  In this issue of BunFun:
Meet our new Ambassador!
Many thanks to Erin for sharing pictures
with us, including this picture of Juno and his son Spanky. In
this picture, Juno is seven and Spanky is less than two months old.
Now Juno is eight and Spanky is the same size as dear old Dad! She's
lucky to have a household where Mom, Dad and even two siblings get along
and cuddle like this!
We assume that people who read BunFun
want to see adorable, mischievous BUNNIES, so each issue will have its
own BunFun Ambassador. The Ambassador will take their place at the very
top of the newsletter, just as Dinky has this month. So send us your bunny
pictures; yours may be next month's Ambassador!
Please include your bunny's name with your submission!
Special Sale for BunFun Readers!
Everyone at Leith Petwerks Inc. hopes you
had a wonderful holiday with friends and family. The New Year holds
exciting new opportunities and potential for everyone!
To say thanks to our customers who are BunFun members, we are offering you a special discount! BunFun members will receive a 10% discount on all orders received before 11:59 EST PM on January 17th, 2002 by following these simple directions:
So order anything, even a Bunny Abode House
Rabbit Condo or Add-On Level, and receive 10% off your order! But hurry!
This special sale ends 11:59 PM EST on January 17, 2002!
Fine Print: Shipping
costs are not available for discount. Orders must be placed online,
phone or fax orders are not eligible for this special sale. This discount
cannot be combined with any other discount or special pricing. You must
be a current and past member of the BunFun mailing list at the e-mail
address you supplied.
 New Products from Marchioro and Oxbow!Marchioro, an Italian company, produces
some wonderful products for the pet market. We've picked up a number
of their small animal homes which are just the right size for bunny
travel cages, or full time homes for guinea pigs and other small critters.
From the first time we saw the Marchioro
products, we found them to be well designed with the needs of the pet
caretaker and the pet himself in mind: hay mangers are included, doors
are wide and numerous, and the products are durable yet attractive.
 During the new year we will be providing
even more wonderful products for house rabbits. In addition, we are
expanding our own knowledge of other small animals so we may provide
products for them, as well. We've had many requests from customers who
would prefer to buy ALL their pet supply products from Leith Petwerks
Inc., so we are doing all we can to meet those needs! One of the most
frequent requests was for Oxbow's Cavy Cuisine pelleted food, which
we have added in 5
LB and 10
LB sizes!Rescue Update
Many of you have been asking how our little rescue bunnies are, or
asking to hear the whole story after hearing a snippet from someone
else. This will be a long missive... sorry! :-)
To make a very long story a little shorter, in September our local
county sheriff's Animal Control (AC) unit became involved with a serious
case involving a man who had been neglecting a large number of rabbits
(50+). Through various failed attempts by the authorities to assist
this man in obeying the law and properly caring for his animals, AC
asked for our assistance. We were more than happy to provide it,
whether it be answering a question about proper rabbit care, or taking
in sick rabbits that had been seized and providing them with the necessary
veterinary care that their previous owner would never have even considered.
While Scot and I have been involved in
animal issues for a long time including public education about rabbits
and working with our state HRS chapter, this was our first hard core experience
with a case involving neglect or abuse. We were very pleased that the
AC agents trusted us enough to get us involved in the situation. It
was by far the most difficult thing we've ever done. I would like to
thank EVERYONE who spoke with me via e-mail or on the phone as I called
a number of individuals in other animal rescue organizations asking
for advice or insight. Unfortunately, this type of situation is not
at all uncommon; just about every rabbit rescue organization sees
one or more LARGE incident like this every year.
The end result was that by October, our
group took in 16 rabbits. As our foster care network was really overflowing
as it was, Scot and I set up an emergency foster home in our
two car, heated and air conditioned garage and housed nine rabbits.
The area was complete with its own "fake living room" with chairs and
a loveseat to relax in with the bunnies.
We started with skinny rabbits who were
so undernourished and underweight that one wondered if they'd make it.
The first few we'd taken in were so malnourished that they were "fur
barbering," which is a method they use to survive. ANYTHING in the digestive
tract is better than nothing, so they will eat their own fur in order
to put something in their tummies. Some had bare bellies and feet from
this! All were TERRIFIED of humans, and had no idea what "outside
of the cage" meant since they'd spent their entire lives in cages that
couldn't have been more than 18" - 20" square.
For the first week or so, we focused on
just letting them relax, get used to the strange things in their living
areas like litter boxes and toys, and eat to their hearts content. We
fed as much of a rich pellet as they'd eat, unlimited hay, and
after a few weeks we slowly introduced yummy vegetables.
Fast forward a month. Everyone's beginning
to look great, many area already self-trained to their litter boxes,
and every visit causes binkies and toy tosses. Many are still skittish
of people (in fact some were moved into foster homes where they could
get more intensive "social therapy"). Of course a few stars emerge;
Babs became a sucker for attention from almost day one, charming everyone.
Dave became the perpetual curmudgeon, thumping at anything and everything.
Grasshopper, one of the first taken in and by far one of the worse off,
is a little darling who gets into everything!
We couldn't have done it without help from
various volunteers in Indiana. Often on weekends a bunch of people would
gather on Saturday and we'd clean cages but, more importantly, spent
all day with each bunny so they got used to a variety of different people
and not just Scot and I. This situation really showed what a group of
people can do when they all pitch in just a little bit! We even set
up a "care schedule" for the week Scot and I were out of town, and it
worked out fabulously!
We've given them nutrition beyond their
wildest dreams, daily love and attention, ferried them back and forth
for spays and neuters (graciously donated by a local veterinarian who
should be made a saint), and once or twice for a thankfully false alarm
about one health issue or another, and in general showed them that most
humans aren't that bad!
By Christmas, we'd moved two to other foster
homes, two had been adopted, and two more are schedule for new adoptive
homes. There are four other cuties (three with us and one at another
foster home) who are sure to be adopted soon as they are adorable, loving
house bunnies. We have two fabulous bunnies, Silver and Grasshopper,
who are both sweet little boys with a lot of personality. However, they
are pasteurella carriers, so they must go to a very special home where
they are the only bunny, or a pal for another pasteurella bunny, with
a caretaker who can provide for them the special care they require.
If you are within Indiana, or a close drive
away, and looking to add a member to your family this new year, please
check out ALL the adoptable bunnies at the Indiana Chapter of the House
Rabbit Society: http://www.indianahrs.org/Adoption/. If
you are located elsewhere, please look for a shelter or rescue group
in your area that has bunnies in need of a permanent, loving home! You
can find links to many groups through these links:
One of the animal control officers that
we worked with actually fell in love with bunnies and adopted a bunny
from the local shelter! Isn't it funny how bunny love spreads sometimes?
Send Us Your Questions!
We are eager to add more fun and educational
material to our website and to BunFun postings. Help us when our creativity
takes a dive by sending us your questions, comments and suggestions!
Just drop an e-mail to us at bunfun@leithpetwerks.com!
Thank you for being a member of BunFun.
BunFun is written for Leith Petwerks by Amy Young-Leith, wife of Leith
Petwerks owner/operator Scot Leith, bunny mom and HRS Educator.
For more information, including how to subscribe and unsubscribe, please visit us at http://www.leithpetwerks.com/Bunfun/, or our main website at http://www.leithpetwerks.com. If you have difficulties unsubscribing, please e-mail us directly. This message has been sent by Leith Petwerks only to those who voluntarily subscribed to this list via our web page. Copyright 1997-2001 by Leith Petwerks.
Product prices and availability subject to
change without notice. Please send questions
or comments to info@leithpetwerks.com.
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