Adopting an animal was Re: RH's Bunny NMR/OT

[Guest guest]

Hi Ann-Marie,

We currently have two bunnies, and have had as many as 16 (all inside

our house, most were in our bedroom, where our two are now). We work

with a rescue group:

www.rabbit.org (House Rabbit Society).

Our neighbor works with 4H and has raised sheep, ducks, and geese.

Unfortunately rabbit breeders in our area have a bad reputation for

setting bunnies with improper markings free, and since they are

domesticated, it's kind of like setting a cow or sheep free. We

don't show our bunnies, but have many friends (many vegetarian, we

are not) who have bunnies and hold their bunnies above almost all

else. There are hundreds of bunnies up for adoption in our state

(NJ) alone, and many bunnies are put to sleep, even at some " no-kill "

shelters that don't consider " small animals " on the same level as

cats and dogs.

If anyone is interested in adopting any kind of animal, they can go

to:

petfinder.org

and search according to their zip code. Many places have pictures of

the little darlings up on the web. There is also a cheap spay and

neuter program that will spay or neuter ANY pet (yup, ANY pet), based

on participating vets:

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/spay-neuter/

I had a strong attachment to my family's only dog, Ninotchka. We got

her when I was 4, just before kindergarten, and she passed away my

first year of college. I still am traumatized from it - my parents

didn't tell me that she died, and I just got home for Easter break,

and she wasn't there (sniff). IMHO it is better to give kids a

warning if something like that happens when they aren't home, to walk

in the door and call her without anyone warning me was horrible and

traumatic.

Anyway, I truly recommend looking at the petfinder.org site if anyone

is thinking of a pet, there are many out there looking for homes.

I do agree about the " little ones " being in pain. Pets depend so

much on us to " keep track " of how they are feeling. I also have

similar feelings about not putting an animal to sleep until its

time. We've had many adoptions, but also about six bunnies pass

away. Two were put to sleep due to pain, but were very near the end

anyway (minutes at most); our first bunny was paralyzed and we took

care of her for months as an invalid (she was eating and drinking

though) and she died peacefully in my arms on my bed (my husband had

stepped out for a bit and was crying); the others all were not in

pain until the last few minutes, but had many days (even weeks or

months) past when our vet's colleague said we should put them down.

Take care,

RH