Saturday, August 20, 2011

Updates, and Our New Friend Spike

Hi Friends! We've missed you!

The Sogna has been doing fabulously since "the scare," she ate her breakfast the next morning and has been fine since.

We were in almost exactly the same scenario with Biff on Tuesday, perhaps a bit more frightening: He refused to eat dinner, and seemed sick and uncomfortable until breakfast the next morning. Biff has also been fine ever since, if disgruntled about syringe feeding.

The rascals beg for their morning slice of apple... AFTER they've already had their morning slice of apple. You can see Biff is just outside the kitchen.


The Sogna continues her wild digging extra curriculars, and nothing we can do to change her setup seems to curb the damage. She is currently able to fling litter box contents approximately six feet which is actually quite impressive in my humble opinion. I have ordered a screen from BinkyBunny.com that sits directly on top of the litter (not raised in the box) and is supposed to stop her from digging and also make it easier to conserve litter. I worry about her history of sore hocks, though, so if I see any signs of irritation on her feet I will throw the screen out immediately.

The cardboard box next to the overflow box is a new element I just added today. The litter box system just keeps evolving. But I doubt it will work. (Yes, I did dismantle the bottom level of the Maze Haven. It looked like an earthquake had hit it.)


Now for something completely unrelated.

This is Spike:

I read on the NYC Buns listserv that someone had posted to Craig's List that there were domestic rabbits all over a Queens park. I got in touch with one of the rabbit rescue volunteers who lives in Queens, and we decided to go on a trapping mission. She had gotten in touch with the original Craig's List poster and they went together on a Saturday, and had successfully trapped two Californians and discovered one body, in a matter of 30 minutes or so. (Two weeks ago it was very hot, so we suspect heat stroke). The next day, on a Sunday, she was in touch with park staff and they confirmed that there were still more buns in the park. So we went out there.

We found Spike more easily than I thought we would, as the park was thick with brush. We spent about an hour chasing him through the brush carrying x-pens in 90 degree heat. When Spike was ready, she just hopped into the open carrier of her own accord. While we were there a man and his young daughter came by with a Californian on a harness that they had said that they had caught quite easily in the same park. We tried educating him, but he didn't seem to want to hear it. We had thought that there had been another bun in the brush, but it was hard to tell whether it was the same rabbit since they were all Californians.

Spike had pretty severe mites, and an eye infection. Ticks are still being pulled off of her. I had wanted to bring her home to foster her, if only for the weekend, but Jon would have thrown me out of the house if I brought home another bunny. But she is being well taken care of at the shelter. In our last update from the park staff, we were told that there were no more rabbits spotted except one more body.

So, grand totals: Three buns taken to the rescue. One caught by the man and the little girl. Two succumbed to heat stroke. All Californians, all of adult size, all quite tame. None spotted before a couple weeks ago. What other conclusion can be drawn except someone dumped six helpless, domestic rabbits in the park?? Pretty disturbing, but at least four of them survived. Send your bunnies a hug on behalf of these poor little guys.

Back to school on Monday. Dreading it with all my heart.

Hope everyone and everybun is well and comfortable and beating the heat.

11 comments:

  1. Glad Biff is feeling better and Sogna is doing well in her training for the Bunolympics litter toss event. Spike and the others are glad they were saved. School will eventually be over and done with and you can move on.

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  2. Glad Biff has recovered, and hope he stays that way! Its wonderful that you were able to help most of the rabbits in the park. Spike is a real cutie, those ears are amazing. I just don't understand people sometimes. How anyone can treatliving creatures so badly is baffling.

    Good luck with school. You'll do fine.

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  3. Sweet little Biff.

    Good thing your acted when you did, before there were hundreds of bunnies at the park.

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  4. ha ha Lisa! I have that apple scenario here too :)

    thanks for rescuing the buns! Spike is a darling! glad you got 4 of them :)

    good luck with your studies! win win win, pass pass pass :)

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  5. Mr. Mick likes to give me his "starving bunneh" face in the hopes that I will have pity on him and give him some treats. It never seems to occur to him that it would be far more convincing if there wasn't a full rack of hay and a bowl of pellets in his cage next to him.

    So glad that you were able to rescue Spike and the others. Few things anger me more than the idiotic notion that a domestic animal can fend for itself in the wild just like a wild animal can. (Oh yeah? How about I drop you naked into the middle of the wilderness--after all, our caveman ancestors could fend for themselves, surely you can do it, too.) Grrrr...

    Good luck with your studies!

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  6. We are all so glad to hear the buns are both feeling better . Wonderful for the poor helpless Californians rescued in the park. Well done. Sorry to hear that it was likely that they were dumped but as you say at least of the are rescued! Thanks for sharing and good luck with your studies ;o)

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  7. Glad Sogna and Biff are feeling good.

    Who would just abandon six bunnies?!? Who would collect six bunnies only to abandon them?

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  8. Biff wants "second breakfast" like the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings. ;) Glad he is doing ok.

    Glad you got the bunnies. Sending lots of happy thoughts that the rest of their lives will be wonderful with loving families.

    Sending happy thoughts to for an extra good school semester.
    xx, shell

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  9. So glad to see the post and the two happy buns. And Spike! OMG ... what a cutie! Do they all have such large ears? Good luck as another school year begins, bringing you that much closer to the finish line.

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  10. Good work and Carry On! Luv that Spike!

    Beg for 2nds - never happens here! (wink wink)

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  11. It makes me so furious, people don't realize domestic rabbits just don't have what it takes to make it long term in the wild...I found two of our buns out there in the big old world when they were clearly no equipped so home they came...As soon as I picked up skinny skinny Roo in the forest, he closed his eyes and fell fast asleep the whole 30 minutes walk home, he was just so relieved to be back in human care, poor guy. Your amazing to get our there and do something about it Lisa. Sending all those sweeties and you a giant hug right now.

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