TH E B U N OL OGIST

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August 2011
Homeless hero Kikos story Bunny proofing Bunny man scares children Tully buns adventure The Christmas Bunny Life at the Do Hop Inn

Homeless hero rescues rabbit from river

6 July 2011 Herald.ie (UK) THE brave homeless man who dived into the Liffey River to save his drowning pet rabbit said he would do it all over again. Pictured left is animal lover John Byrne (38), from Ballyfermot, with his now famous pet rabbit Barney and dog Lilly. The Herald revealed how John jumped off O'Connell Bridge after a passer-by flung his rabbit into the water. Around 200 people watched as John struggled to save his pet from being swept away, dramatically clinging onto a nearby ledge. After spending 40 minutes waiting to be rescued by emergency services, John revived Barney by giving him the kiss of life. An 18-year-old man will appear in Dublin District Court on July 21 charged with cruelty to animals as well as being abusive at the scene on Sunday night. John, who has been living on the streets since he was 14 years of age, was in tears as he told the Herald that he would do the same again due to his love for animals. "Barney and Lilly my dog are my babies. I'd do the whole thing again if it happened. . "If the person that threw Barney in can do that to an animal, think of what he could do to children?" And the Herald can reveal that the owner of an animal farm in Tipperary was so impressed by John's heroic efforts that he has offered him a full-time job. John admitted that he has been treated like a celebrity since the Herald broke the story but that he is grateful for the public's support. "I got some cheers when I rescued Barney and loads of people have been coming up to meet me and my pets. These animals mean everything to me.

Kikos story
7 July 2011 Examiner.com (US)

Kiko is a delightfully sweet and friendly rabbit - you would never know that just days ago, she was rescued from a storage unit in the backyard of an apartment building in Oakland, California, where she was being raised for meat, and had been fed nothing but white rice. She was one of 21 rabbits confiscated by the East Bay SPCA and Oakland Animal Services. They were found in inhumane conditions, with no food or water. When volunteers from Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary arrived at the Oakland Animal Shelter to take one of these abused rabbits into the Harvest Home foster program, they found that Kiko had just given birth to two stillborn baby rabbits. When rabbits breed at young ages, are malnourished, and have stressful living conditions, it is common for a litter not to survive. Kiko was welcomed that day into her Harvest Home foster home where she has fresh water and nutritious rabbit food at all times, an indoor enclosure with soft rugs and baby blankets to cuddle in, and a hiding box for sleeping inside of. She is learning how to use the litterbox for the first time in her life. But most importantly, she is getting lots of attention, love and petting. Kiko is a little love sponge - all she wants to do is to be petted, and have lots of time to run and jump. She is a playful and happy spirit, which is an inspiration to us all. She has seen the worst that humankind had to offer, and now, thanks to the East Bay SPCA, Oakland Animal Services, and Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, Kiko will see nothing but the best in us.

Bunny Proofing Identifying trouble spots

Printed from Rabbits for Dummies

Block nooks and crannies in furniture with heavy objects so that your rabbit wont be able to get inside and get stuck. Rabbits have been known to burrow inside recliners and sofa beds with disastrous results; taking the proper precautions can help prevent this problem. Put away and lock up toxic chemicals. Make sure that no toxic chemicals pesticides, cleaning supplies, antifreeze, fertilizers, poisons, and so on are safely stored and sealed away from your rabbit. Give away or relocate any plants that can make your rabbit sick or worse. Be certain that trash bags and buckets are well out of bunnys reach. Bunnies are curious and will be happy to explore the contents of your trash.

Idaho man scares children in bunny suit

2 August 2011 Reuters (US) Police in Idaho Falls have told a man to stop wearing a bunny suit in public after people complained he has been frightening children. Residents in the northwestern U.S. city of 54,000 people also reported William Falkingham, 34, occasionally wears a tutu with the bunny suit, police said. Police warned Falkingham after a woman said she saw him dressed in the costume, peeking at her young son from behind a tree and pointing his finger like a gun. While a police report said other residents were "greatly disturbed" by his activities, one neighbour defended Falkingham as eccentric but otherwise harmless. "He's got the bunny outfit, a cowboy suit and a ballerina dress but you don't see him except where he's tripping through his backyard," Deborah Colson told Reuters. "He's got a strange lifestyle at home but we all do weird things at home." Falkingham told officers he "enjoys wearing the suit" but understands the concerns and that he could be cited as a public nuisance, police spokeswoman Joelyn Hansen said.

Rabbits love to tuck themselves away into little corners. Theyre also curious and love to investigate new places. Put this combination together, and you have potential for trouble in the house. Before you give your bunny access to a room: Get down on all fours and look around carefully. Much like the parent of an inquisitive toddler, you should take a look at your home from your rabbits perspective. Your rabbit wont know the difference between an interesting new snack and something dangerous, such as medicine, the contents of an ashtray, and other small not-to-bedigested objects. Better safe than sorry! Find any small spaces that your rabbit may be able to get into. Look closely even in your kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and under and behind appliances for gaps or holes that may look inviting to a rabbit. Your bunny is apt to crawl into one of these spots and possibly get trapped; open railings can be dangerous as well. Locate all exposed electrical wires and telephone and computer cords. Its a simple but deadly fact: rabbits are fond of chewing on wires. Cover electrical cords with plastic piping by cutting the tube lengthwise and slipping it over the cord. Put telephone cords well out of reach.

