Feb/March 2010
The •
Bunologist
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What’s News?
Melbourne Bunny Get-together
Where: Vegie Bar, Brunswick
When: Sunday 11 April
Time: 12pm onwards
Want to meet other bunny lovers and brag about your
bunnies?? Then come along to the Vegie Bar, have a The Department of Environmental Protection said, “During
piece of carrot cake or munch on some lunch! Let us the cooler months bears have difficulty finding their natural
know if you would like to join us. prey so they go after small animals, livestock and
RSVP: Wednesday 7 April
Email: Karen @ askboing@bigpond.com
Speed-dating sessions for bunnies
1 March 2010 – dnaindia.com
NEW YORK: Dating is no longer
restricted to humans, for bunnies
are now practicing the same,
thanks to New York’s Rabbit
Rescue and Rehab.
Two bunnies, Phyllis and Irving,
met through Rabbit Rescue and Rehab's dating sessions
and now live happily together at home in Manhattan.
"They groom each other and snuggle together, and when I
announce mealtime, they run around and leapfrog over
each other with excitement," the New York Daily News
quoted freelance writer Kristen Ott, owner of the rescued
rabbits, as saying.
Cindy Stutts, a volunteer at Rabbit Rescue and Rehab, the
New York chapter of the House Rabbit Society, said that
rabbits can live perfectly happy lives as singles, but the
social animals prefer being in pairs.
Since rabbits are territorial, there is a better chance of
having a happily bonded pair if the bunny gets to choose
his own partner.
Stutts holds speed-dating sessions in a neutral territory and
monitors body language to assess if the bunnies, who are
all spayed and neutered, are getting along.
Grooming and eating together is a sign of instant attraction,
but instant aggression means the date is over.
•
A wee problem!
Adopt me!
•
•
•
•
Compassion Art Day
Help for nervous or aggressive rabbits
Myxo & calici – the facts
Life at the Do Hop Inn
• Rabbits: their part in my downfall
• Sleeping with rabbits
Police shoot bear for eating pet rabbit
24 February 2010 – news.com.au
NEW YORK: Police have shot a 181kg black bear after it
ate a pet rabbit in a resident’s backyard in New Jersey.
The rabbit had been roaming free in the screened porch
and didn’t stand a chance against the predator.
The resident called police who shot the bear dead.
sometimes garbage”.
Polish documentary gives rabbit’s view of
Berlin Wall
26 February 2010 – yahoo news
WARSAW, Poland – Among this year’s Oscar nominees is
a Polish film that tells the history of the Berlin Wall from an
unexpected point of view – that of thousands of wild rabbits
who inhabited the death strip between East & West Berlin.
“Rabbit a la Berlin”, nominated for best documentary short,
tells the little-known story of a rabbit colony that flourished
for the 28 years of the Wall’s existence, a patch of paradise
with abundant grass that remained predator-free thanks to
the heavily fortified walls on each side.
Yet the film is an allegory, with the rabbits in the role of
communist-era East Germans, Poles and others who lived
day in and day out in an enclosed world that stripped them
of freedom but took care of them, providing each individual
with equal access to nourishment and a small but safe
burrow.
When the Wall fell in 1989, a new world opened up to the
rabbits. They were suddenly free to roam far and wide but
they were also hounded, hunted and served up roasted in
restaurants.
Many grew homesick for their old meadow in the shadow of
the Berlin Wall.
Today, wild rabbits still inhabit the bustling, reunited
German capital but in much smaller numbers.

