Most photos are thumbnails. Click on them to see a larger version.

Mr. Hops Crosses the Rainbow Bridge - I lost my big, beautiful, white house bunny today, Mr. Hops (aka “Hopper Bopper”).  He went to the vet on Tuesday because I noticed he wasn’t eating that morning and was sitting hunched up.  Hops loved to graze on his hay so I knew something was very wrong. He was fine the night before. I was fortunate to get him into an experienced rabbit vet since my regular rabbit vet was out.  The vet diagnosed GI Stasis.  She started treatment and by evening he was doing better and eating some hay. His symptoms were diminishing. I checked him at noon today and I realized he wasn’t out of danger.  When I came home tonight I noticed his best buddy, Mr. Bumble grooming him like crazy and Hops was flopped on his side.  Hops had not been able to flop on his side since he had a seizure 8 years ago when I first rescued him.  I knew then that he was gone. 

Mr. Hops befriended Bumble my little crippled 10 year old lop rabbit and spent hours grooming him and cuddling up next to him.

Hops could intimidate cats.  He jumped over them, turned 180 degrees and lunged at them grunting. He never met a vacuum cleaner that he feared.  Once when I came too close with a hand vacuum before he was neutered, he  took aim and sprayed my head. No apology.  However, after he was fixed Hops would sit quietly beside me and grind his teeth in his bunny purr when he was happy which was often. He would wake me up by throwing his toys especially when I slept in on the weekends. When I’d come home from work he would do a happy head shake and hop to see me at the fence of his pen. He was a Lavender Point Californian Breed Rabbit who loved pets and kisses on his forehead most of all. After Hops was rehabilitated completely about a year or so after his rescue he wasn’t sick until this past Tuesday – almost 7 years later. I will miss him.  Hop's Story

 “My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.” Watership Down

August 5, 2008 - 9:00 p.m. - Letter Opening Stars - A rabbit named Texx might need a publicist now. The video of the 1-year-old dwarf rabbit opening an envelope with his teeth has generated close to a million views on YouTube. The rabbit’s human is a young woman who is a 27 year old graduate of MIT.  She took the video of her bunny chewing the side of the envelope of her Chase credit card bill in November 2007.  She said her bunny Texx had a thing for eating paper. In fact, he once ate her homework. “I just decided to videotape him because it was just so funny,” After a few months, the head of Plankton Productions, company that operates bestofyoutube.com, featured the video on its web site. As of Monday, the video has generated over 800,000 views and counting. Watch it at:  MIT Bunny Letter Opener.  Of course, rabbits love paper and there are some cute “copy rabbits” such as Dutch Rabbit Open Letters, Too and My bunny Can Open letters.   If you want to see a talented card chewing rabbit watch:  A Very Talented Bunny – Rabbit & Cats Play Cards

46 Rabbits Rescued - The Buffalo News reported late last week that 46 rabbits were pulled from “a dilapidated ‘hutch’ in a yard outside a dangerously cluttered house" in Newstead, NY (that’s near Buffalo).  The rabbits were stained with filth and badly infested with ear mites.  One had a broken leg.  Fortunately, an anonymous caller tipped off the SPCA about rabbits and other animals “living in squalid conditions on the property.”  The SPCA officer went to the house the same day and was concerned when she saw the condition of the house and the backyard. She went back to get a search warrant and returned Wednesday with more officers.   All of the animals were taken to the SPCA where a team of vets were waiting for them.  The SPCA learned that the couple and their three children were on vacation.  Conditions were so bad inside the house he SPCA also notified housing authorities and Child Protective Services. 

You Know It’s a Slow News Day When . . . a fiery red cardinal is featured in the local paper making a fuss over a rabbit.  The bird saw a cottontail attempting to move in on his food.  I have squirrel, wild bird and cottontail squabbles outside my back door quite often. The squirrel always wins.

Hare Raising Escape - In Dekalb County, Georgia a family was trapped by spreading fire in their second story apartment.  They tossed out mattresses and then dropped their children on to the soft landings. I have to give one father a lot of credit for not only saving his children, but for also tossing out two pet birds and the family’s pet rabbit to the mattresses.  The parents then jumped out themselves.  Pets and people were all fine after their daring escape.

Mix It Up – Ming Tong is a designer who makes home appliances fun and even seem a little frivolous.  Look at this RabMixer.  It’s cute instead of modern stainless.  It comes in other colors, too.  I don’t bake enough cakes to buy one just for fun. (I wonder if Amy Sedaris could use one for her cupcake business.)  It doesn’t seem to be available online or local retailers yet.  But I like it – carrot cake, anyone?  Designer: Ming Tong

Buried Bunnies Saved in UK – a bunch of folks came together in a community in Cumberland to save some kits when they popped out of a load of chippings being delivered by a landscape company. The little European rabbits poked through the ruble and people started hopping to their aid. They carefully dug out four kits. Volunteers cleaned them up and they started to liven up.  The rabbits were small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. They went to a wildlife rehabilitator who will release them when they are old enough.  All were thriving.  One volunteer on hearing the hoppy ending said, “That’s brilliant news. “Isn’t life fantastic when you can help.” 

