The Bunologist Sept09

8/14/2019 The Bunologist Sept09

1/8

TThheeBBuunnoollooggiissttYour FREE monthly rabbit newsletter

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September 2009 How I came to live with a giant bunny Shelter update Adopt me! Dear Diary Clarence the SUPER SPY & the

opposite brotherhood Clarence & me

Whats News?

Alannah Hill stops using rabbit fur17 August 2009 Fairfax media

Alannah Hills recent use of rabbitfur on her frilly designs led to aprotest outside her South Yarrastore, a death threat and a torrentof abusive emails.

Alannah's nerves are so frayedthat she has given in and will stop

using fur:

She states, ''After 4500intimidating and abusive emails,the decision not to use rabbit fur

AS A TRIM was made for me by the one that threatenedmy seven-year-old son, Edward.

''I believe cyber-bullying needs to be addressed and treatedas a criminal offence. Basically, I was intimidated intoconsent.''

Gosh, poor old Alannah! Bullied to remove rabbit fur fromher frilly little garments. As she says its ONLY A TRIM!!Try telling the rabbits that!! (BOING)

Latest Guiness Book of Records OldestLiving Rabbit11 September 2009

A rabbit living in Carroll County in Maryland (US) hasbeen recognised as the worlds oldest living rabbit.

According to an article in the Associated Press, the

rabbits owner Jennifer Russell received confirmationearlier this month.

Heather the record holding bunny was adopted in1995 with papers that said she was 2 years old. OwnerRussell believes that now makes Heather somewherebetween 15 and 16 years old.

According to NBC Philadelphia, in her prime, Heather wasa diva, growling if the cat got too close.

Japanese hop to bunny cafe for relaxation31 August 2009 - Reuters

Stressed-out Japanese seeking to unwind are hopping to arestaurant that serves cuddly pet rabbits alongside, and not on,

the menu.

The Usagi-to-Cafe in thecentral Japanese city ofNagoya features everythingbunny: rabbit decor, rabbit-shaped toys and dishesmoulded to look like rabbits.

But it's the live animals in the room next to the restaurant thatkeep the patrons coming.

"They are different from stuffed animals, as well as from dogs orcats. They feel as fluffy as cotton and I feel so relaxed when Iam cuddling them," said Hiromi Ono, a 25-year-oldbusinesswoman as she held a rabbit.

Cafes that offer animals are quite common in Japan, wherestrict housing regulations often ban pets. But most of the cafesfeature cats.

Diners pay a 900 yen (about $10) cover charge and then 100yen a minute to cuddle one of the 18 staff.

"Bunnies here are taught to be amenable that you can pet andcuddle them as much as you want, and many customers like it,"said rabbit aficionado Naoki Kurata, who set up the cafe about ayear ago.

Scooter bunny17 September 2009 - My House Rabbit

Biscuit is a 2 lb Dutch with an unusual means of transportation - ascooter.

Biscuit accompanies herowner on his scooter while hetravels to work at a producestand. There she becomes the

centre of attention as peoplestop by to say hello and watchher sample the wares.

Her owner, Coleman Rogers,has had house rabbits for petsfor the last 17 years. His firstwas left at his house by afriend, and he was soonhooked on rabbits. Each of hisrabbits has been litter boxtrained and cage-free. Biscuitspends most of her time inRogerss kitchen.


2/8

How I came to live with agiant bunnyBy Andrew Kaighin

Throughout my life I have taken home many stray animals.Until 18 months ago the strays I had taken home had allbeen cats and dogs. The only contact I had with rabbitswas through nature documentaries and I thought they wereinteresting in the wild but not very interactive as pets.

18 months ago I was working for Melbourne Uni at theWerribee campus for vet science students. After work oneevening I went for a jog with my friend Janine through theparks of Werribee. We saw something run past us veryfast. It looked like a giant rabbit.

30 seconds later 2 boys walked up leading a greyhound.The boys asked, Have you seen a rabbit?

Is it yours? I said

Yeah its our pet they replied.

