Rabbit Rescue

We've had our first hand experience with bunny rescue and adoption. Last week a neighbor found a bun, a baby, most likely an Easter dump- in a parking garage. Since she knew I already lived with a bun she thought we'd take the new bun.

Of course. But getting our bun and dog to accept a new bun, as well as the challenge finding good bunny/dog sitters for necessary out of town trips was a challenge. In addition this new bun was quite stressed and frail.

So the good news is a new forever home was found in no time. Educating the human who'd be a newbie bunny companion reminded me to post a few pointers here.

1. Patience- a bun needs time, and quite time to get comfortable in new surroundings.
2. Practice your 'bunny voice', a quiet, deep tone just reassuring bunny he/she is safe is a good thing for the first few days (as of course quiet radio).
3. Be prepared! Have food, housing and the name and contact of a good 'bunny' vet before you bring the bunny home.
4. Use the House Rabbit Society pages to read and learn all about bun behavior, feeding, health etc.
4. Use the internet to find online communities of bunny folk to talk with. For example, ravelry.com has a bunny rabbit lovers group and yahoo.com has several groups NYC bunny group, Etherbun etc.

Bunny Adoption

Okay so if you've been following the blog and reading other bunny sites you know the only way to go is bunny adoption. Some pointers with bunny adoption include, especially for first time bunny folk:

• adopt a bunny who is spayed/neutered
• adopt a bunny who is litterbox trained
• don't worry if bunny is shy when you reach into cage; some shelter buns live in small cages and become territorial as that's their security setting, once you get your bunny home and provide ample out of cage time it's been my experience that soon even the most cage protective rabbit soon adapts.
• ask shelter/rescue to provide you with a list of bun's usual diet (so you can introduce any new foods gradually) and if possible a medical history.
• before you pick your bun see if you need to bring a carrier-- some shelters have carriers for transports, others do not.
• try 'really hard' not to look at the other buns and over-extend yourself. Only adopt the bun(s) you can adequately care for.
• be sure you have identified a rabbit savvy vet, don't rely on the shelter referral, especially if not a bun rescue group. there are lists of these vets on the internet and there are bunny groups from yahoo to ravelry where bun lovers will help you find the best vet.

Stay tuned while we put together some links to shelters/rescue groups who would welcome your interest in adopting a bunny.