Orange Isn’t Necessarily an Alert – I get one or two emails a week from people new to pet rabbits. They are frantic about orange or reddish urine. (I was, too, with my first rabbit.) After asking them about diet, the color can be accounted for by something like carrots in the diet.  A rabbit’s urine can vary from yellow to orange to brown to red.  It depends on diet, hydration and even medications.  Blood in urine is rare and is an emergency.  The color of urine I am most concerned about in my house is white, “sludgy” urine.  This is due to excess calcium in the diet and the urine can sometimes look like it is “sandy.”  If kidney stones develop, it can mean surgery. It is certainly painful for a rabbit. My sister, Bonnie, administers fluids to her senior Netherland Dwarf (9 years old) twice a week for this reason.  For excellent reading on the subject see these articles: Aging Bunny, Aging Bladder on the New York House Rabbit Society Chapter website and these two articles on the House Rabbit Society website: Bladder Disease and Bladder Disease in the Rabbit and Red Urine: Blood or Plant Pigment

Update:  Bumble Bunny is better, but he's headed to the vet tomorrow just in case. 

August 3, 2008 - Bunny Blog will be updated evening of August 5th.  My 10 year old lop bunny, Bumble, is ill and he is taking all of my attention. He's a tough little guy, but he's up there in years for a rabbit. His best bunny buddy, Mr. Hops, hasn't left his side. 

July 28, 2008 - Noon - Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter! Today is the Beatrix Potter’s birthday – she would have been 142 years old. I have always admired Beatrix Potter because even though she was the creator of wonderfully illustrated children’s stories, she was talented in many other ways. Despite growing up as a daughter in a Victorian era family she was an artist and writer, and known as a gifted natural scientist and botanical illustrator. In her later years she bought farmlands and became a sheep expert. She was also a conservationist and left her lands in a national trust.
 

But most of all Beatrix loved animals and the 'real' Peter Rabbit who was a Belgian buck rabbit she called Peter Piper. She said of Peter that he was 'bought at a very tender age, in the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, for the exorbitant sum of 4/6'. This little rabbit she called her 'affectionate companion' gave his first name to one of the world's best-loved fictional characters. (Rabbit illustration on left is her drawing of the "real" Peter Rabbit.)
 

July 27, 2008 - 9:00 p.m. -  "My Rabit Hoppy" is a short film shot in a Melbourne backyard for a few hundred dollars and starring the filmmaker's children and their pet rabbit was in the running for one of the Cannes Film Festivals top prizes earlier this summer.  My Rabit Hoppy was the creation of Oscar-nominated director Anthony Lucas and was among nine contenders for the coveted short film Palme d'Or (Golden Palm). The film tells the tale of a school project that turns horribly wrong. Lucas's wife, Julia, produced the movie and their children, Henry, 8, and Peggy, 6, acted in it alongside co-star Hoppy.  Lucas said this about Hoppy, "It's funny because I never wanted the rabbit but the wife and kids wanted a pet rabbit because they're all doe-eyed, but I knew I'd end up being the one to look after it all the time," he said.

Benny’s From Heaven:  I loved the first person article in the Columbus Dispatch by Kathy Soukup about her rabbit "Benny."  Turns out Benny was a girl bunny who Kathy had spayed.  Benny was destined for her basement to live, but never made it past the kitchen where she lives in a large pen.  Read Kathy’s article at the link above.  I could relate to Kathy’s statement about shopping for fresh veggies at the supermarket – “I shop often for the freshest produce; the supermarket thinks I have a wonderfully correct diet. And, in fact, I am starting to incorporate some Benny food into my eating.”  Hopperhome agrees that having a rabbit companion is better for your health in more ways than one!

German Police Take “Bunny Murders” Very Seriously - The victims have names like Rocco, Fussel, Marianne and Fluffy. They are the “bunny murders” — 40 domestic rabbits all killed at night in their hutches in the Ruhr Valley area of Germany. If the killing of rabbits isn’t enough, now police are concerned “that whoever is killing rabbits may go on to kill humans.” “Sadists often begin with violence against animals,” said Mark Benecke, a criminal psychologist who has been advising the police since the killings began last year.  The German police are dedicated to finding the criminal responsible. About 300 breeders have been interviewed. The assumption is that the killer is male and computer-literate because he seems to have identified houses with backyard rabbit hutches by using Google Earth.  They think he is most likely living locally. Rabbits in the Ruhr Valley are bred for competition and some as pets.  Now breeders are bringing their rabbits indoors and/or installing alarm systems.  

Jumping on the Bed & Other Bunny Fun from YouTube - Louise from Arkansas sent me this link Arkansas Bunny Rabbit Rescue 2008 that recorded a couple of good old boys rescuing a cottontail rabbit during the flooding earlier this year.  The bunny is stranded, captured (without a lot of finesse), but taken to dry land.  The rabbit does decide to jump ship and swim the last few feet to shore.  After all, it is a wild rabbit and the stress of the rescue itself was probably enough for one day.  Also, once I get to YouTube, it’s hard to leave and all of a sudden I found myself watching “binky videos” of happy pet rabbits.  Some of my favorites were the multitude of rabbits in the HRS Binki Movie,  two videos that share the name “ultimate" in their titles Ultimate Binky Movie, The Ultimate Binky.  There is a happy, athletic bunny featured in The Bunny Olympics.  Of several videos which show rabbits jumping on human beds, I liked this one -  Even bunnies like to jump on the bed.   Bernie Dancing on Lucy shows a rabbit dancing on a poor dog who really doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.