It seemed obvious that the boys had released the rabbit aslive prey and I instantly felt protective.

It went that way, I said, pointing in the opposite directionto the one the rabbit had taken. We all continued on ourways.

Whilst I was working in Werribee I would visit the medicalwards every lunchtime to say hello to the animals in there. Ipaid particular attention to the Stray ward where strayanimals were taken to await the ranger and the pound.

I walked into the stray ward the next day and sitting in a

cage halfway up the wall was a giant bunny staring at me.It was the same bunny that had escaped the greyhound.

A local Werribee lady had gone out to hang her washing onthe line and found a giant bunny staring at her.

The ranger didnt take rabbits so the giant bun stayed in thestray ward for 8 days. I visited him every day. I moved himinto a large dog cage on the ground floor and everyday Icame and sat with him.

He was very interactive and appealing. On the 8th

day oneof the nurses said you should take him home, rabbits areeasy to look after.

Anyone involved in the animal industry knows that this is ajinx of the worst kind but I took the bunny home.

I started reading about rabbit behaviour and care. A friendgave me the address of a website which I looked up. Itwas called The House Rabbit Society www.rabbit.org

I learnt that rabbits should eat only hay and greens, notrabbit pellets. They also do best in the house with thefamily because they are extremely social and are happiestwith lots of contact. They are easily litter trained and veryclean. The first night at our house the bunny sneezed a lotand then did a series of small fits across the floor. I thoughtthe sneezing was probably nothing to worry about but thefits were very concerning.

I went back to the website and found a perfect description

of the fits I had just witnessed. They were called binkiesand they are something rabbits do when they are veryhappy.

When I called my friend Lizzie who knows a lot aboutbunnies the next day she confirmed that he had been doingbinkies and it was nothing to worry about. The sneezing onthe other hand.

Rabbits can get a condition called snuffles. It is a chronicinfection of the nasal passages and as rabbits breaththrough their nose it is a very serious condition. Mr B wastrialed on several antibiotics - oral, injectable and inhaled.He had a tiny camera inserted into his nose and some

contents of his nose grown to determine what bacteria wasup there causing problems. But for Mr B the conditioncannot be cured.

Mr B is a happy chap who needs to be treated withantibiotics three times daily. He sits in a plastic box (hissauna) and breathes the antibiotics through the steamcreated by a nebuliser. This is just enough to keep his noseclear enough to breath.

When he is not taking a sauna at his day spa he enjoyshanging out with his burrow buddies, which include twohumans and two cats. The nature of Mr Bs conditionmeans that the humans in his burrow can never go on a

holiday together which suits Mr B just fine as he is a verysooky rabbit.

Mr B & friend relax together(Mr B on the right!)


3/8

Shelter UpdateBy Leigh MunroAustralian Animal Protection SocietyHomeleigh Road, Keysborough, Ph: 9798 [email protected]

Im pleased to report August was a good month for bunnyadoptions and only medical euthanasias. We havent hadmany bunnies in this month compared to July, and all theboys weve desexed Ive managed to put together in thebunny area - no mean feat I can tell you! If youve ever triedto bond newly desexed and hormonal boys youll know howawesome and rare this is.

We got a baby bunny surrendered to us just this week (onthe 27th) because he was given as a gift to keep the dogcompany, but the dog wanted to eat him. The bunny hadsomething on his fur that was irritating his skin. They didn'tnotice! I gave him a bath and the next day his skin wasalmost back to normal.

Gembrook, featured in the last update, is still trying to loseweight so she can be desexed and go to her new home.Shes down to 4.4 kg from 5 kg so still has a way to go.Please give her "get less fat" vibes!

Every month I stress out wondering if were going to getbunnies dumped from a breeder weve previously hadaround 80-90 bunnies from. His/her MO is to drop them offearly morning in the overnight pens, in banana boxes withfilthy hay, no food or water, and all the bunnies eitherneglected or with some major issue. I think weve only beenable to rehome a dozen or so of them. These were the lastbunnies we had to put down (not sure if pictures are clearto see how bad they were). There were others in the samelot who got put down (9 in total) because of ulcerated hocks

and bad teeth (rex), bad teeth (white bunny- it's hard tosee, but he had a huge mouth abscess, definitely couldn'teat). We haven't had any for a few months so I hope that'sthe last of them.