A Wee Problem
by Maureen, Launceston, Tasmania
A wonderful thing happened to me about a year and a half
ago, I was asked by a local shelter to foster a baby bunny
until he was old enough to be adopted out. I arrived home
with a tiny bundle of black fur not much bigger than the
palm of my hand. He was two weeks old, I named him
Elliot, and it never once crossed my mind to give him back.
Elliot spent the first few weeks of his new life with us,
tucked warmly and safely down the front of my very tolerant
husband’s shirt. He didn’t seem to like my shirt nearly as
much as my husband’s, I suspect my squishy bits were too
much competition for space. Although we pampered and
spoiled this little bun he didn’t grow very much and still
remains, maybe not quite as tiny, but certainly a very small
bundle of fur and we love him to bits.
In our household we have five other rescue buns who all
get on very well and sleep in the kitchen area (under the
heatpump/aircon) and pretty much have the run of the
house. Unfortunately Elliot took an instant dislike to every
single one of them and refused to even sleep near them,
he preferred to rest on the seat of our large dining alcove
as near to humans as possible without actually sitting on
our lap.
Our house is small and there are few options for a bunny to
have space for himself, and even though we put Elliot’s
night time house away from the other buns bedtime was a
constant drama. When it was time to sleep he’d simply run
away from me and believe me I’d get puffed way before he
did. One night in sleep deprived desperation I moved his
toys into our bedroom and made a little bed for him under
my dressing table.
He was instantly happy and within two days he’d worked
out a routine that suited him perfectly. During the day he’d
sleep in his bed and during the night he’d sleep on ours.
During the day he’d use his litter tray and during the night
he’d simply wee on the bed.
A word of advice, if this ever happens to any of you, it is
possible to successfully wash a queen-size feather doona
in a regular sized washing machine (thank God!).
Despite the time consuming doona washing I really wanted
to work with Elliot on his wee problem because we
absolutely loved having him on our bed at night. He’d
contentedly stretch out between the two of us, and there is
nothing nicer than being woken by bunny whiskers tickling
your cheek or a twitching nose pushing up your sleep
mask.
Even when my fingers became seriously water-pruned I
remained undaunted. I decided to study his night time
behavior hoping I could figure out a solution, because oddly
Elliot is usually a bit of a neat freak. He stacks his toys in a
corner, carries any stray pieces of hay back to the litter tray
and keeps his blankets smooth and wrinkle free. He’s so
particular he actually gets upset and mock charges me if he
catches me touching his things.
So, armed with a torch I tried to stay awake long enough to
understand what was going on in his funny, little furry head.
A couple of times I almost found myself slipping into a lack
of sleep induced version of David Attenborough...‘and then
the rabbit shifted slightly to the left and this was the
moment we’d been waiting for. If you look carefully you can
see…’
And the result of my torch light nocturnal observations?
Whilst he was obviously happy sleeping in the middle of the
bed, once the light went off he seemed a bit nervous of the
edges of the bed. Our bedroom’s not overly dark and
mistakenly I’d assumed he could see well enough to make
his way about, I was completely wrong. The poor little thing
was weeing on the bed because he was unsure about
jumping down off the bed in the dim light.
Feeling like the worst bunny mother in the world, the next
night I placed some pet steps at the foot of the bed and
aimed a night light in their direction. While it was still
daylight I played a few fun games with Elliot using treats as
a reward until we were both confident he would be able to
easily negotiate the steps during the night.
Now Elliot happily sleeps wherever he likes in our
bedroom, but if he has to ‘go’ during the night and he’s on
the bed he hops down the steps and heads for his litter
tray.
The thing with bunnies is their lack of meowing or barking
means we have to find other ways to understand and
communicate with them. But just by spending a few
minutes each day watching how these intensely curious,
loving animals interact with the things around them can not
only enrich your relationship with them, but also sooth your
soul like few other things can.
Now all I need to work on is his maniacal, doona
hopping/binky bounces in the middle of the night. Nah,
truthfully, I love it. My little bunny, Elliot, has me going to
sleep with a smile on my face and waking up with a big
grin.
Elliot enjoying his snooze on the bed
Adopt me! New bunny at Edgar’s
Frank Mission
Location: Melbourne http://www.edgarsmission.org.au

WILLOWMAVIN, Victoria:
Jaime Rabbit is a beautiful
white rabbit with a very
familiar story - one time
carers tired of her and left
her to languish in a small
barren cage with little to do.

Jaime Rabbit now lives at

Edgar’s Mission and was
named in honour of young
Edgar's Mission volunteer
Jaime Stroud who was
tragically killed in a car
accident in January.

Frank is a five year old undesexed dwarf lop. He roams

Come along to the next open day at Edgar’s Mission &
freely during the day and goes in his hutch at night.
meet Jaime Bunny!
He is besotted by our two dogs and loves to greet you at
the gate when you arrive home. Compassion Art Day 2010
He is used to eating a wide variety of fresh foods as well as Sunday 18 April
grazing in the back yard. 11am – 4pm
I would love to find him a home where he has a safe space Edgar’s Mission
to roam during the day. 365 McHarg’s Road,
Willowmavin (via Kilmore)
Unfortunately one of our dogs is getting frail and grumpy as
she gets older and doesn't tolerate Frank too well. ph: 0408 397 301
www.edgarsmission.org.au
If you would like to give Frank a home please contact Kat th
at kathi.woods@optusnet.com.au Celebrate Edgar Allen Pig’s 7 birthday and see great
artwork and photos of animals on display.