July 24, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. - Rabbit Hero Hops to Rescue – a rabbit simply named “Rabbit” was all over the news today touted as a hero in Melbourne, Australia. A beautiful black rabbit saved the lives of an Australian couple from a fire that was burning in their house as they slept according to the Times.  Rabbit awoke his owners by thumping loudly in his cage as smoke poured through the house. The blaze spread fast and destroyed part of the house and roof.  But Rabbit saved the humans (and himself) just in time.  Rabbit is normally allowed to roam the house freely except at night when he is in his cage.  The fire commander said Rabbit had been responsible for rescuing Mr. and Mrs. Finn. "The rabbit saved the couple from injury," he said.  Pictured above are Mrs. Finn and her hero - Rabbit. See CNN video: Bunny saves couple from fire

Lucky Bunnies Hop to a new life in Massachusetts at the Lowell Humane Society.  Some good Samaritans rescued a total of eight rabbits (most New Zealands) at an interstate intersection near Littleton, MA.  They were dumped by three people and six of the rabbits have survived their ordeal.  These stories of rabbit abandonment are heartbreaking, but there are always kind people who hop to help these rabbits.  I read it every day in my research for the Bunny Blog. 

Rabbit Doll - Ted Sato was inspired by the pretty bento box food art on the Bunny Blog Tuesday and sent me this photo of a Usagi-doshi Kokeshi, a year of the rabbit doll he bought for his daughter who was born in 1999.  The dolls are given for birthdays, and other holidays and for good luck in Japan.  The next Year of the Rabbit is in 2011 just two years away.  (Other past rabbit years are: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987)  You can find the Kodeshi Dolls at Japanese Shop online.

It's Just Fine - in the UK a father was fined for kids neglecting pet rabbits – Julian (a bunny lover from London) sent me an article about a fellow who was prosecuted by the RSPCA because his four children neglected their pet bunnies.  The dad said the children “`nagged and nagged' him for pets until he `gave in'.  So he bought Fasty, Bubbles and Squeak and installed them in a wooden rabbit hutch in their garden.  The kids lost interest shortly thereafter.  A neighbor tipped off the RSPCA that one rabbit had died and the others were in dirty hutches and malnourished.  The father said: "I would urge all parents to make sure their children keep on top of their duties. My children nagged and nagged me for pets and I gave in. Then I find myself in court.”  He also paid a fine of 500 pounds. The rabbits were seized and will be adopted out to another home. 

24 Carrot Rabbits – Last month the ASPCA released their list of the cost of caring for various pets.  Keeping rabbits as your companions is more expensive this year.  Dr. Katherine Miller, assistant science advisor for the ASPCA and chief author of this year’s listing, said not everyone is aware of the equipment a rabbit needs, such as a large cage or pen, toys to keep its teeth healthy, a litter box, bedding and abundant hay in addition to other food such as pellets. She said “Rabbit food is a bit more expensive than cat food.” Annual care for a rabbit was estimated at $730 while a cat was $670. Miller stressed that although the figures released are estimates, they are not “guesstimates.” “I think the estimates are very solid this year,” she said. “It is a scientific process.”  Any bunny knows the price of hay has gone up and so have veggies for those of us who feed their bunnies fresh salad.

July 22, 2008 - 8:00 p.m. -    “Hi, bunny, You're Home”  -  There was a great article and video about a new chapter of Rabbit Rescue Started by Patti Brant and Liz Ober in Daytona Beach.  (The original group is based in Gainesville.) They were motivated to help after seeing a growing number of rabbits ending up at the Halifax Humane Society, where they volunteer. A pure white bunny named Snoopy was featured in the article.  It seems “not long ago, Snoopy was anything but pampered and loved. His owners foreclosed on their house and pet. When rescued, Snoopy's nails were 3 inches long and his collar was tightening like a vise around his neck.”   Snoopy was left to die, but now he has a forever home with Liz Ober.  (Snowball with Patti Brant above.)

Kathy Finelli who is the program director for Rabbit Rescue in Gainesville explained the difference in having a rabbit in the home.  Also, there is a great Video about Rabbit Rescue accompanying the article. 

Bunderful 20 Year Celebrations - The House Rabbit Society continues to celebrate their 20^th Anniversary with events around the United States.  Several events are listed at their home webpage link above.  Also, while you’re at it see the video made by Rabbit Bites to commemorate the HRS 20th Anniversary and then go read Best Friends wishes House Rabbit Society a Happy 20th Birthday!

Hoppy Endings - The Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote about Wendy Weir who “was scared and confused in her new surroundings. She couldn't find food or shelter. She was dehydrated and sick with diseases from the more than 15 ticks that latched onto her skin.” Wendy is a young Mini Rex rabbit and at the time she was alone and slowly dying in the Greenwood Cemetery in O'Hara. Fortunately, Wendy was rescued by Mary Cvetan founder of the Pittsburgh House Rabbit Club Wendy the rabbit was named after the Weir family, who maintains the cemetery grounds. The Rex rabbit had to have “parts of her thick, jet-black coat of velvety fur shaved to remove the ticks”  But according to Mary, “"She would live on my lap if I let her," She has hopes that when Wendy’s health is back to normal she will find a family and have a permanent indoor home.  I like Mary’s last thought in the article: "There's a lot of houses out there that need bunnies in them." (Mary and Wendy are pictured above.)

