** Easter is around the Corner

This month and next, we are focusing on one of our central messages: that
rabbits are neither toys, nor "starter pets," nor low maintenance children's
pets. They are complicated animals who can live ten or more years, and who
deserve the same treatment that we give to our beloved cats and dogs. House
Rabbit Society was founded on the premise that rabbits should be household
companion animals, sharing in the love and care that we give to our other
companion animals, and not confined to a hutch in the backyard or a small cage
in a child's room.

Here's what some of our chapters are doing to promote that message:

* Columbus:

We are thrilled to announce that the Make Mine Chocolate! campaign
now has a sister organization in the UK. The website is:

http://www.makeminechocolate.co.uk/

Although our 2009 "Make Mine Chocolate™" campaign has been somewhat
limited in terms of the activities we have been able to support, we
intend to use this down time as an opportunity to think about the future of the
campaign. Rescue groups and other animal-related groups have been very receptive
to the campaign's goals and we have had some limited success in getting our
message out to the general public through newspaper articles and other media.
But we need a creative and
comprehensive strategy for distributing our message through other
channels that will reach the parents, grandparents, and other potential
purchasers of Easter rabbits. Although we have some ideas on how to accomplish
this, our hope is that our partners and supporters will share their ideas with
us so that our 2010 "Make Mine Chocolate™" campaign will be even more effective
than past campaigns.

http://www.columbusrabbit.org
http://www.makeminechocolate.org


* North Georgia:

Co-chapter manager Nancy McConville is doing a live radio interview March 17th
with Radio Sandy Springs 1620 AM, on rabbit care, behavior and our local rescue.
And on April 11 and April 12, we will host our annual Easter event from 11-4:00.
We'll have Easter egg hunts, photos, and information on rabbit care and
adoption. Also in April, we are having our first weekend Rabbit Summit at the
lake home co-chapter manager Edie Sayeg. The purpose is to set new goals, and
define methods to achieve them, so that we can move from where we are now as a
shelter, to where what we want to be in the future. We are inviting individuals
who are motivated and excited to be a part of our growing process to brainstorm
with us to make our dreams a reality. Our other change is that our newsletter
is changing from a paper copy to email blasts. As much as we love our
traditional newsletters, they are consuming too much time and postage, so we are
moving ahead with technology. We are thankful and appreciative of our volunteers
who have made this change a reality!

http://www.houserabbitga.org

* Vancouver:

Vancouver HRS/VRRA will be holding their first Annual 'Hop for Rabbits' on
Saturday April 4th, 2009, 12-4pm at Stanley Park Ceperley Meadow (off Beach
Avenue). The Hop for Rabbits is a fund raising and educational Easter campaign
aimed at discouraging the purchase of rabbits as Easter gifts. Come support us
in our efforts to ban the sale of baby rabbits in pet stores as we 'hop' along a
leisurely path in Stanley Park. We will have rabbit info, face painting, treats.

http://www.vrra.org

* San Diego:

Saturday, March 21, Kicks off our Monthly Speaker Series! Scheduled the third
Saturday of each month from 4 to 6 p.m., our speaker series features a variety
of presentations from behavior, to medical, to fun ways to enrich your rabbit's
life. These get-togethers offer our community the opportunity to learn more
about the care of their rabbit companions, and a chance to socialize with other
bunny slaves. Refreshments are provided and most events are BYOB (bring your own
bunny).

Coming up in the next three months are:

March 21: Bunny Bonding Basics, presented by chapter manager, Judith Pierce

April 18: Common Rabbit Health Issues, presented by Todd Cecil, DVM

May 16: VOM: Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation for Rabbits, presented by John
Harrison, DC, CVCP

SDHRS Educators will conduct a pre-Easter education event at one of San Diego
County's largest family-oriented shopping malls, Westfield Parkway Plaza in El
Cajon. Saturday, April 4, volunteers will be on hand with some of our Big White
Spokesbunnies, to discuss the `reality' of Easter and rabbits. We'll have lots
of great educational information, including items from the `Make Mine Chocolate"
campaign, and help parents to choose a stuffed or chocolate bunny as a wise
alternative to a live rabbit for Easter.

Our annual Open House is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, Noon to 4 p.m.
Visitors will enjoy bidding on fun gifts in the Raffle, great refreshments,
visiting with adoptable rabbits, and socializing with fellow bunny slaves. The
weather is always beautiful for this event and it's a great day to bring your
bunny with you and to visit with your bunny friends. We'll also have some great
shopping for your rabbits and your bunny-loving friends. There will be great
willow toys, treats, and fun t-shirts for the humans.

