Squirrels!

Many of you have probably been closely following the relief efforts going on along the gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Ike. If so, you may have heard about the wildlife who have also been affected by this great natural disaster. WildRescue has been charged with the care and feeding of more than 100 baby squirrels who have been transported up here by the caring folks down in the Houston area. When our President, Diana, heard that the rehabbers down there were overwhelmed with the wildlife being brought in to their facilities, she put out the call for people here in the Denton area to learn to care for these precious little ones. Volunteers came out of the woodwork to one of the three classes she taught in a single weekend and all of the squirrels were distributed among them. We are eternally grateful for the work of people who care so much about these small survivors.

But not everyone seems as pleased with the efforts as we are. The local NBC news website today posted a poll question: "Do you think it's a waste of resources to rescue squirrels from the Texas Gulf Coast?" Sadly, they added no explanation or information on the subject, just that one misleading question that makes it sound as if the resources being used to care for these little guys are being taken from other relief efforts. All of the resources that WildRescue and many other wildlife groups like us have used toward the care and feeding of the Houston squirrels has come from private donations given specifically for the purpose of caring for animals in need. Quite a bit of it has come out of the pockets of the rehabbers themselves. As always, we are an all volunteer group and every dime we receive goes toward the care of creatures in need. So I would encourage all who are reading this to visit the poll and let them know what you think of the issue. Please also take a moment to click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page and tell the folks there at NBC know exactly what you think of their poll.

UPDATE: NBC finally posted the whole story, sort of... be sure not to miss the comments. I find the difference in spelling and grammar between the opposing sides of the argument to be quite telling. Meanwhile, Fox News got it right.

Tennessee Bunnies!

Earlier this month over 100 rabbits were taken from the home of a hoarder in Memphis. Almost all of these poor sweet creatures were horribly malnourished and had a slew of other medical issues as well, most from the severe neglect they had lived in. Several rabbit rescues across the country have come forward to provide temporary homes and medical care to these guys, with over 90 of them being placed in a week's time! Here at WildRescue, we received 25 rabbits from this group, most of them look like they will eventually be healthy enough for adoption, but those that aren't will live the rest of their lives with the other bunnies at our sanctuary in Denton, TX. The following is a letter from our president.

Congratulations to Patricia Brainard of RabbitWise, Memphis, TN, on 1,000 miles of compassion and dedication. Because of her efforts, ALL of the rabbits that were surrendered to Barlett AC got out alive. Patricia drove from Memphis to Nashville, back to Memphis on Saturday, then Memphis to Texarkana on Sunday, where she met with our AmySue and transferred 25 bunnies to WildRescue. What an amazing feat, and, at the end of the day, a very tired couple of ladies, and tired but HAPPY bunnies tumbled into their respective beds and slept – for the 25? Probably the first time without fear, sadness, hunger or thirst. All tasted baby carrots and little slivers of apple, some liked – some, not so much (: and all loved their timmy hay!! I caught them all lounging, stretched out and sleepy-eyed, about 1 a.m. this morning, all looking very tired, but resting well.

For me, there are 3 that stand out about the others, although in no way does this demean the others…

Memphis, our “old” man of this group, who now has the Pink Bathroom all to himself, to do whatever he wants, stretch out, roll over, and knosh away on goodies. He is terribly underweight, and we cannot neuter him until he is much more healthy. So far, he is litter trained!! LOVES his litter box (: Memphis is a Siamese sable point, champagne colored body. Incredibly sweet, probably about 4+ years old.

Ms. Moppett and Ms. Fluff are about 2 lbs. apiece, pure white with soft pink eyes, and I am in love. They are both Jersey Woolies, and the older of the two (I think she is the mom to Ms. Fluff) is nothing but huge fur. She will get groomed later this week (: As soon as I got in the house, I opened their container and let them just go. Without much ado, they took up residence behind my chair in the far corner of the living room – like they had lived there their whole lives. They are also using their litter box (thank heavens!!) and went NUTS when I offered them a carrot. Ms. Fluff, the younger and smaller of the two, binkied like you would not believe every time I walked into the room (which was often). She would come and run to me, come to a screeching halt at my feet, then turn and binky off to her mom.

There are 3 (how about that Patricia!!) intact guys, and the rest are girls…some may be pregnant, maybe not. At least 3 have deep corneal ulcers, almost all had toenails that were inhibiting the rabbit’s ability to walk (some of their feet will never be OK), one or two have tooth issues (you can always tell – they have goopy eyes but not goopy noses) and will need dentals, and there you are. It will be a long road for some, not so much for others. All in all, they are underweight, malnourished, dehydrated, and still in shock that they aren’t in 1’ by 1’ cages anymore. This a.m, their eyes were brighter, appetites good, poops good. You could sense a group “sigh of relief” about them (: Now we will work on the happiness aspect (:

That’s the update for now. Hopefully, by tomorrow, I can post pictures of the kids. Oh!! BTW – AmySue, who drove all the way to Texarkana and back, is housing 10, I have 15. All are safe, sound, and on their road to recovery and new homes!!

Please pass this along to those who are asking about us – and we will be posting each rabbit to be virtually adopted (this will help cover the cost of all the medical that we are about to incur). After they are healthy and spayed/neutered, then they can be put up for adoption. Until then? Diana’s Furred & Feathers Bed & Breakfast it is! AND AmySue’s Bunny Kingdom (:

Mary, up in Louisville, Kentucky took (I believe) 8 of this precious ones – most of them in dire medical need. Please keep her and hers in your prayers…and hopefully you will get to see her pics soon also!!

Thank you one and all for your help, prayers, and thoughts.

If anyone would like to donate to WildRescue or Melangellslambs, please let me know! Hey, even a gift card to some of the bunny shopping sites would be amazing and wonderful!!