Hopping Around the Web – Dora-Marie’s Flickr Web Page has the most “hare”larious and sweet video of her female rabbit Noisette who enjoys napping with her male cat Tigger.  See the video at the link above. Crafty Rabbits: I am amazed at some of the creative crafts with rabbit themes at Esty like a  Pink Bunny Mini Clutch Look closely at the design when you visit the website.  That is definitely a rabbit in the pink design.  Are you absolutely knitty about rabbits – it seems Nanette Blanchard is and she has a pattern for Rabbit Finger Puppets on her Knitting in Color Blog.  She has used this pattern to make puppets for the Colorado House Rabbit Society shelter to sell in their gift shop. See some adorable pet rabbits ready for adoption in Albuquerque, visit her other web site Four Corners Bunnies .

Play with Your Bunny Food  - Hiroko sent this wonderful photo of how she and her friends celebrate usagi (rabbits) in Japan. Not as food, but as foodie art! So get out your kitchen utensils and see if you can recreate this work of art!

April 29, 2008 - 9:45 p.m. - Update on Midwest Rabbit Rescue & Rehome & ZooToo – They deserve big bunny Congratulations for placing sixth in Zootoo's million-dollar shelter makeover contest!  It was a dramatic 11th hour effort and rabbit fans from all over the country supported them.  They had dropped out of the top 20, to 21, but gained close to 900 new members over the final weekend and soared into sixth place.  Midwest Rabbit Rescue & Rehome is the only rescue specifically for rabbits that competed.  They will receive $5,000 for their rescue makeover. The rabbits are the real winners here!   The 20 finalists will be presented at the HSUS's Animal Care Expo in Orlando on May 15th. (Foxy pictured above is one of the rescue's handsome rabbits ready for a new home.)

Poster Rabbits in Singapore – Linda (mom to Muppet the rabbit) from Los Angeles emailed me two posters shown here after her trip to visit a friend in Singapore.  She thought the "shelf rabbit" poster was from a 2006 campaign by the Singapore Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority.  There were several posters made with "shelved" dog, cat, rodents and the one shown below featuring a rabbit.  The other poster showing a child in a bunny suit crying in a hallway is a campaign against abandoning pets.  It’s a pretty powerful message.   A chapter of the House Rabbit Society is located in Singapore and you can visit their website at: Singapore House Rabbit Society  Click on the photos to see larger versions.

And while we're talking about exotic places - Visit the Flickr web page by RosyBunny in Hong Kong.  The photos are fantastic.  RosyBunny is mom to several bunnies and is a member and educator of the House Rabbit Society.  She also authored a Chinese book on rabbit care, "家有寶貝兔", published by Wan Li Book Co.

April 28, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. - Rabbits Short on Space -Friends of Rabbits, located in Maryland, D.C., and Northern, VA are in urgent need of fosters! The Montgomery County Humane Society is overwhelmed right now in their small animal room. They are overflowing with guinea pigs and hamsters so the bunnies are being moved to a back room (yikes!). If you can help, call Lori at 301-725-7505.  Or visit the website for more contacts at Friends of Rabbits  That's Bandit above who is just one of many amazing rabbits available for adoption with Friends of Rabbits.

Bunnies Past Their Prime – I have two bunnies one over 9 and the other 8 years old (see pic) and my sister, Bonnie has two rabbits pushing 10 years old.  Unfortunately, older rabbits are often passed by for adoption.  A story I read about Bongo last week in the Wall Street Journal has a good ending for one senior rabbit. It seems Bongo was in an animal shelter in rural Pennsylvania that reached rabbit overload and after a fight with another rabbit he lost a piece of his ear.  He ended up at the Animal Friends shelter in the Pittsburgh area.  Then a group called the “Red Collar Society” stepped in to help.  It’s a a society for people who adopt older pets, which means dogs more than five years old and cats over six. The article said “rabbits are considered old at three.”  The Red Collar Society appears to be effective since it was formed last April, more than 300 older cats, dogs and rabbits have been adopted from the shelter.

 An older man adopted Bongo who he considers to be a rakish rabbit -- "tough, aggressive and independent, like a one-legged pirate."  The gentleman’s first rabbit passed away and he missed his bunny.

Red Collar members can attend monthly programs on bonding and estate planning.  Bongo’s new human has arranged for Bongo to be taken care of by Animal Friends if the rabbit outlives him.

Rabbits in the Moon:  Rabbits in Asian myths are common particularly in China, Japan and Korea.  The Chinese rabbit moon goddess was mentioned in the conversation between Houston Capcom and Apollo 11 crew just before the first moon landing:

Houston: Among the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning there's one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl called Chang-o has been living there for 4000 years. It seems she was banished to the moon because she stole the pill for immortality from her husband. You might also look for her companion, a large Chinese rabbit, who is easy to spot since he is only standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. The name of the rabbit is not recorded.

Collins: Okay, we'll keep a close eye for the bunny girl.

In 2007, China launched its first lunar probe, named Chang'e 1 (Chinese: 嫦娥一号; pinyin: Cháng'é Yī Hào) in the rabbit goddess's honour.