Even if you don’t enter, come & meet the friendly rescued
farm animals, farm tours, enjoy a vegan bbq, listen to
music & hear from cool special guests.

Entry is free.
Clarence the Are you a budding artist who loves to paint, draw or
photograph your bunny? Then you are welcome to
Super-Spy enter submissions for Edgar’s Mission Compassion Art
now lives at Day!!

To enter, please download a compassion art day entry

www.clarencethesuperspy.blog.com form here & show everyone how much you love your
where there are lots of cool photos, spy bunny!!

bunny recipes, past stories and news. You http://www.edgarsmission.org.au/Compassion_Art_Day_2010_ENTRY_form.doc

can also subscribe for the Clarence

stories sent to you monthly. Newspapers wanted!!!
See you there! Do you have any newspapers??? Are you located in
Melbourne??? We need you… & your newspapers!
Please contact Karen at askboing@bigpond.com

Help for nervous and
aggressive rabbits
By animal behavourist, Dr Anne McBride
“Rabbiting On” – Autumn 2009
Aggression is a set of normal behaviours that an animal
displays when it is attempting to protect itself or aspects of
its environment – such as its food, its home or its mate. It
is made up of a sequence of warning behaviours such as
stiffening, growling and biting.
Breed & individual differences
If you compare breeds of rabbit there are differences in the
way in which they tend to react to the world around them.
Many of the larger breeds, such as the New Zealand White
or Californian are more “laid back” – that is less reactive
than small breeds such as the Netherland Dwarf. This is
due in part to the larger breeds having been bred for
temperament as well as conformation. Originally used as
meat, for fur and in laboratories, these larger breeds
needed to be able to cope with the activities and noise
associated with cleaning, feeding and handling and thus
animals which were more passive, less reactive and less
aggressive were those chosen to breed from. Such
selective breeding for temperament has not been such a
priority for the breeders of the small breeds where the
animal’s colouring and conformation have often been of
more importance.
In addition, as well as breed characteristics, each individual
rabbit will have its own genetic make up and thus even
within a single litter some individuals will be more reactive
than others.
In addition to a rabbit’s genetic make up, its early
experiences will also affect its adult behaviour and the level
of nervousness it shows. It is known that early experiences
and environment can have effects that influence an animal
throughout its life, for good or bad.
Control from the environment
When an animal, including a human, perceives a situation
that may indicate danger it has four options:
1. It can freeze, remaining perfectly still in an attempt
to remain unnoticed
2. It can display a range of distracting behaviours
3. It can flee
4. It can fight
Rabbits are prey animals and in the wild are predated from
the air, ground and even when underground in their
warrens. So they have evolved to be very alert to danger.
Their first response is to freeze, but should the source of
perceived danger come too close then they will flee. Only if
there is no route of escape do they tend to fight.
A common situation where this may occur is the rabbit who
is not comfortable about being handled and will attempt to
escape from being picked up by running round its
enclosure. It may then turn around and bite, because it
cannot get away.
This example can be used to illustrate the role of learning.
Should the rabbit learn that trying to flee by running around
its enclosure does not in fact stop it from being picked up,
but that biting does, then it will learn that biting is
successful in that it stops the frightening thing happening to
the rabbit. With repeated experience, the rabbit will learn
to bite earlier and earlier in the proceedings. Indeed, it may
even get to the point that as the enclosure door is opened
the rabbit lunges forward, teeth bared like some monster
from a horror movie.
From the rabbit’s point of view, aggression is an effective
means of avoiding something it finds frightening. It will
show aggression earlier and earlier as it becomes more
confident in the effectiveness of the strategy. From the
human point of view the rabbit will appear to be very
confident and it may be that they do not consider that
underlying this “show of aggressive bravado” is a
frightened animal.
Resolving fear related problems
First, any medical factors must be ruled out by a veterinary
examination: for rabbits this may include examination of the
teeth and even an xray if any problems relating to the back,
for example, are indicated. If a rabbit is in pain when
picked up, it is not going to be possible to teach it new,
pleasant associations with being handled until the pain is
removed.
A full case history of the rabbit’s whole life is needed,
including its early environment. Full observation needs to
be made of the rabbit’s behaviour in both the presence and
absence of the situation and the stimuli that cause the fear.
This is particularly difficult with rabbits as they have very
subtle signals of communication.
The rest of the article kind of waffled on without any real
action or suggestions!
We suggest starting small with your goals. Not all bunnies
will become super friendly but most will learn in time that
you are their best friend. They may never learn to like
other people they don’t know but they certainly can learn to
love you with gentle treatment.
We find that spending lots of time with anxious or nervous
rabbits on ground level without any patting, grabbing or
lifting helps them to learn trust. Gradually you can offer
treats and over time touch the rabbit and stroke their fur.
You may notice that your rabbit is nervous or anxious about
being touched on a certain part of its body (eg. the lower
back). This may depend on your bunny’s previous life and
what trauma may have occurred before they came to live
with you.
Always talk in a quiet & gentle voice to your bunny and
keep your hands & fingers away from an anxious bun. A
nervous or anxious rabbit can bite, lunge or attack when
feeling under threat. They don’t mean to hurt their new
adoptive parents, but it can be the behaviour they have
learnt from their previous home to stop someone picking
them up. As far as the bunny is concerned, “if it works,
keep doing it!”
It takes time to get to know your bunny and it takes time for
your bunny to get to know you. (BOING)