Tully Buns adventure

by Maureen Tully Bun is my biggest and my youngest bunny rescue, and out of all seven of my buns the only one I know the exact age of because he was born on my birthday. Soon after Tully's Mum was abandoned at an animal sanctuary she gave birth to Tully and his siblings and thankfully Mum and babies all found happy homes. Tully Bun found mine. Although Lily is a beautiful long furred platinum blond with exotic pink eyes she'd always been unlucky in love so it was a happy day when Tully was introduced to her and they fell madly in love. Our entire household was excited that Sweet Lily had finally found a bun worthy of her love and not just any bun, Tully was an equally sweet natured toy boy/bun. So it came as a bit of a surprise when we realized inside Tully's laid back nature was an untamed adventurer in a sleek fur coat just waiting to bust out at unexpected times. Every morning all other buns are secured in their houses so Tully can do "the intruder check". He races around the house checking behind closed door and under beds, tossing pillows around just in case something odd is lurking behind them and studiously sniffing every square inch of the floor. Once his mission is complete he locates Lily who is usually half a house behind him looking confused and then flops down in the bunny area for a day of eating, sleeping and dreaming up mischief. As you can imagine with seven indoor buns who don't necessarily like each other my house if a maze of barriers. Tully latest quest is to beat the two and a half foot barrier that separates the kitchen from the lounge room. The barrier is on a spring so family members can push through and the barrier swings quickly back into place. His first approach was to grab the lower mesh between his teeth and scoot backwards until he had enough room to sneak through. Unfortunately for him the spring swung the gate shut way before he could manoeuvred himself past it. His next approach was to do the same thing only on his hind legs so when he let go of the mesh he was already in a position to leap forward....another failure. At this stage I was pretty confident there was no way Tully would breach the barrier, he couldn't jump over it and he couldn't get passed it, so we all went to bed expecting a peaceful night sleep. Yeah right, like that's going to happen with a house full of rabbits! An unfamiliar sound coming from the kitchen woke me and I was instantly on my feet and charging into the kitchen prepared for anything. Oddly everything seemed perfectly fine, all the buns appeared to be where they were supposed to be and nothing looked unusual except Lily who was physically wrapped around the bottom of kitchen rubbish bin looking anxious.

Laying down next to Lily I stroked her reassuringly as I tried to pry her away from the bin when it suddenly occurred to me that Tully was missing. You guessed it...Tully was inside the kitchen flip-top rubbish bin! Apparently he'd decided trying to climbing the barrier was worth a shot and his final foot-hold at the top was the kitchen rubbish bin and he's fallen inside, no wonder poor Lily was distraught it would be like seeing your man suddenly eaten by a dumpster. Amid much laughing Tully Bun was extracted from the bin and reunited with Lily who immediately herded him into their house and flopped in front of the door stopping any attempted escape on his behalf. I'm happy to say Tully hasn't gone near the barrier again and Lily has recovered from her fright so all's well that ends well, but I have to confess every time I empty the rubbish bin I have a little giggle to myself.

The Christmas Bunny Movie

Coming out this Christmas The Christmas Bunny is a new family film starring Brady Bunch mom and Dancing With The Stars contestant, Florence Henderson. The Christmas Bunny tells the story of a lonely foster child (Sophie Bolen) who finds a lost, injured rabbit in the woods on Christmas Eve. The rabbit is nursed back to health by The Bunny Lady (Ms. Henderson), who runs a rabbit rescue in an old barn behind her Michigan farmhouse.

Life at the Do Hop Inn

By Karen

Kitty & Jack

Im really happy to announce that Kitty & Jack have been the perfect couple since they were bonded a few months ago. They are also the perfect bedroom bunnies as they dont wee on the bed or chew anything they shouldnt (however, they can certainly still make a mess see floor!). Jack has a habit of getting between a couple of the bed slats which is a bit of a worry but hes too small to jump up on the bed (ha ha) and Kitty just pops up to say hello in the mornings. Kitty was always the bunny that we warned people about. She was known as the bunny who would bite. Now, with her friend Jack, shes an adorable bundle of fluff who is a totally different bun. Its so great to see her happy and with so much space to run free. Kitty came from a bad environment where she must have been picked up too much or a bit roughly. Her old home was filthy dirty, tiny and noisy so she has always seen people as her enemy. Seeing her pop up on the bed and nose bump me in the morning is such a reward for me to know that she is super happy now and she trusts me.

Gingers molars!
Ginger (pictured right) & his girlfriend Molly made a visit to the Melbourne Rabbit Clinic this month to check their teeth. Ginger had a nasty molar spur last year that stopped him eating so it was imperative to ensure that the problem did not occur again. Luckily I did take them to see Dr Narelle as Gingers same trouble molar was sharp again & had started to cut into his tongue.

Pincess & Pumpkin

Gingers left lower molars (the white line is where the molars had started to cut into his tongue) After many years of living next to each other, these two have had a few dates together. So far, so good. Princess has been mostly blind since last Christmas so her aggressive nature has been replaced with food dependency which makes things a lot easier when shes in a room with another bunny. If there is food nearby, shes a happy camper and just eats until its gone! Pumpkin hasnt had much of luck finding a girlfriend that can put up with him for any lengthy time. For some reason, they just get sick of him. He can be a bit pushy about grooming but so far hes been grooming Princess which is great! Hopefully, Princess wont end up with hardly any ears like his toy bunny as he has a habit of sucking & nibbling?! Ill keep you updated with their progress!! Fingers crossed!

Gingers molar spurs after his dental trim. Much better!! Ginger is now feeling much better, although hes a brave little guy who wasnt showing any signs of distress prior to his visit to the vet. Goes to show that its better to get that checkup regularly if your bunny has bad teeth as theyre not going to tell you it hurts!