Bunny Lune is a book I happened upon at the bookstore last week. (Clarion Books) Author Kae Nishimura has written a fanciful book offering beautiful art and an original story.  A big-city rabbit named Bunny Lune wants more than anything to go to the moon. His friend Pyonko has told him about the Japanese tradition that rabbits live there. It's for young children and you can find it online at major book sellers.

Child’s Play  - Students at a Danville, Indiana Middle School learn about  animal anatomy and behavior, from a language teacher arts who knows his way around pets.  In describing the Dutch bunny visitors that day, the teacher told a group of middle-schoolers: "They've been handled a little, but you have to be careful and always support them. If they get frightened, they'll kick."  It’s all part of an enrichment activities program during a new "flex" period.   Educators hope activities like these engage kids, motivate them to do better, enjoy academics more and help them discover new interests and explore career paths.  (We could certainly use more  Rabbit Rescuers or rabbit veterinarians.)

Blogging about Bunnies -  After my own absence from blogging the last couple of weeks (life got way too busy), I missed my daily rabbit research. Since I started blogging over two years ago, blogs about bunnies have exploded onto the scene especially in the last six months.  I list over 50 blogs about rabbits on my Jump to Links web page and I still can't keep up with all the new rabbit blogs creating lots of bunspace out there.  Here are a few I discovered recently:

The Life and Times of Bunnies – Gus and Betsy make up all the bunderful fun on this blog.  The video from April 28^th is cute, but the April 15^th blog entry “The Destruction of Betsy” is accompanied by a photo that says it all. 

Ruth over at The Bunny Gardener combines two of my favorite activities, gardening and rabbits.  I love the photos of the garden and her entries like the one on April 14^th called “How Much Garden Does It Take To Feed Two Bunnies?!!” 

I also enjoy reading A Houseful of Rabbits which is all about “one house 2 people and 11 rabbits.  I want to know how they find the time to blog. 

April 7, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. - Whimsical Rabbits - who would have thought rabbits live under “marshmallow trees.” Scroll down the page at the following link to see whimsical rabbit paintings by Kristiana Parn.  And, if you have ever wondered how to make a rug in a bunny shape, then go to Bunny Rug on Makezine Blog.  Plus, the handmade craft website, Etsy.com has several leftover bunnies from Easter like this Handmade Blue Felt Bunny. 

Good Bunny Book Finds for Kids -  It doesn’t matter what season it is for Anna Dewdney's Nobunny's Perfect dedicated to Beatrice Potter, "who knew bad bunny behavior when she saw it." Three young rabbits "mostly do the things they should," but when sad or mad, they can, in a flash, turn seriously bad. The author seems to adore the "rude rabbits" as well as ones who are "polite and kind and true." (This is a lot like bunny fanatics – guilty here.) Along the same lines is Franny Billingsley’s Big Bad Bunny.  It’s all about Baby Boo-Boo creating the persona of Big Bad Bunny to get some respect from her family.  Clare Turlay Newberry's Marshmallow, is an award winning book from the 1940's and was recently reissued in a revised edition by HarperCollins.  Oliver, a fat, spoiled tabby cat, and Marshmallow, a newly arrived baby rabbit who manages to convince the hoity-toity Oliver that he's really a kitten and well worth adopting. Visit Barnes and Noble online or your local bookstore to find these books.

Speaking of Beatrice Potter, my sister gave me a book for Easter, Beatrix Potter: A Journal (thank you Bonnie).  This lavish, illustrated journal describes Beatrix Potter’s life as a young woman in Victorian England as she struggled to achieve independence and to find artistic success. Using commentary taken from Beatrix’s own diaries, the journal features watercolor paintings, sketches, photographs, letters and period memorabilia to recreate the world in which she lived.

All Ears - My lop rabbit, Mr. Bumble, developed an ear infection a month ago without overt symptoms.  He was sneezing a little which prompted me to take him to the vet. Both Bumble and I are lucky since this is his first ear infection at the ripe old age of 9 ½ years. (His lungs were clear). All breeds of lop rabbits are prone to chronic ear infections.  Their ear canals can be very narrow and deformed.  The floppy ears covering the ear canal make a great environment for bacteria to multiple.  Any excess wax debris gets lodged in the ear and it’s an infection just waiting to happen.  Mr. Bumble’s ear cleaning scheduled has been stepped up to once a week now that he has recovered from the infection.  If you have a lop breed of rabbit, please check their ears weekly and ask your vet how to clean their ears.  Pictured above is a beautiful English Lop I found sitting regally in the “Bunny Building” at a county fair last year.

The Bunny Rescue of Nashville, Tennessee was featured in The Daily Herald newspaper.  Laurie Montgomery was interviewed for the article.  “Montgomery said educating owners is Bunny Rescue's primary goal. "Every time I get a call from an owner wanting to dump the rabbit here, I try to talk them out of it," she said. "Most of the problems they have can be solved with a 10-minute conversation."  Bunny Rescue takes in rabbits from across Middle Tennessee, including the Maury County Animal Shelter, where they're often taken after being abandoned in outdoors.  Visit their website above to see all the good work they do for rabbits.  Visit their adoptables web page to view photos of all their wonderful rabbits like Vivian pictured above.