Myxomatosis
Myxomatosis is a lethal disease that has no vaccination in
Australia at present. The disease was introduced to
Australia in an attempt to eradicate introduced wild rabbits.
Myxomatosis is transmitted between rabbits by fleas,
mosquitoes and in the air (across short distances).
Mortality rates are as high as 96-100%. As there is no cure
or vaccination at present for Myxomatosis in Australia, the
only means of prevention is to use flea and mosquito
control.
Ways to reduce chances of myxomatosis:
• house your rabbit indoors
• do not exercise your rabbit outside at dawn and
dusk when mosquitoes are most active
• insect proof all outdoor accommodation
Clinical signs of infection occur 2-10 days after infection.
The initial signs of myxomatosis in rabbits are swollen
eyelids, ears & genitals. Death normally follows 12-14
days after contracting the disease.
All housing, bedding, trays and human clothing that has
been in contact with the infected rabbit should be carefully
disinfected.
Any new rabbits should not be brought to the house for at
least 4 months after the occurrence of myxomatosis.
In short:
• If you have wild rabbits in your area, there is a very
high chance of myxo
• There is no cure and no vaccination in Australia
• Myxo is very contagious
• Victoria is suffering one of its worst seasons of
myxo this year
Calicivirus
Calicivirus is a viral hemorrhagic disease that was
accidentally introduced to Australia in 1996. It is a fatal
disease but there is a yearly vaccination available.
Calicivirus can appear in three ways:
Peracute – rabbit dies quickly & unexpectedly
Acute – bunny becomes lethargic, depressed and off food.
Bunny dies in the space of 1-2 days, shows uncoordination
and signs of pain before death. May show clear or
bloodstained nasal froth or discharge & suffer high
temperatures.
Subacute or transient – rabbit may show signs of illness
and then recover with lasting immunity. These rabbits
become carriers of the virus and shed the virus through
urine and faeces for 30 days (& possibly longer). This form
is most commonly seen in rabbits less than 4 months of
age.
Calicivirus is a highly contagious virus and up to 90% of
affected rabbits may die.
Calicivirus is easily transported on clothes, shoes, carriers,
people, dogs, predators, tyres, birds, bowls and
enclosures, etc. The virus is also hardy, surviving both
heat & cold. Rabbits that are kept inside are also prone to
catching the disease if not vaccinated. The virus itself is
very resilient and lasts a long time in the environment.
Ensuring your rabbits are kept in a hygienic environment is
imperative to preventing the spread of the virus. Large
numbers of rabbits kept in small enclosures are at risk.
Ways to reduce chances of calici virus:
• 2 initial vaccinations 2-4 weeks apart
• revaccinate your rabbit every 12 months
• house your rabbit indoors
• if you have been in contact with an infected rabbit,
disinfect hands & clothes/shoes before touching
your own bunny
• insect proof all outdoor accommodation
Infected households should remain empty from rabbits for
at least two weeks during warmer weather and two months
in colder seasons.
In short:
• If you have wild rabbits in your area, there is a very
high chance of calici
• Calici is very easily transferable on clothes or
shoes
• Large numbers of rabbits housed together can
succumb to calici without any initial symptoms
• There is a yearly vaccination
• Calici is very contagious and there is no cure
New calici strains set to be
released
16 February 2010 – ABC news
Graziers in parts of western Queensland say rabbit
numbers are the biggest they have seen in more than a
decade.
Henning Kath, from Mount Leonard Station near Beetoota
in the state’s south-west corner, says calici virus nearly
killed off the rabbit population in the late 1990s, but the
subsequent drought did not stop the numbers from building
up again.
Rabbit researcher Glenn Saunders from the New South
Wales Invasive Animals CRC says scientists are working
on a new biological control.
“What we are going to do over the next three years is look
at testing and importing new strains of calici virus into
Australia as a replacement for the existing strain,” he said.
He says up to 10 different strains will be tested to find the
most effective control.