I'd like to share a picture of a real cutie who is up foradoption. His name is Ollie (above), and he wassurrendered for not getting along with another maleundesexed rabbit.

The woman who surrendered him also had an entirefemale she was trying to bond with the remaining entiremale - she didn't even consider the female getting pregnantbecause they were siblings! She said she would bring inthe bunnies for desexing, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'msure we'll get the babies soon enough.

A big thank you to Catherine and Michael, and also to Suewho donated $120 combined towards the rabbits. I gotsome very positive feedback after the last newsletter, so

thank you to all those who emailed me. Words ofencouragement are very much appreciated!

31 August 2009 update

Just when the dumping rates of bunnies was looking okayfor August, 15 rabbits were dumped in the overnight pensat the shelter. The security footage revealed who dumpedthem. It was a man, the time was 8:35pm and all rabbitswere left with no food or water. Unfortunately, theregistration number on the car wasnt visible. One of thebunnies dumped was blind, one had a foot missing and badforelegs, one had severe head tilt, one had very bulgy eyesand one had a massive throat lump. There were about 6

rexes, also lops and one giant chinchilla (the blind one) aswell as a couple of dwarves. We wish there was a happyending with these bunnies, but unfortunately there wasnt.

Harry & Tianaby Stella

I thought you might like this photo of my bunnies. They

love each other so much.

They are very much free range bunnies. They live inside,but can go outside to a cat proofed area through a littlebunny flap.

Harry is the white tipped one and Tiana is a grey brownbunny.

I have learnt so much from my first experience withbunnies, that bunnies definitely need a friend.

Harry is a desexed boy and Tiana a desexed girl. We gotthem from lovely Leighs animal shelter in Keysborough.


4/8

Adopt me!

Found: Dwarflop ear, black bunnyLocation: Melbourne (Point Cook)

Arrived on our doorstep. Unable to keep as we have onejealous rabbit already. Have tried to find owners but no onehas come forward. Great temperament, loves to play, stillneeds to be vet checked not even sure of sex. We do thinkits a female though. Would love to find a good home in abunny friendly residence. If you are interested and feel youcan offer this bunny a home, please contact Roma on 0433996 761.

Found: Dwarf RexLocation: Melbourne

I'm a nine-month old albino desexed male dwarf rex. Idon't have a name because I've never had a proper home -it's a bit of a sad story. I'm a bit shy because I'm not usedto people but I haven't bitten anyone and I tolerate longcuddles. I would love a real home and family, perhaps witha nice girl bunny to be friends with. I look a bit scruffy inthe picture because I was having medical treatment, but I'mall better now. Please call Ruth on 0403 980 640 or [email protected] for any questions about adopting me.

Dear DiaryBy Karen

The Do Hop Inn has been filling up with even more bunniesthis month! Fortunately, most of these newbies are just onholiday, but we do have one more surrender bunny calledRex. Hes a little black undesexed bunny nearly 6 years ofage. The short story is that he was surrendered becausehis health issues were distracting his human friend from herstudies so her mother decided he must go (hmmm..some people just amaze me!) Since Rexs age, wonkyfront leg & dental problems would not have given him achance at a shelter, he came to live with us.

Good news so far with our ex farm bunnies. Poppy hasrecovered really well after her abscess was removed. Shewas on pain relief & antibiotics for a long, long time buteverything seems to be okay for now. She seemed todevelop an addiction to pain relief but, for now, shes off thestuff! I cant imagine her spending time in Rehab with thelikes of Amy Winehouse.

Just when I was going to say that Lulu hasnt had anyproblems since her spell on antibiotics, shes had anothertummy upset. Were really hoping that shes on the mendthough. Nicknamed polar bear (because of her size & herluminescent white coat), shes just the most glorious bunnyand so beautiful.

