success
would not be possible without the hard work of our in-store
Bunny Buddies, who provide daily exercise for our foster
rabbits housed at Petco, answer questions, and educate the
general public.

IHRS expanded to the Mishawaka Petco location in March 2007,
our first location outside Indianapolis. We are expanding to
the Merrillville and Highland Petco locations in May 2007 and
June 2007, respectively. Indiana HRS is well on our way to
making Indiana the first adoption only state at Petco stores.
We have six more stores to go and feel this goal is within
reach by the middle of 2008!

IHRS also played a significant role in the care of the
Watseka neglect rabbits, housed at South Suburban Humane
Society (SSHS) in Chicago Heights, IL. Fifteen of our
volunteers have logged and incredible 250+ hours (and counting)
caring for the very lucky rabbits still housed on-site.
Many of these volunteers have driven nearly 3 hours one way
to get to the shelter! There are currently 53 rabbits
(including kits) housed at SSHS. Volunteers are hopeful
that the breeder will not appeal the court's decision and
these remaining rabbits will be available for transfer to
rescue in early May.

IHRS is fortunate to have obtained custody of two Watseka
rabbits - George and Ringo - injured at the shelter. They
are thankful to be in the safety of IHRS foster care and
will be available for adoption in mid-May. Please check our
website (www.indianahrs.org) for additional details on the
Watseka case and/or for additional information on George and Ringo.

Again, our success is attributable to the generosity of our
hard-working volunteers!

* H.A.R.E. Inc. (Miami HRS Chapter)
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/hrs.html

The chapter held a weekend-long Easter Bunny Awareness Event
at the Miami Museum of Science. The Museum was sponsoring
an Easter Egg Hunt, and we had a large display in part of
the hunt area where participants could come visit foster
bunnies and learn about why rabbits and Easter don't mix.

We had several hundred children and their families come by,
and everyone had a good time watching the safely penned and
playful foster bunnies!

* Missouri Chapter
http://www.mohrs.petfinder.org

St. Louis has been a busy place as you'll see, but probably
the most challenging event we've had revolves around the
37 bunnies dumped the week before Easter at an Illinois
shelter near St. Louis.

As a local paper phrased it, "The Easter Bunny visited the
Belleville Humane Society a bit early and left behind all his
relatives." The shelter immediately called MO HRS. Our
newest HRS Educator, Bobbie Shewmaker, and her mentor,
Educator Pat Daly, jumped in with both feet (and everything
else.) MO HRS has provided food, hay, litter, and
appropriate housing and continues to do so. Bobbie & Pat
have been caregivers for the bunnies on a daily basis
where the shelter set aside a small room for exclusive bunny
occupancy. After two of the 37 bunnies had babies, the
shelter, which had no adoption fee nor qualifications for
rabbit adopters, quickly agreed to a $75 adoption fee which
is being used by MO HRS for spays/neuters and health checks.
Using our own funds we had all of the rabbits spayed/
neutered. Bobbie has been handling adoption interviews
and qualifying adopters. One woman was quite huffy
when she couldn't have one to occupy her empty outdoor
hutch and a large, intimidating man got nowhere with petite
Bobbie when the interview revealed the bunny would basically
be a toy for a 5 yr. old. Eight bunnies have been adopted
thus far so the tale is far from being over, but our
Illinois volunteers are working hard to help them all.

Monthly educational meetings are held for members
which generally have between 40 and 60 attendees. At our
February meeting guest speaker Doreen Olsen, well known
clicker trainer and rescue volunteer with various bird
organizations, had her talk enjoyed so much that in April
we held an elementary clicker training class to give rabbit
parents an idea of some practical uses for this type of
training.

At the end of April, member Keri Delaloye, along with her
sister and mother, put together a Trivia Night for the benefit
of MO HRS in St. Louis and the Humane Society of Missouri
bringing in a much needed $3600 for our two organizations
to share.

Other events for St. Louis have included two newspaper
articles, two radio interviews prior to Easter, an event
at the White Rabbit (a shabby/chic store), and an appearance
in the Eggstravaganza at the world renown Missouri Botanical
Gardens event for their members where children were allowed
to pet bunnies and parents were educated on the reality of
rabbits as animal companions.

In February and March, chapter manager Joy Gioia did training
for the Humane Society of Missouri animal staff and vet techs
on care and handling of rabbits and about particular
illnesses common to rabbits.