Life at the Do Hop Inn
By Karen
Sadly, we lost our beloved Pancake last month. Her kidney
failure caused huge weight loss and weakness. We were
really sad to have to step in & make that horrible decision
but it was only a matter of time before she was going to
leave us and we didn’t want her to suffer any longer.
Ally, Pancake’s long term partner, couldn’t understand why
his girlfriend of six and a half years couldn’t walk anymore
without assistance or needed a silly rolled up towel to lean
on. He would pick up the towel and throw it aside, which
didn’t help Pancake, but made him fell like he was helping.
On the day we made the decision for euthanasia, we told
Ally to give her a kiss goodbye. He kissed & kissed her.
When we brought her body home, he kissed & kissed her
some more.
Ally now has a new roommate to keep him company. We
have set up a double barrier between him and Tinkerbelle.
Tinkerbelle was once bonded to Pumpkin but since their
spat, she has been living a single life. She’s a bit feisty and
can be aggressive but she’s already behaving much softer
towards Ally as she can see how lovely and friendly he is.
We hope they’ll become great friends in the future.
Ally (left) gets to know Tinkerbelle
Our latest couple, Tessie & Rex, are doing fabulously well.
Tessie has been showing her dominant side lately but they
are just wonderful little buddies. It’s so wonderful to see
Rex with a girlfriend as he had never had a bunny buddy
before in the 6 years before coming to live at BOING and
he’s besotted with Tessie. She loves to snuggle and rest
her head on Rex’s back.
Tessie & Rex snuggling
Poppy Popstar has again excelled herself with more
naughty antics. She’s obviously aiming for the 2010 Fuzzly
Awards already. This last month she bit my upper arm
after pushing open a barrier to start a fight with Lulu (both
were okay), then she hurt her foot and was limping (still
don’t know what happened there but okay now) and then
she ate all but two buttons off the remote control (real fun
trying to figure out what the buttons do now!).
We were very fortunate to recently have the lovely Dr
Narelle Walter over to visit all our bunnies and give them all
their yearly calici vaccinations. It was quite a task
vaccinating everyone but we’re so happy and relieved to
know that they are all now safe from such a fatal virus.
The moulting season has definitely started on the BOING
bunnies! There is fur exploding everywhere! Peanut
looked like he was doubling in size as all this fluff was
coming out in one go.
Our latest rescue bun, Ginger, is doing very well. His loose
& matted fur started to come off by itself which was great. I
just helped a little. Unfortunately, I don’t think Ginger was
at all pleased or comfortable with all the new attention
which did cause him a bit of stress. He looks great though
& it must be much more comfortable for him.
Ginger after the “great moult of 2010”
The recent giant hailstones that
plummeted down in Melbourne
recently were something we hoped
would not upset the bunnies.
Luckily, they all took it in their stride
without a care in the world.
Novelty factors this month included
a visit to the White Rabbit Brewery
in Healesville. If you like dark ale
(naturally brewed and no additives),
lots of bunny references and soft
squishy couches, you’ll love this
place
http://www.whiterabbitbeer.com.au/The-Brewery/
Just so happens, you can also get a wonderful Shiraz from
Bunn Vineyard in Western Australia. This wine is really
nice, all naturally fermented and contains no additives or
preservatives! This wine can be found at selective bottle
shops (or request it!).