Izzy, the only farm bunny that hadnt required any medicaltreatment so far, developed ear mites this month! Theywere seriously nasty and I was very annoyed with myselfthat I didnt notice them earlier. By the time I saw her ear,the mites were thick, brown & crusty. Fortunately, one dabof Revolution for cats on the back of her neck (measuredfor her weight) fixed them right up. It was quite amazing tosee how quickly the mites went away. In only a few days,

her ear was looking much better and in one week, theywere all gone.

BIG CELEBRATIONS THIS MONTH..We celebrated Dingleberrys eighth birthday midSeptember!!! Woo hoo Carrot cake, cranberry juice andcelery muffins all round (and thats just for the humans!!).

Dingleberry is our very first bunny. She now has a bit of awacky head tilt from an inner ear infection she acquiredfour years ago but shes still running around & enjoying life.

Pumpkin, after breaking up with his girlfriend Tinkerbelle,now has a new girlfriend. Shes gentle, wont bite, shes

super soft and loves to be groomed. Her namesButternut and shes a sheep! A sheep pillow that is.

Oh well,she mightnot beanotherreal livebunny butPumpkinthinks shespretty cute!


5/8

Clarence the SUPER-SPY

and the OppositeBrotherhood

by James Robertson

Previously...... by Ted Barker

Hey, my names Ted Barker. Before I start I just want to tellya that I found out all this stuff after that thing with theTitanic. Clarence found the Time Manipulator Orb in acrevice in the Spy League junkyard. He took it to the DoHop Inn to turn it into a super cool Time Machine. With the

help of Dingle, Lulu, Poppy, Isabelle and Stuart (mostlyStuart and his weird equation) they were able to make it.But then someone stole the Time Machine (this is gettingbetter and better and better) and when he got the otherbunnies to help him find it another Clarence the Super Spywas in doorway.

Ill leave it to the Narrator now

The other Clarence was pointing the detonation grenadethreateningly at Clarence the Super Spy, Dingleberry,Stuart Little, Lulu, Poppy and Isabelle. They backed downtowards Clarences huge computer. The other Clarencecame closer.

My name is Ecneracl. I am from the opposite world, hesaid, while pointing his other paw at Clarence. I am youropposite, Clarence.

Wow, whispered Lulu in Clarences ear. You really are asuper hero, Clarence, if you have an evil twin.

Clarence hushed Lulu.

Ecneracl continued. I was running away from the Mr.Beaver troops when I found a portal to your world and gotaway.

Stuart put up his paw. What is it like in the OppositeWorld? he asked.

In my world, Ecneracl said importantly everything, exceptthe people and animals appearance, is different; the sun isdark and the moon is bright. Croissants are Italian andpizza is French. South is north and east is west. And theSpy League are the ones who want to dominate the world,and those pesky Mr. Beaver Industries and the SecretOrder of the Mystifying Cucumber just want to stop us.

Clarence frowned, putting his paw to his chin thoughtfully.

But, if the Spy League is evil that means youre evil,Ecneracl, he said in a surprised tone.

True. I am in search of a worthy planet to turn into the AntiSpy Leagues new head quarters, and I think I know whereits going to be Your planet! said Ecneracl with an evillaugh.

Clarence shifted. I think I say this for the whole planet thatwere not going to let you take over the world, Clarencesaid triumphantly.

Ecneracl grimaced. Fine. Ill blow your precious planetEarth to smithereens with the rocket the Anti Spy League issending to me through the other Dimension. Ive got yourTime Machine with me so whats the worry? But, so you allare not tempted to stop me

Then, three things happened in the time Poppy blinked:

Ecneracl flicked the trigger of the grenade and threw it likea javelin at Clarence and his friends. Clarence swerved

around to grab the Shield Detonator on his computer desk(thats why Clarence shifted before). He pressed the bigpink button in the middle of the device and threw it at thegrenade. The pink energy shield, that they all expected,covered the grenade in mid air, and last but not least thehuge explosion ripped apart the grenades shell and filledthe sphere shaped shield with smoke.