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org

* Alabama:

Alabama EARS just attended Cottontail's Village Arts & Crafts Show in Birmingham
March 2-8. This craft show, with over 500 vendors, is a great opportunity to
educate the bunny-friendly public about what it is really like to live with a
rabbit before the Easter-bunny season is in full swing. This central theme is
rabbits and Easter so it is an ideal opportunity to spread the MMC message--and
we know from our immediate feedback as well as the follow-up correspondence that
we are quite successful each year. Our volunteers answer questions, hand out
both fliers and in-depth rabbit care packages to people with rabbits and those
consider bringing home a rabbit for spring. The craft fair, which is
well-promoted, has customers from five states with the average range of paying
customers between 25-70. Volunteers constantly pass out chocolate donated by
area stores while promoting the "Make Mine Chocolate" campaign.

http://www.alabamaears.org

* North Carolina:

We kicked off our Make Mine Chocolate campaign at North Carolina Rabbit Day on
February 28. We had about 200 people come out for our event. For MMC we got
volunteers together and attached chocolates tied with blue ribbons to the make
mine chocolate postcards. Those were handed out as freebies when people came
in. We had some handouts, and we also ordered a batch of MMC pins from the
Columbus HRS and sold them at the event. Our volunteers also put together some
plush pet packets and we had them on display, and will be selling these through
April as part of our MMC/Easter education efforts. All proceeds are split
between the SPCA and AllCreatures Rescue.

The SPCA of Wake County will be selling our plush pet packets, MMC pins and have
dedicated the next two months to educating the public on rabbit care. We are
planning to have educational boards displayed at their facility, an educational
class for the public on rabbit care/things to consider before adopting and
youtube videos highlighting the joys of having a rabbit as a pet.

http://www.capefearrabbits.org/

* Miami:

We had an outreach table at the Fairchild Tropical Gardens annual Chocolate
Festival, which fit right in with the theme. It was fantastic. We had hundreds
of well-educated visitors come by the table and visit our fosters, and the
parents definitely got the message.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/hrs.html

* South Carolina:

We are doing a massive children's educational program this year. Thus far we
have 11 elementary and middle schools signed up for our Children's House Rabbit
Education Classes. Each class is scheduled to last about 45 minutes, though
most teachers encourage us to stay longer—usually a bit over an hour. Most
classes are 3rd, 4th and 5th grades; we do have one school that also has us
teach the 6th graders.

The class is highly interactive and includes games and other activities to keep
the kids interested. The teachers also require that the children complete
homework based on our class to ensure that they are paying attention and
learning the material while we're there. Most teachers ask the children to
write a paper covering much of what they learned. The 6th grade students
usually have to also visit rabbit.org as part of the homework and learn
something new in addition to the material we have covered in the class and
incorporate that into their papers. We also hand out basic rabbit care pamphlets
and "9 Myths" sheets to each student, and the younger children also receive a
copy of the HRS coloring book. We became involved with this program in
partnership with our local shelter, and the shelter's education director has
noticed an increase in rabbit adoptions from the shelter following our classes.
She believes that those who do decide to adopt after participating in the
program are doing so from a more educated point of view, and that the parents
have also read the basic information and researched the proper care involved
with a house rabbit.

http://www.lowcountrybunny.com

* Wisconsin:

WHRS is doing its annual education events, held over 3 Saturdays, at the Mounds
Pet Food Warehouses in the Madison area and south-central Wisconsin; we feature
adoptable rabbits and educate visitors about rabbit care. We also will have our
annual Easter letter to all newspapers across the State. Our local humane
society is featuring photos of families taken with adoptable shelter rabbits;
WHRS is partnering to provide participating families with rabbit care
information.

http://www.wisconsinhrs.org

* Sacramento:

Sacramento HRS is hosting their annual Run for the Buns! This fun event will be
held on Sunday, March 29, from 8-11:00am. Participants can choose the 1 mile,
5K, or 10K lengths and can walk, run, or a bit of both.

http://www.allearssac.org

* National:

We are hosting our annual Spring Photo Day on Saturday, April 11, from
12:30-4:30. This event will feature our famous furry friend photographer, Ken
Mark! Ken will once again be volunteering his skills as a professional
photographer to bunny owners wanting a high-quality portrait of their pet
rabbit(s).

We're also hosting a toy making workshop on Sunday, March 29, from 1:00-4:00. At
this fun class, participants will be making an Easter basket full of fun things
for your bunny and to share with shelter bunnies and bunnies of friends.

http://www.rabbit.org/rabbit-center

** In other news:

We are helping psychologists at the University of Edinburgh (UK) who are
studying animal personality and human personality, in light of the relationship
between caregivers and their pet. To do this, they need pairs of people to fill
out their online survey, which should take no more than 15-20 minutes (on
average).

The pairs should be made up of a primary caregiver (e.g., the pet-owner) and
another person who is familiar with that same pet (e.g., another caregiver or
friend who knows the pet). If you are interested in participating and/or would
like to know more about this study, please go to the following link:

http://socpsy.psy.ed.ac.uk/ex/pets/client/

** House Rabbit Journal is mailed!

Finally, the House Rabbit Journal has gone out! If you haven't received your
issue in the next two weeks, please contact us to find out if your membership is
current and that we have your correct address. (Remember, the Post Office does
not forward Journals if you move.)

** Join, Donate or Renew Your Membership!

Remember, your donations don't just
pay for the Journal. They support the world's first international
rabbit rescue, education, and advocacy organization, which includes
producing the Journal, running the website, producing our educational
materials and outreach events, paying for our chapter grant and
emergency rescue grant programs, and running our shelter in
California. Right now, our funds are completely depleted, and we need your help.

To renew, make a donation, or join, go to
http://www.rabbit.org/hrs-info/joining.html


** Thank you on behalf of the rabbits.