In April MO HRS participated in the Open House held by
veterinary students at the University of Missouri in
Columbia, MO to help educate attendees about rabbits.
Chantilly Lace, a French Angora, Rhinelander, Mini Lop
mix enchanted everyone with her loving personality, exotic
appearance, and willingness to offer her head for petting
to over 300 people who came through. Rembrandt, a young
Flemish Giant of about 18 lbs. also wowed the observers
who were particularly amazed at just how gentle he was w
ith the toddlers who were allowed in his pen to give him
sprigs of parsley and to pet him. These two bunny
abassadors really know how to work a crowd.

MO HRS also officially opened its own store offering food,
hay, housing, treats, toys, grooming tools, and many other
things. Volunteers help with the store and all profits
benefit the fosters. Other volunteers help man PetsMart
adoption days at four different stores now and provide
much needed bunny education. The MO HRS calendar committee
is also hard at work producing the 2008 Rabbit Rescue
Calendar which will be available in August/September.

To date for 2007 we've had over 50 adoptions. In May MO
HRS will participate in the Wildlife Rehab Clinic Open House
explaining the differences between cottontails and domestic
rabbits and on June 10 we will hold our annual big Bunny Expo
which generally attracts around 300 people and offers tons
of educational info, children's activties, photos, a
veterinary speaker, exhibits, and lots of sale items for
both bunnies and bunny people. Detailed information on the
Bunny Expo can be found on our website at
www.mohrs.petfinder.org

* New Jersey Chapter
http://www.njhrs.com/

NJ House Rabbit Society has recently sold it's 100th Rabbit
Neuter/Spay certificate. The low cost program is in the
second year, with participating veterinarians all over
the state.

Chapter Manager Shelley Stack is successfully recovering
from a January brain surgery for a benign tumor that was
causing blindness and is back to taking NJHRS phone calls.
Board members Tracy Turner and Janine Motta are due MANY
thanks and hugs for taking over chapter business during
the past 5 months.

NJ HRS is participating in the Annual Adoptathon at the
Monmouth County SPCA on May 5th and 6th and will be there
to help with shelter rabbit adoptions and to answer rabbit
care questions.

In November NJHRS hosted the sixth BunnyFest, with guest
speaker Dr. Michael Doolen. A good time was had by all
humans and their rabbit companions.

* Upstate New York Chapter (THE Rabbit Resource)
http://www.therabbitresource.org/

We've licensed 3 new Educators in the past year - Meg Brown
in the Albany/Saratoga area, who is also a qualified
wildlife rehabber, (Dr.) Kim Kraebel in Cortland/Ithaca,
and Craig Abelson in Buffalo/Rochester area. All are working
to educate locally. Meg has been teaching classes to the
public.

Kim and I (Chapter Manager Davida Kobler) will be doing classes
for staff (which I did last year ) at Tompkins Cty SCPA in
Ithaca soon. I did the training last year with Dr. David
Ruppert, who is out webmaster and assists with education
and rescue in Ithaca.

I am getting classes (for public and also to recruit fosterers)
and events organized for Utica area and CNY. I did a training
for shelter staff at Menands in Albany, with Jude Raphael,
in December.

Craig has been a very active volunteer with Erie County
shelters in Buffalo, assists with every aspect of education
and adoption there. He works with Kristen Strobel.

Linkages and liaisons are therefore strong with Buffalo,
Rochester, Utica, Tompkins County, Albany shelters.

We have been tabling, are going to be assisting at an
adoptathon next weekend in Utica, probably Pet Expo in May
here also, and have been invited to the summer fest at
Cracker Box Palace in Sodus, to table.

Jude Raphael in Albany has been working very closely with
Menands shelter there and improving life significantly for
the bunnies there.

Nancy Furstinger from Elizaville was instrumental in getting
the bunnies at the horrendous Catskill Game Farm closed and the
animals sold at auction moved to better homes.

* Sweet Binks (Rhode Island)
http://www.sweetbinks.org

Sweet Binks has been busy with adoptions at our shelter and
at Petsmart and PetCo. Sweet Binks is in trial status with
PetCo in Rhode Island and is having great success. We opted
to have adoptable rabbits offered for adoption at PetCo, so
they would not sell the Marshall Farms rabbits. Both PetCo
and Sweet Binks are excited about this opportunity and
adoptions are quite successful. Sweet Binks has been very
active with Petsmart as well and has brought in
increased funding for our organization, increased
adoptions and awareness.

Sweet Binks volunteers conducted two Rabbit Education
Seminars in March which was open to the public and a free
event. We have had great success with these educational
classes and conduct them 3 or 4 times a year. We have found
these events to attract good people, many whom have found
a stray rabbit or are current rabbit owners and want to
learn more. These are also great for new adopters or
people considering adopting a rabbit. We offer a
PowerPoint presentation and attendees are given a
folder with literature and notes that follow the PowerPoint
presentation. Subjects include proper diet, spay/
neutering, litterbox training and needs, grooming
(nail clipping, etc.) and much more.