Ecneracl then used the Time Machine to get away unseen.

Poppy (above) finished her blink. What I miss?

Clarence couldnt believe himself! He let that stealingbrother of his steal the Time Machine!!

But now wasnt the time to get angry with himself.

Clarence, Dingle, Stuart, Lulu, Poppy and Isabelle ran overto the computer and started locking onto the NASA SatelliteNetwork.

*Spy-Notes: Clarences computer can hack onto anycomputer in the world, and even not in this world.Clarence can go into the NASA exclusive network anytime he wants.


6/8

A picture of a sleek black rocket with twelve mini boostersand two big jet boosters appeared on the screen. It washuge, and hurtling towards them.

Clarence typed in some keys and a close up diagram of therocket appeared.

Isabelle started reading it out loud. Its got the power oftwenty-five and a half atom bombs. And a percentage ofone million kilograms, kilometres, killer whale, killer

bunny Well its going to kill us, she said nervously.

But, if its from the Opposite World it should only be half apercentage of what it really is. So, umm, it should only befive hundred and five thousand kilograms, kilometres, killerwhale, killer bunny dont get me mixed up Isabelle! saidClarence in a very scientific tone. Which would onlydestroy half the planet unless

Dingleberry pawed Clarences shoulder. Unless, what?she asked.

Clarence turned around to look at his friends. Unless, ithits the biggest nuclear power station in the world. Which is

the one Tessa won at the Annual Race. Remember? hesaid.

They all nodded. None of them had been there to see it butthey heard about it on the front page of the Spying Times.

I bet you my whole hutch system that Ecneracls there,Clarence said excitedly.

Ok, said Stuart hopefully. He crossed his paw fingers.

Clarence grabbed his flashy scooter keys and headed forthe stairs. Come on everyone. Off to Queensland!

Theyd turned their Scooters on Turbo Speed and nowtheyre speeding across New South Wales coming closer toQueensland.

In about fifteen minutes they arrived at a big warehousebuilding, with fumes belching out through tall chimneys ashigh as skyscrapers.

Arm yourselves, guys, said Dingle in a secret agent tone.Ecneracl is probably in there.

Clarence, Stuart, Lulu, Isabelle, Poppy and Dingleunlatched their Shield Detonators, Mini Lasers and Rope

Clinger Guns from their utility belts. Clarence kicked openthe iron swing doors and as they charged through into thepower station smelly fumes wafted into their sensitivenoses. They wandered around the Power Station until theycame to the biggest room, and the only room without allthose smoky fumes.

So, you followed me all the way here, didnt you,Clarence? It was Ecneracl. He was on the opposite side ofthe room.

Clarence and his friends got into Super Bunny attackmode.

My rocket is about to hit this place, he said slyly. Ill be ona different planet watching yourplanet explode.

Then they could hear the crack of the rocket entering theEarths atmosphere! Whooshing and cracking sounds couldbe heard all over the world! But, no one knew that it wouldend.

Quick, get into this Escape Capsule! said Lulu, whilstpulling a big stainless steel pod from under her fur. Sheunlocked the pod and Clarence and herself got everyoneinside. Everyone except Stuart

Ecneracl was still standing with the Time Machine.Clarence, Dingle, Lulu, Poppy and Isabelle were stuffedinside the capsule. And Stuart, the target of the rocket!

Stuart, come on!

Stuart, get here or Ill drop you in the water bowl!!

Stuart, over here!!!

Stuart, look out!!!!

Stuart, the rocket!!!!! they all screamed.

But Stuart couldnt hear them, because of the sound proofcapsule.

Where are you, guys! called Stuart.

The bad thing is, Stuarts half blind!

The rocket smashed through the roof of the Nuclear PowerStation! Ecneracl disappeared with the Time Machine in theblink of an eye. Stuart screamed. The Rocket hit Stuart andthe Power Station, ripping the world apart!! The capsulepod that Clarence and his friends were in went flying intothe Earths broken atmosphere.

Theyd lost. Ecneracl had won. The world and everyone init, destroyed.