After Easter Rabbit Care – There have been several articles in newspapers online since Easter about how to take care of that new “Easter Bunny.”  The Sacramento Bee published a long and detailed article in their newspaper covering most of the important issues of proper care from diet to housing.  They also gave the House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) a well deserved compliment when they said it is the best site on the internet for pet rabbit information.  Hopperhome agrees.  I refer people who email me for in depth pet bunny information to the HRS website all the time. They have a truly comprehensive bunny “knowledge base" online thanks to their founders and hundreds of volunteers.

Acts of Kindness in Scotland - some very kind people rescued a dumped pet bunny in the UK recently found in rubbish and trash bins.  The rabbit was abandoned in a white and blue bag with a bag of food.  The little rabbit (pictured above on the right) was taken to Inverclyde Animal Rescue in Scotland near where it was found.  As the animal rescue representative said “She is only about 14 weeks old and is a lovely wee thing.”  Indeed, she is.

Pipsqueak Rabbit Ancestor – If you haven’t heard, archeologists discovered the tiny bones of a 53 million-year-old hamster-size bunny ancestor.  The ankle bone, top, and heel bone of the oldest found rabbit relative have features that resemble modern-day bunnies and allow them to hop. This amazing find was discovered in a coal mine in Gujarat, in west-central India. It sounds like this half pound ancient ancestor was a lot like pikas who are hamster-sized rabbit cousins. But Pikas don’t actually hop and so he was more rabbit, and quite a hopper.  The bones were found embedded in material deposited in land once covered with swamps and bays, suggesting the rabbit was a near shore dweller (in other words, the first beach bunny).  

Bunny Blog will be updated Monday evening, April 7th because of website maintenance due to technical issues.  I do all my own website maintenance and sometimes the problems multiply like rabbits.

March 26, 2008 - 10:00 p.m. - Bunnies Survive a Close Call - Two beautiful pet rabbits from Auckland, NZ survived a close shave when their outdoor hutch was set on fire.  The family discovered newspaper ashes and burn marks around their rabbit hutch on the day after Easter. The rabbits, Bert and Snowy, were unharmed, but Bert’s whiskers were singed.  The family is very upset since it would have been their 11 year old daughter who would have found her rabbits destroyed had the hutch actually caught fire.  This isn’t the first time the family say there has been an intrusion.  A few months ago they found the hutch open and Snowy and Bert running around the yard.  Time to make those rabbits house rabbits!  (Snowy pictured above.)

Hopping  to a Different Drummer – Last week among the articles on the perils of buying a live Easter rabbit on impulse, the Akron Beacon Journal did a terrific profile on a house rabbit living with a couple in their apartment.  The Schwietzers adopted Matilda from the Columbus House Rabbit Society about a year ago.  The article made the point that rabbits are not cats and dogs and their owners must be properly equipped and prepared to meet their needs including finding a rabbit vet, feeding the rabbit properly, and learning rabbit psychology.   

"She's been such a joy in our lives," said Susan Schwietzer. "Rabbits do so many different things all the time. She's our baby. ... Just looking at her cheers me up."   The Schwietzers gave the reporter a tour of their living room: Not an electric cord in sight. Matilda is not "spoiled"; she's "indulged," said Ryan Schwietzer. Once you scratch the surface, rabbit fever goes deep, say the Schweitzers. 

Make Mine Earl Grey - I love this photo of “Earl Grey” being tempted with  a piece of lettuce last week at the Northeastern Satellite of the Colorado House Rabbit Society in Greeley. The Rabbit Resource Center has five rabbits for adoption, and also has supplies and provides education about rabbits. The Greely Tribune wrote a nice piece on the chapter and their resource center manager, Debby Schmidt.  (That is a very intent lagomorph.) 

And speaking of lettuce . . .  

Biggest Bunny - I want to know who goes around measuring big rabbits so once a year they can proclaim someone has the biggest rabbit in the universe. It's bizarre.  Anyway, I digress . . Amy, a Continental Giant breed rabbit, is 4 ft. long and 3 stone (around 35 lbs.)  Her bonded mate is Roberto who previously held the heavyweight title. Last year their owner had the big bunnies "marry" in a ceremony probably only enjoyed by humans.

I actually agree with a Continental Giant breeder who said in the Daily Mail newspaper, "It's a load of rubbish."  He and his wife, Sue, bred 28 lb. Dancer - also once said to be the biggest rabbit in the world, but Wayne says that anything heavier is not naturally big, but simply an obese pet.  "it's probably just a big, fat rabbit.  If so, it would be cruel.  Like anything, when you're overweight it causes problems," he says. Another article noted that Amy is fed “two apples, a handful of carrots, half a cabbage, fresh hay, and a dog-sized dish of rabbit mix every day.  Of course, Amy and Roberto have been busily breeding at their home in Worcester (UK), and their owner is confident that one of their 32 offspring will turn out even larger. It is interesting to note that the Guinness Book of Records no longer logs amazing animals because owners were force-feeding their large pets to obesity.