Sweet Binks is also gearing up for another Bun-efit Fundraiser
this August 4th. This is our largest fundraising event and
includes live music from three popular, local artists, great
raffles, lots of food and much more. This event is held at
the beautiful Vasa Park in Foster, RI and is a lot of fun.
We hope to see many of our friends there! All proceeds go
to the operation and needs of Sweet Binks shelter. Tickets
are $15 per person.

Sweet Binks also installed a new propane heating system
this winter. This modern, clean and highly efficient system
was purchased with the help of an immediate assistance grant
from The Rhode Island Foundation. Thanks to a Sweet Binks
supporter, our shelter will also be getting a fresh, interior
wall/ceiling painting too. Thanks to Valerie and
Sherwin Williams!

* San Diego Chapter
http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/

Upcoming events:

ANGORA GROOMING CLASS
June 9, 2007
Pre-registration required: Contact HRS at 619-718-7777 or
email hrs@....

Are you having trouble keeping your angora bunny well-
groomed? Fighting with mats and burrs and everything on the
floor sticking to bunny's fur?

This class will teach you the proper way to groom your angora
bunny, and tips on how to keep their fur clean, how to keep
those nasty mats at bay, which litterbox beddings work best
to keep from sticking to their bottom, and a whole lot more!

Grooming combs and supplies will be on hand for purchase.
Bring your bunny along! All rabbits must be in a carrier for
their safety.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS – SAN DIEGO HRS OPEN HOUSE COMING UP!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 2nd, from Noon to 4 p.m.
San Diego HRS will be hosting an Open House at the Bunny Supply
Store, 4805 Mercury Street, Suite B (corner of Mercury &
Ronson Roads)

* Bunny themed Raffle
* Light Refreshments
* Shop for fun, HRS-logo t-shirts, coffee mugs and more!
* Great rabbit books and calendars
* Supplies for your bunny!

Stop by to visit with your bunny-loving friends and pick up
great items for yourself and your rabbit companions.

Learn more at www.sandiegorabbits.org

* Washington State Chapter
(Best Little Rabbit, Rodent, and Ferret House)
http://www.rabbitrodentferret.org/

The Washington Chapter of the HRS also known as Best Little
Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House (BLRRFH) has operated a
public shelter (open 6 days a week) for the past 11 years and
Rabbit Meadows, a sanctuary for feral rabbits, for the past
10 years. Prior to that time we ran our chapter out of a
private home, as many HRS chapters do.

On Saturday, April 21st, The Rusty Pelican Cafe in Seattle
hosted the first annual "You're nobody 'til someBUNNY loves
you!" dinner and silent auction. They not only hosted the
event, they provided all of the dinners and donated 10 pies
and cakes (which they are famous for) to the auction.
Special thanks to Rabbit Meadows volunteer, Kristen Fraiser,
who volunteered her time as the Auction Chair. The event
was a great success and a lot of fun was had by all!
We raised over $6,500 for our lifesaving work and gained
several new volunteers and supporters.

We have plans to purchase a permanent shelter building in
the near future to ensure that there will always be a safe
place, devoted to the special needs of small companion
animals in need of a second chance. We are leasing the
building that currently houses our shelter and will have to
move when the lease runs out this year due to the sale of
the building. Earlier this year, our Board made the
decision to sell the Rabbit Meadows property to help
us purchase a property to combine both the adoptable shelter
animals and the feral sanctuary rabbits onto the same land.
This will also help us to streamline our operations,
focus on our mission and minimize our overhead.

Your contributions are directly responsible for making our
lifesaving work possible. With your support, we will continue ork
to make this a better more compassionate world for rabbits,
rodents and ferrets. Make your gift today by visiting
http://www.RabbitRodentFerret.org. Thank you!


** HRS Emergency Rescue Fund

So far, we have raised over $1500 through the new Emergency
Rescue Fund, and have given grants of $250 and $750 to
Animal Friends of Pittsburgh and Bunny Bunch of Southern
California, to help with their large rescue cases. Thank
you for making this program a reality!


** Become a Member of House Rabbit Society or
Renew Your Membership

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. If you already are a member, thank you,
and please remember to renew. All members receive
the Society's newsletter, House Rabbit Journal, edited by
House Rabbit Society founder and author of The House
Rabbit Handbook, Marinell Harriman. Please go to:
http://rabbit.org/hrs-info/joining.html

Laura Barnes
HRS E-Newsletter Editor and HRS Educator
laura@...