Veterinary care for these rabbits will not come cheaply, and we are a non-profit group without a lot of extra funding to spare. If you would like to help us with some of the bills, please consider donating to WildRescue. No donation amount is too small, even single dollar donations add up! All donations are of course tax deductible. You can either click the PayPal link on this website or send your donation by mail to:

WildRescue Inc.

703 Seeport Drive,

Allen, TX 75013

(This address is not the location of our sanctuary, so please don't try to visit the bunnies there!)

WildRescue on the Radio!

Recently, WildRescue volunteer Joy Stoffer visited with Gene and Julie from the 103.7 Lite FM morning show to help them with a nest of cottontails they found. Here in North Texas, we're seeing the third wave of babies come through, and when Gene and Julie found a nest in their yard and didn't know what to do, they mentioned it on air. A friend of Joy's happened to be listening, and passed on the info. Joy gave them a call and they invited her to come see the bunnies and make sure everything was ok. She checked them out and found that they had already opened their eyes and had full bellies -- both very good signs! Her visit was taped for the radio show and played on air this morning. There are also pictures of the babies on their web page. In addition to spreading the word about the babies, Gene and Julie gave us a fabulous plug both on air and on the website! Thanks guys!!

UPDATE: There's now an audio clip available on the 103.7 website -- click the banner above to hear!

Melbourne "Rabbit" Saves Owners

Every now and then you hear a news story about a pet that has done something heroic, saved it's owners from some horrible fate by alerting them to danger. Usually the pet is a cat or dog, which is understandable since they're the most common household pets. This one is a bit different.

Meet "Rabbit" a Melbourne bunny who woke his owners in time to rescue them from a blaze that was consuming their home. Because Rabbit is allowed free roam of the house, he was able to make his way to the bedroom door and scratch at it until his people woke up. The couple, along with Rabbit, made it out in the nick of time. It took four fire crews (and some helpful neighbors with hoses!) to get the blaze under control. How's that for bunny heroism?

Full story here.

How to make an origami bunny

How to Make an Origami Bunny

And for the record, the song is about chocolate bunnies, not real ones...

Needs financil aid

Digger

A note from AmySue:

Here are some great photos of Digger - a little girl who is 11 weeks old. Her mother Lily was dumped in a cemetary and later rescued by one of our volunteers. Two days after being rescued - Lily had 7 babies. One of them is this little sweet orange thing!

Don't forget to check out Digger's PetFinder page!

Strictly Bun Dancing

Just some fun bunny cuteness for your Tuesday morning!

Lucky's Story

Some time ago, PetFinder featured one of our adoptees as their "Pet of the Month." Following is Lucky's press release (with added pictures!):

For Immediate Release:

January 30, 2005

Funny Bunny

They are not “real” pets--that’s what Stacy Gannon’s father told her when she asked to have a rabbit as a child. Her dream of owning a bunny seemed no closer to reality when she married a man who was allergic to pet danders.

In January 2004, she lost her job and found herself at home alone. “Used to the hustle and bustle of an office during the day, I soon found the house to be eerily quiet,” she says. “I thought back to the times when I had pets around to keep me company and wished again for a little bunny.

“As I thought it over, I realized that my husband had never mentioned if he was allergic to rabbits. When I asked, he said that he assumed that he was but was not certain.”

About that time, Stacy happened onto Petfinder.com, the largest online database of homeless pets, including rabbits. “It was so fun to look at all the animals, but there were so many that I used the Quick Pet Search to narrow it down to the smaller rabbits.”

It was then she spotted Porsche. “He was so bright eyed and had such beautiful gray markings that I kept coming back to his listing.”

She mulled it over for a week, and then called Wild Rescue, the animal placement organization who had listed Porsche on Petfinder.com at http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/TX168.html. They patiently answered her questions about rabbit ownership and offered a solution to her dilemma about allergies.

“I would bring Porsche home for a weekend test run,” Stacy says. “If my husband or children had any allergy problems, we would know very quickly.”

She reports that the experiment was a success. “We have renamed him Lucky in honor of how we feel about having him as our pet. A rabbit is quite different from the other pets that I’ve owned, but not a day goes by that he doesn’t make me laugh.”

February is Adopt-a-Rescued-Rabbit Month and Petfinder.com urges people to consider adopting a rabbit. There are nearly 4,000 listed on the Web site.

Thanks to its sponsors, Petfinder.com is free to both visitors and to its animal placement organization members. Purina signed on as the Web site’s premier sponsor. Other exclusive sponsors are BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides coupon books for new adopters, and Merial, maker of the number one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative FRONTLINE®, and heartworm preventative HEARTGARD®.

Petfinder.com has also allied with PetHealth, Inc., to provide a gift of one month of ShelterCare Pet Insurance, paid for by Petfinder.com, to every dog or cat adopted from a Petfinder.com member in approved states and provinces. The program is the first of its kind for shelter pets.

###

Help the Honey Bees!

Now here's a cause that I can get bee-hind! Right now the honeybee population in America is down by over 25%. This is a huge issue when you look at the impact honeybees have on their surrounding environment. We rely on them for so much more than just honey. Honeybees are responsible for the pollination of more than 100 different crops, and over 80% of the overall pollination in this country. Without them, we'd be unable to grow the fruits, nuts and vegetables that we so love.

Haagen-Dazs, that amazing maker of scrumptious ice cream, has decided it's time to get the word out about this crisis before it becomes worse. They've created a new flavor called Vanilla Honey Bee to help raise awareness. They're also donating to research into the problem, being conducted at Pennsylvania State University and University of California at Davis. If you'd like to learn more about why Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees, or what's going on with our little stripey friends, check out their beautiful new website on the topic. Oh, and go get some ice cream!