Hopping Mad About Hairless Rabbits -  A professor of animal and wildlife science and director of the Texas A&M’s Rabbit Research Program, is now breeding furless rabbits so they can provide “a solid and sustainable food source for developing nations in warm, tropical climates where other rabbits would have difficulty surviving.”
Underestimating the capacity of humans to have compassion for animals under any circumstance, there is another purpose behind the rabbit’s unnatural appearance according to Professor Lukefahr.  Quoting his statement in the newspaper article: "Many Americans get all emotional about when it comes to eating cute, cuddly rabbits," he said. "They've got a face only a mother could love."
The professor has apparently never met a rabbit lover before. (He probably has never heard of Sphynx cats who are hairless and adored by cat lovers or the Mexican Hairless or Chinese Crested dogs.) Appearance is inconsequential. In my opinion, there are many, many things fundamentally wrong with the entire program of even breeding these rabbits.

Japanese Rabbit Cozy - a Bunny Blog reader, Joann, sent this photo of two rabbits relaxing in their very cute home in Japan.  She made one for her own rabbits in an afternoon on her sewing machine and reports that her rabbits shredded it in record time.  Joann said she had less mess since she skipped putting shag carpet under her version.  She also wanted to know why Japanese rabbits are so well-behaved.

March 19, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. Easter Weekend at the Burrow! Kim Scharf over at the Bunny Bunch SPCR in Montclair, California asked me to be sure to mention this event.  Anyone thinking about getting a rabbit for Easter and who happens to live near Montclair in Southern California should hop over this weekend, March 22^nd & 23rd from Noon to 4:00 p.m. They will be happy to explain proper rabbit care, offer refreshments and do free nail trims.  They will also have free Chocolate Easter Rabbits while supplies last.  Easter is also the debut of "Photos with Rabbits" – they will set-up a holiday themed booth for rabbits (chinchillas, guinea pigs, rats, etc.) to have their own photo shoot.  100% of the $10.00 donation for a photo will help them to keep rescuing rabbits.  Visit their link above for more information!  (Sesame is pictured above - just one of many, many  Bunny Bunch rabbits.

Midwest Rabbit Rescue and Rehome are in the www.ZooToo.com competition for a shelter makeover. The contest ends at the end of this month and they still need help to stay in the place to win at least a $5000 prize for their rabbits. Go to Midwest RR&R link above to get information on registering with ZooToo .  They started this in October and have steadily climbed up the list.  It would be great to have a rabbit rescue become a winner. (One of their adoptable rabbits, Lola, is pictured above.)

Tsai-fi Dust Bunnies, my sister Bonnie found these online. They look like very fat, round cuddly plush rabbits with a lot of personality.  The Dust Bunnies come in several styles and colors. The artist  designs her creations from vector drawings.  This one is called "Rosey Posey."

European Rabbit – A doe and her kit enjoy a quiet moment in the photo below. This photo was emailed from an anonymous rabbit fan.  It is a beautiful shot the of the wild rabbit who was the precursor to all the domesticated breeds.

March 18, 2008 - 9:00 p.m. - Baker Raises Dough to Save Rabbits – The Great Harvest Bread Co. located in Shorewood, Il (near Joliet) offers “honey bunnies” as a healthy whole grain alternative to live pet rabbits.  Matthew Simpson of Great Harvest Bread Co. is partnering with the Will County Humane Society for Easter. The store will donate $2 of every honey bunny loaf sold to the humane society. The bread company averages 500-700 loaves of bunny bread sold during Easter.  As Simpson said, “The kids can have a bunny, but it won’t be sent to the humane society afterward.” For more information on the store go to Great Harvest Bread Company  The bunny loaf is shown above.

A Rabbit Round-up in Kelowna, Canada was a kinder option rather than a cull some people are proposing to deal with the “rabbit problem.”  The Responsible Animal Care Society was out wrangling feral rabbits this past weekend hoping to save them from a cull.  They managed to capture 25 and those rabbits are on their way to being neutered or spayed. Several third graders lobbied a council member to find an alternative to a cull. "They asked what rabbits had ever done to me and that was it.”  As a result the council agreed to give the rabbit wranglers a chance to promote a more humane solution of catching and neutering the rabbits and offering them for adoption.

Kelowna is not the only Canadian city to be hit by a rabbit population explosion and controversy over how to rid towns of feral rabbits. In the suburb of Richmond parks are teeming with rabbits and animal rescue groups are pleading with residents to leave bunnies in the pet store this Easter.  They say if you go to Minoru Park it is possible to see a 100 rabbits within a few minutes.  That’s because it is estimated 1,000 feral domesticated rabbits live there.  See one of the rabbit residents pictured on the right. He is certainly someone’s adorable ex-pet.

Helsinki’s Long “Hares” – Urban feral rabbits are becoming a much bigger issue due to a mild winter in normally cold countries like Finland. This coming summer all previous population records are expected to be shattered. According to estimates there are up to five thousand feral and wild rabbits living in Helsinki. The rabbits have good taste in music since the National Opera lawn is their favorite spot.

March 17, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I located a media file of an old Irish music box jig called Rabbit in the Field (sheet music for you musicians).  Play the file while you visit Irish Baby Hare Cam The webcam shows a pen of leverets (baby hares) located in a rearing facility in the Sperrin region of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The facility is specifically for Irish hares. The orphaned leverets arrive from all over Ireland to raise, rehabilitate and release. The Irish Hare Initiative is an independent not-for-profit group working for the conservation and protection of Irish hares.  (Photo above is a Wendy Walsh Irish Hare Watercolor. Click on photo to see larger version.)

