The Gainesville Rabbit
Rescue Graze-ette
July, 2011
In This Issue
• How GRR Began
• IHOP Project Update
• “The Sunshine Rescue”
• Monthly Health Tip
• Bunny-of-the-Month
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Volume 1, Number 1
Hello!
You are reading the first issue of our new Gainesville Rabbit Rescue newsletter. We have tried to include information about our rescue and links that are helpful or we feel you would enjoy. This has been a learning process, and feedback is greatly appreciated – so if there is anything you’d like to read about in the next issue, let us know! Thanks, and we hope you enjoy! How It All Began
Gainesville Rabbit Rescue began just over 10 years ago, when Maria Martinez and Monica Gardon realized that pet rabbits were being dumped and there was no rescue group dedicated to helping them. Facebook
Together, they formed Gainesville Rabbit Rescue and took these Twitter
unwanted rabbits into their homes. Maria lived in a small rental duplex Cafepress (Online store)
near Office Depot, and soon had an entire room devoted to her foster bunnies. She had stacked cages built, in order to maximize her space. Monica lived in an apartment at Frederick Gardens, where she put Helpful Bunny Resources
The House Rabbit Society bunnies in every available nook. A great website that deals with
everything bunny
As rabbit lovers do, Maria and Monica discovered other like-­‐minded Flopsy Parker’s
individuals, and everyone was soon meeting to discuss ways to take some Cafepress Shop
of the work out of rabbit care. Monica was in vet school and was able to All profits from purchases
obtain loose hay for our fosters. Eventually, Maria and Monica ended up made in July are being donated
to our IHOP project!
moving out of Gainesville. Their roles were filled by Michelle Rehrer, who began fostering, and who helped raise awareness (as well as much-­‐
Rabbitcondo.com
needed funds) by hosting events such as garage sales. Instructions for making an
Our website
awesome cage for your rabbit,
using storage cubes
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Betsy Duncan, one of our current directors, became involved when she moved into the area and began rescuing animals for her new farm. One day, she went to a yard sale that was advertising a rabbit hutch, and when she got there, they asked her if she wanted the rabbit, too! He had only one eye and the other was injured from a hayrack inside his cage. Thus began Betsy's education on rabbits. Later, when looking for a horse, Betsy came across a backyard breeder whose rabbit had just given birth under a semi truck. Sadly, the babies were being eaten alive by ants because the “owners” didn't know the rabbit had given birth. This helped Betsy realize the need for education on rabbit care. This realization happened just as Monica was leaving town, so Betsy stepped in as the main fosterer, taking in all of Maria's rabbits and purchasing her rabbit hutches. Other fosterers and rabbit lovers who became part of the group included Kelly Bell, Andrea Schleffler, Denise Cumming, and Mary Kay Sullivan. Kathy Finelli, our other director, also became a “rabbit person” on accident. During the Fourth of July weekend 8 years ago, she found a small pet rabbit in the underbrush in her yard, being stalked by one of the stray cats she fed. Kathy wasn’t sure what to do, so the bunny took things into his own paws and literally jumped into her hands. She began making phone calls to find a rescue for the rabbit. The Humane Society referred her to GRR, but there were no open foster homes. Kathy set the rabbit up in his own cage and kept him until he found his forever home. Since she had “all this rabbit stuff,” she took in another foster. What she didn’t count on, she said, was “the next bunny being such a love and so well behaved. It was Lucky Clover who made me really start to want to help rabbits as I never knew the need was as great as it was.” Gainesville Rabbit Rescue has moved from these humble beginnings to an organization with 25 people providing foster care for 75+ rabbits (and even a couple guinea pigs). We not only host an adoption booth at the Gainesville Petsmart every Sunday, but we have foster homes in other areas like Daytona and central Florida, who host their own adoption events. GRR also provides assistance to rabbit owners in need. None of this would be possible without Kathy, Betsy and all those who give their hearts and their time to the bunnies. Our supporters are integral in GRR’s efforts to save as many lives as possible. IHOP Project Update
Almost one year ago, we began to realize that the summer heat in Florida was just too much for our outside foster bunnies, so one of our directors graciously volunteered her barn to be enclosed and turned into a rabbit room. The Improved Habitat Overhaul Project (IHOP) will provide the rabbits in our care a safe, temperature-­‐controlled space to live in while they await their forever homes. While we have made a great deal of progress to date, we still have a long way left to go. We are in desperate need of framing lumber, plywood, labor, electrical work, and donations. If you can contribute to any of these things, the bunnies would greatly appreciate it. For cash donations, you can donate through our Paypal account. For construction assistance, please contact Betsy Day to set up a time to visit and discuss the project. The Sunshine Rescue
At the end of April, 2011, Gainesville Rabbit Rescue was notified about a breeder in the Fort Myers area that was going to euthanize almost 80 rabbits to sell to a zoo as food. The breeder was having financial difficulties and was no longer making money off of her rabbits, an consequently, could no longer afford to care for them. Rabbit advocates were horrified by this news and began to spread the word. Gainesville Rabbit Rescue, along with 14 other rescues, joined together to help raise money and find foster homes for all of the bunnies. On May 4th, Gainesville Rabbit Rescue’s two directors drove down to the breeder and brought back 30 rabbits, 14 of which we transported a few days later to Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Gainesville Rabbit Rescue played an integral role in both coordinating the rescue with other groups, as well as taking in one of the largest group of buns. In the end, the lives of all 77 rabbits were spared. All of the buns have been spayed or neutered, and are up for adoption (some have even been adopted already!). Monthly Health Tip
This time of year in Florida, as anyone who lives here knows all too well, is stiflingly hot, with enough humidity to make you feel like you’re underwater. In Gainesville, we’ve had temperatures exceeding 100° on multiple occasions. These conditions can be deadly to rabbits! If your bunny companion(s) live outside in a hutch, now is the time to bring them in, if you can. Rabbits have a difficult time staying cool in the hot weather and can easily fall victim to heat stroke. If your bun is allowed play time in the backyard/back porch, make sure they are closely supervised and their time outside is limited. If you absolutely cannot bring your bunny inside, here are some tips to help them stay cool and safe (courtesy of the House Rabbit Society): • Make sure their enclosure is in the shade, and set up a circulating fan (with the cord far away from bunny) • Put a few ice cubes in their water bowl or bottle • Periodically mist their ears with cool water (bunnies dissipate heat through their ears) • Freeze soda bottles full of water, and leave them in their enclosure, so they can lean against them to cool down • If your bun has longer fur, give them a hair cut! (But make sure to be very careful with the scissors) • Put a ceramic or tile square in their cage for them to lie on If you suspect that your bunny is suffering from heat exhaustion or stroke, bring them inside, dampen their ears and body with cool (not cold) water, and call your vet or emergency clinic immediately! Bunny-of-the-Month: Candy Man
This is Candy Man, one of 18 bunnies from Melrose that Gainesville Rabbit Rescue took in during the “Valentine’s Day Rescue”. He lived outside in a tiny, dirty cage for the first years of his life, and was not given much attention. Because of this, he is a little shy, but he has made a lot of progress in the past few months. Candy Man is medium-­‐sized, with gorgeous long hair and a sweet disposition. Just the other weekend at Petsmart, he let the volunteers groom him and clip his nails without wiggling one bit! Candy Man is waiting patiently for a wonderful furever home that will give him all the love and TLC he deserves. Upcoming Calendar