Rabbits: their part in my
downfall
By Nimal
Isabelle, Lulu, Poppy and Zoe (part 3)
Adopted May 2009
The loss of Zoe had been a depressing setback in our
plans to rehabilitate the rescued farm bunnies. Now with
Poppy recovering from abdominal surgery, Lulu on
antibiotics for an unspecified complaint and Isabelle
sneezing and snotting all over the place, the futures of the
three survivors seemed far from assured. Zoe’s demise
had also broken the only partnership we had managed to
establish, that between her and Isabelle. Of the remaining
bunnies, Poppy seemed to have a dominant, forceful
character that did not bode well for her chances of bonding
with another rabbit, while Lulu’s erratic behaviour – nervous
and nutty in equal measures – also did not seem suited to
a settled relationship. Isabelle was clearly the most calm
and docile of the three - or so we thought. Our attempt to
introduce Izzy to Pumpkin ended with our resident bachelor
boy receiving a particularly nasty bite that eventually
required surgery! So the three big beauties remained single
and their own individual personalities shone through.
Isabelle was a laid-back sloth, a great square-headed lunk
of a thing who stretched out lazily across our kitchen tiles,
happily blocking off access to the fridge or putting herself
right in line with the oven door. We gave her an old
washing basket, turned upside down with a doorway cut in
the side. Izzy loved to snooze inside her basket.
Sometimes her big square head would emerge from the
opening and she would blink up at us blearily like a giant
pink-eyed wickerwork turtle. Occasionally the “turtle” would
hump and bump its way across the kitchen floor! Izzy’s
other favourite spot was our paper-recycling box, where
she liked to nestle down among the supermarket receipts,
advertising brochures and mushroom bags. There was only
one thing that got Isabelle well and truly fired up: food. She
loved it and couldn’t get enough, munching her way
through vast quantities of hay and vegetables, which she
industriously converted into poops the size of cannonballs!
Lulu’s persona alternated between highly relaxed and
highly on edge, with very little in between. She had a habit
of lying in the most uncomfortable-looking, contorted
positions, her body going one way and her head the other,
half propped up on the side of her tray or twisted
awkwardly around in her box. If she had been a human
she’d probably have been the type to wear a hair shirt and
sleep on a bed of nails. When Lulu started having bouts of
illness that made her feel unwell in the mornings, we took
to opening the kitchen door to let her run down the hallway
and into the lounge room. This gave us the opportunity to
appreciate the full extent of her insanity. She would scream
down the hallway, sliding around corners and crashing into
walls and furniture with alarming force. In between these
kamikaze runs Lulu would pause to pose picturesquely
atop some suitable vantage point – on top of her box, or at
the summit of the pile of pillows that had been stacked up
like the fortifications of a castle in an attempt to stop her
from worming her way behind the couch.
Karen warmed to Lulu very quickly, but I found her a
particularly hard bunny to figure out. When I approached
her I never knew if she was going to cringe and flee or leap
forward to attack my shoes, and I wondered if she was
psychologically damaged by her time at the factory farm.
Then one day Lulu discovered that she liked being patted
on top of her head. This seemed to be a life-changing
revelation for this troubled bunny. Now she will make a
beeline for an outstretched hand, lying quietly as long as
the top of her head is gently stroked. Withdraw your hand
and she will follow it, ending up with her head resting
tenderly on your leg, eyes closed in a state of total bliss.
As for Poppy, or “Pop Star” as we took to calling her, there
was never any doubt about her true nature. Outgoing and
vivacious, she had a talent for mischief rivaled by very few
bunnies. Unfortunately, this exuberance was occasionally
curtailed by a malady of unknown cause that struck
intermittently – usually manifesting itself in the mornings.
You could tell she was unhappy, squirming about and
shifting position frequently, in obvious discomfort. We
thought she might have been straining to urinate, although
a test cleared her of urinary infection.
Increasingly we began to bring Poppy out of the laundry
and into the lounge room where there was more room for
her to run. This seemed to have positive results and soon
she would be performing the most outrageous binkies,
complete with headshakes and sidekicks, before throwing
herself into an attack on Karen’s collection of magazines.
We began leaving Poppy out in the lounge overnight in
order to circumvent her early morning blues. Week by week
Poppy was spending less and less time in the laundry until,
by degrees, it became the case that the lounge was now
her home.
This was great for Poppy, but less welcome for our other
bunnies, who now found that their lounge room access
privileges had been greatly reduced. Lulu’s area had
already been expanded to include not only her end of the
kitchen but the bathroom and hallway. Now that Poppy had
laid claim to the lounge room, these two bunnies had taken
over half the house between them! I couldn’t quite figure
out how or why this had been allowed to happen. I mean,
these guys had come from a place where they were kept
behind metal bars in little boxes with barely room enough to
turn around. Compared to this, our laundry was luxury five
star accommodation – yet here they were flagrantly
demanding more! I deemed it outrageous, but at the end of
the day anything was better than seeing these bunnies sick
and unhappy, so we had no choice but to make the best of
the new arrangements. I suggested to Karen that we might
as well have the title of our house transferred to co-owners
Poppy Pop-Star and Loony Lulu!
Although taking on the rescued bunnies put additional
pressure on our requirements for space and money for vet
bills, hay and food, we were happy to help in our own small
way to contribute to the emancipation of farmed rabbits.
Lulu, Poppy and Izzy serve as a constant reminder that
there is no difference between the animals we cherish as
companions and those that are exploited for food and other
uses. As for the practice of factory farming, this evil
industry thrives due to the greed, ignorance and
indifference of humans – the sooner it is abolished the
better.
 Name: Poppy Sleeping with rabbits
By Phyllis O'Beollain (Dayton Small Pets Examiner)