Make Mine Chocolate!  Yes, you can have a chocolate bunny or give one as a gift this year and make it Dairy-Free, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free or Food Allergy Free! Try these chocolate makers online for some guilt-free nibbling.   Okay, they are Not calorie-free.  

Amanda’s Own Easter and Passover Chocolates
Divvies Chocolate Bunny 

Chocolate Emporium Chocolate Bunny Assortment
Sweet Earth Foil Wrapped Easter Bunnies
Indulge in Chocolate Vegan Chocolate Easter Bunny

Pre-Easter Rescues – The first was located in Botetourt County (Virginia) where Animal Control officers seized dozens of sick rabbits from an 81-year-old man with a history of animal abuse.  The rabbits were mite infected and if they hadn’t been removed, they could have ended up as Easter gifts in a flea market.  Channel WSLS ran a story Sick Bunnies Find New Home showing the rabbits in a new and safe environment.  The Angels of Assisi loaded up a van at the SPCA on Thursday and took them to Harmony Farm nearby.  They have their hands full with baby bunnies and newborn kits and they expect more are on the way.  The rabbits are recovering from the mite infestation and doing much better.  These are 43 rabbits that won’t be ready for Easter!  But in a few weeks they will be tested again and ready for adoption. See the 90 acre Harmony Farm Sanctuary at the link.

In another large rescue more than 300 rabbits were rescued from "deplorable conditions" at a rabbit meat farm in Simcoe County, Ontario.  The local newspaper reported the OSPCA are still investigating and their shelter was hopping with rabbits.  According to the newspaper, “most of the animals were female and many of them were already pregnant, even though they were nursing litters.”  The conditions were considered "filthy" and many rabbits were sick. The good news is that several area shelters joined in the effort and foster homes were also enlisted to take in rabbits. (Alisa Sears, manager of the Barrie OSPCA, cuddles one of the 300 rescued bunnies above.) 

Last year it was Paris . . . Paris Hilton bought a pair of bunnies for Easter a year ago and this year it is Miley Cyrus.  Several teen gossip websites reported last Sunday Miley Cyrus spent time with her family in Los Angeles where she stopped by a pet store after attending church.  She bought a rabbit she named Jack. While I can appreciate her desire to have a rabbit, her style and behavior is copied by thousands of pre-teen and teenage girls.  I’m hoping this is one time she doesn’t start a trend especially during the week before Easter. 

Shooting with a Camera –  Recently a crew of filmmakers were on campus shooting rabbits with a high-definition camera. The crew is filming a documentary for Animal Planet Canada and the Discovery Channel HD about resourceful domesticated animals running wild in unlikely places.  They hope to make the film into a 12-part series. According to the recent article in the Times Colonist, the “documentary was inspired by a trip Erin Skillen took to Pompeii with her husband in 2005.”  She began researching the phenomenon of domesticated animals living as feral animals and in danger of elimination by humans who regard them as pests. (The newspaper in Victoria noted the culling of university rabbits last year as part of an article on the rabbits.) As a passionate animal lover, Skillen was unsettled by injured rabbits in the University of Victoria’s feral rabbit population during filming.

March 12, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. - Unbunlievable! - Newspapers in Portland, Maine reported that a local teenager was charged with stealing a pet bunny and trying to extort money from the 16 year old bunny owner.  The 17 year old broke into the other teenager’s apartment and stole a gray dwarf rabbit.  He then called the other boy and demanded payment of a $100 or else the rabbit would be hurt.  Fortunately, the local police say the rabbit was recovered “in good condition.”  The thief could take a lesson from the young man in England I wrote about on Tuesday who cares for 90 animals.

Several kind people wrote and asked me where they could send donations to James Mason in England to help him care for his 90 rescued animals (including 29 rabbits).  I have contacted the newspaper who published the story to ask James if this can be arranged.  I will keep you posted.

Bella Bunny is pictured above.  She is one of many gorgeous rabbits from the State of Maine who need good homes.  She is at the MSPCA at Nevins Farm

Rabbitats for Humanity – Since rabbits are my “Maine” subject tonight, I wanted to share the link  above for a rabbit sanctuary located on the South Bristol pennisula of mid-coast Maine.  is a labor of love founded and maintained by Quan Myers. A non-profit organization since 2006, it has become home for more than 100 rabbits.  Read some of their stories here.  You can also read how and why Quan started Rabbitats for Humanity. As is the case with many of us who rescue rabbits, it just takes one rabbit and Quan’s was Harvey.  Best Bunny Wishes to Quan for helping rabbits!

On the Wild Side:  The sight of brown hares "boxing" is one of the most arresting spectacles of the countryside in the fields of lowland Britain. But the behavior that gave rise to the legend of "mad March hares" is likely to become a less common sight in the future. Conservationists believe because of a change in European Union rules about how farms are managed, the animals may start to decline after a program is abolished that paid farmers to leave some of their land uncultivated.  The program dates back 20 years and left 8 percent of Britain's arable land as scruffy, weedy sanctuary benefiting hares and other farmland wildlife. Conservation groups are urging the government to initiate new programs to help farmers and wildlife.

March 10, 2008 -