Clarence looked down at the broken pieces of his world

through the little glass window in the Capsule.

*Spy-Notes: The Air-Tight Capsule that Lulu keeps wasmade by the French Colonel Bunny (Colonel PierreBunny) in Paris. Its got bits of Titanium, Tungsten,Mercury, Platinum, Iron and Nickel for enhancedefficiency.


7/8


8/8

Clarence & meBy Ian Robertson

My son James has always been fascinated by rabbits sincehe was tiny and his favourite toys were "Baby Bunny andNatalie" two very distinctive bunnies from Germany. Thisstarted his collection of bunny soft toys, which is nowoutrageously large.

For his seventh birthday Sally promised him a real livebunny. We were apprehensive at first because ourneighbours had had an angora rabbit that had become feraland all its fur became matted. They decided to surrender itto a shelter because they said it was destroying the gardenand biting the kids. They dumped their rabbit hutch on ournature strip so we fixed it all up ready to take on James'snew pet.

We went to the RSPCA to suss out the requirements andthere was a small black bunny looking a little forlornbecause he had been found wandering around VermontSouth and had been de-sexed that morning.

We returned the following week to discover he was stillthere. We were concerned that if we did not take him hemay have to be euthanased. We went off to pay theadoption fee and get his microchip re-registered into ourname. When we returned we were horrified to find the littlebundle of fur tearing a much larger Rex bunny to bits - whathad we let ourselves into?

On the way home we decided to call him Clarence after thecross-eyed lion because he fought like a lion.

Houdini also became his nickname because he wouldescape given the slightest chance he had escaped fromhis previous owners! His greatest escape at our house

was by climbing up the chimney. No matter how much weencouraged him, he would not come back down and sat inthe smoke box staring down at us.

To get him down from the chimney, I had to get a noodlefrom the swimming pool to wrap it around him and get himclose enough to grab. It finally took 5 washes to get all thatsoot off & get him clean.

After that, his favourite game was to run away from me! Hewould struggle like a maniac to get away from me but assoon as I put him down he would immediately start playingwith his favourite purple toy. I now realise that he wastaking his frustration at being caught on the toy and that he

probably wished the toy was my head.

Sally was the main carer of Clarence. I never saw himdrinking from his bottle for about a year, until one day I wasworking in the garden and he kept going to his bottlepretending to drink. I noticed that he was trying to tell mehe had no water and I rushed off to get him some.

The following year he decided he did not like the waterbottle and repeatedly attacked it with his favourite purpletoy. We changed it to a water bowl and the attacksstopped.

Clarence was an outdoor bunny and his favourite placewas his run. We used to watch out the window as he wentfor his morning run. He was amazingly agile and ranaround in circles as though he was being chased by a packof wolves.

He was amazingly fussy about what he ate. When heneeded to gain some weight, we provided him with growthpellets but we had to conceal them with his other favouritefoods. When we hand fed him, he sneakily spat out all the

growth pellets out of the other side of his mouth.

To keep James entertained on long car journeys we usedto wonder what Clarence did at night. We imagined thatClarence was leading a double life and that he had anextensive warren under his hutch filled with magnificentpaintings and that he escaped each night to haveadventures.

The RSPCA thought that Clarence was 1 year old when wegot him but we now think he may have been closer to 4years because suddenly his health deteriorated this yearand he developed arthritis and then vestibular disease.

We saw a very different side of Clarence whilst he was ill.He fought so hard to get well and he would lick my handwhen I was trying to clean him up which was comforting. Itwas heartbreaking to see him lose the use of his back legsand then to make that final decision for the vet toeuthanase.

Sally, James and I were devastated to lose him but, as acolleague of mine pointed out, the deep sadness we feelnow is more than compensated for by all the highsClarence gave us over the last four years.

We will definitely seek to rescue another bunny (or two)from an animal rescue shelter in the hope we can

experience more of those highs for the future.

This newsletter is dedicated to Clarencethe SUPER SPY.

Rest in Peace little guy.

The Bunologist Sept09

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