Last fall, we were

without electricity for
over a week due to
damages caused by
the tail end of
Hurricane Ike passing
through. As the
weather was beautiful
(once the 60 mph
winds went away) this
Nicknames: “Pop Star”, “Big Bird”, “Destructo-bun” was more of an
Personality: Extrovert, friendly, excitable, mischievous inconvenience than a
Favourite song: Pop Star by Cat Stevens hardship for us.
Favourite food: Better Homes & Gardens magazine
The second night without power, I awakened at 1 a.m. with
Name: Lulu chills and the suspicion that I was coming down with
something. I got another blanket and went back to sleep. A
couple hours later I knew I was sick: I was chilled so badly I
was shivering. I wrapped up in a thick robe, took some
Tylenol and was able to go back to sleep. Oddly enough,
after I got up the next morning, I felt fine. I figured the
Tylenol must have done the trick.

Going to bed that night, I realized the cause of my

symptoms: a severe case of non-functioning waterbed
heater. The mattress was like ice! I had no choice but to
sleep on the sofa. I thought it might be kind of nice, going
to sleep surrounded by my sweet house bunnies.

HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA The rave party began about

Nicknames: “Loony”, “Luli-loo”” 12:30 am. The rabbits were up all night. They're like little
Personality: Erratic, sooky vampires in fur coats. They shook their rattles made of
Favourite song: Maniac by Michael Sembello (from the metal canning rings and their giant jingle bells. They picked
movie Flashdance) up their ceramic food and water crocks and banged them
Favourite food: Shoes on the ground. Repeatedly. They drank noisily from their
water bottles and gnawed on their lava rocks. They
rearranged the hutch furniture. All. Night. Long.
Name: Isabelle
I have gone past the living room at night after lights out,
and none of this non-stop party action was going on.
Apparently they figured as long as I was in the same room
with them, I should be doing something for them: fetching
food, handing out treats, petting their heads...

It was horrible. After two nights of this, I threw every

blanket in the house on top of that cold mattress and slept
in my room anyway. Blessed silence! Although, now that I
was no longer sleeping in the living room, it had gotten
pretty quiet in there.

I think the old time mobsters had it wrong. I think the

Nicknames: “Izzy”, “The Tank” saying was, “Don’t double-cross us or you’ll be sleeping
Personality: Laid back with the rabbits”.
Favourite song: Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Favourite food: Foooooooood!!!! Gimme gimme gimme!!! This newsletter is dedication to
More more more!! our ever happy & enthuasiastic
Pancake who lost her battle
with kidney failure. We will
always miss you, Karen, Nimal
& Ally xxxxx