Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been on for a few days...things have been realllly exciting around here lately!!
Here's the story:
My husband was leaving to go to the store on Sunday, and called as he was driving away to inform me that "someone has their dwarf bunny here outside if you wanna come say hello," so my daughter and I got our shoes on, grabbed some raisins to give the bun as a treat, and headed out the door.
Turned out the little white bunny was in a VERY small cage (about as big as a large cat carrier, but not as tall) that was FILTHY!! I don't know what they originally covered (if you could call it covered) the bottom with, but it was so soaked with the bun's urine that everytime the bun hopped, big drops of it flicked off her hind feet! The poor thing had stuffed herself in a 2.5" high little level in the cage because she didn't want to step in the urine anymore. Her feet and belly are SOAKED, as well as part of her head, it was so wet on the bottom. She had no water, just some pieces of iceburg lettuce (which is VERY bad for buns) they threw in that were sitting in the pee and poop that had horribly accumulated in the bottom of the cage, and she had no food. We think she was one of the many forgotten Easter buns.
So, I saw the neighbor's door was open, airing out their just-cleaned apartment (grr...they went through so much trouble to clean out their home, but didn't care about the bunny's cage), and decided to see what they intended to do with this little bundle of sweetness. The guy came to the door, I asked if they were selling her or giving her away, and he said, "why, do you want it?" I thought for just a moment, and decided to say yes. I figured that if my husband was adament about not having a fourth animal (though I knew he wouldn't be), we could at least take her to a bunny shelter I know of.
Well, my daughter and I raced the poor thing upstairs, got out and put together one of our cat carriers (which, unfortunately, is actually larger than her previous cage), put bedding in it (CareFresh) and she hopped right in (after braving another trip through the muck). When we turned to go up the stairs to our place, the guy rushed to his door with the pellet food he'd evidentally bought for her (though it was OBVIOUS he'd never given her any...there wasn't a SPECK of food in that cage). Pretty ironic that he offers her food when he knows she's leaving...what a jerk. Anyway...
I gave her a pile of Timothy Hay, and she absolutely GOBBLED it up, and my husband's picked her up a water bottle while he was out. I threw out the pellet food the guy gave me, as I didn't trust it was still good (hey, he didn't take care of the bun, why would he take care of the FOOD, ya know?).
After I had her in a dry, comfy space, I started to call around to find out what we could do for her as far as getting her health checked. We found a vet's office that takes emergency pages, and they called within fifteen minutes to answer all my questions and give me advice about what to do for her. The next day, we took her to a VERY good bunny shelter near our house (we don't currently have the money for a vet, but the lady there is experienced enough with buns, rescuing them and such, to be able to give me an accurate diagnosis of her health), and the lady there cleaned her up, cut the fur that was matted, treated the now-healing urine scalding the poor dear had on her hind legs, and groomed what she could of her.
The sweet lady, whose name I believe was Yvette, told me right off the bat that the bun isn't a dwarf at all, but about six weeks old. In fact, the poor thing is so young, she was unable to difinitively tell me her gender (I'm calling her "she" becz "it" sounds so horrible...lol).
In the end, Yvette was happy to inform us that the little baby has no serious health problems, except for a bit of urine scalding on her hind legs. Everything else indicates good health, with the exception of the fact that she's very skinny and malnourished.
Well, needless to say, we've decided to keep this little bundle of fluffiness, and decided to name her Flower because flowers are so delicate and beautiful...as she is. And...if she winds up being a boy, I figure if the little skunk in Bambi can get away with the name and be a boy...so can my baby!
So, our little four-month-old Maisie has a new little friend (though they won't be living together for quite some time...until they are both fixed and have been through a thorough bonding process). Though I have to admit, she got her friend a little sooner than I was planning, little Flower is such a joy! She is incredibly sweet, and loving. She likes to come up to the front of the carrier she's currently in and will poke her nose in for little kisses from anyone nearby. We currently have her carrier securely on a counter so the kitties will leave her alone until she's stronger, and she follows us in the carrier throughout the room. I've let her out to hop around a couple times, but not too much until her legs fully heal (which might be a couple weeks). I haven't tried to hold her because I don't want to hurt those little legs...but soon I should be able to!
Anyway, sorry this is so long...I just wanted to tell you guys all about our new little friend. I'll post pictures as soon as I have them, not to mention the fact that I now have to change my signature to include my baby!
Have a great day, everyone!!
Here's the story:
My husband was leaving to go to the store on Sunday, and called as he was driving away to inform me that "someone has their dwarf bunny here outside if you wanna come say hello," so my daughter and I got our shoes on, grabbed some raisins to give the bun as a treat, and headed out the door.
Turned out the little white bunny was in a VERY small cage (about as big as a large cat carrier, but not as tall) that was FILTHY!! I don't know what they originally covered (if you could call it covered) the bottom with, but it was so soaked with the bun's urine that everytime the bun hopped, big drops of it flicked off her hind feet! The poor thing had stuffed herself in a 2.5" high little level in the cage because she didn't want to step in the urine anymore. Her feet and belly are SOAKED, as well as part of her head, it was so wet on the bottom. She had no water, just some pieces of iceburg lettuce (which is VERY bad for buns) they threw in that were sitting in the pee and poop that had horribly accumulated in the bottom of the cage, and she had no food. We think she was one of the many forgotten Easter buns.
So, I saw the neighbor's door was open, airing out their just-cleaned apartment (grr...they went through so much trouble to clean out their home, but didn't care about the bunny's cage), and decided to see what they intended to do with this little bundle of sweetness. The guy came to the door, I asked if they were selling her or giving her away, and he said, "why, do you want it?" I thought for just a moment, and decided to say yes. I figured that if my husband was adament about not having a fourth animal (though I knew he wouldn't be), we could at least take her to a bunny shelter I know of.
Well, my daughter and I raced the poor thing upstairs, got out and put together one of our cat carriers (which, unfortunately, is actually larger than her previous cage), put bedding in it (CareFresh) and she hopped right in (after braving another trip through the muck). When we turned to go up the stairs to our place, the guy rushed to his door with the pellet food he'd evidentally bought for her (though it was OBVIOUS he'd never given her any...there wasn't a SPECK of food in that cage). Pretty ironic that he offers her food when he knows she's leaving...what a jerk. Anyway...
I gave her a pile of Timothy Hay, and she absolutely GOBBLED it up, and my husband's picked her up a water bottle while he was out. I threw out the pellet food the guy gave me, as I didn't trust it was still good (hey, he didn't take care of the bun, why would he take care of the FOOD, ya know?).
After I had her in a dry, comfy space, I started to call around to find out what we could do for her as far as getting her health checked. We found a vet's office that takes emergency pages, and they called within fifteen minutes to answer all my questions and give me advice about what to do for her. The next day, we took her to a VERY good bunny shelter near our house (we don't currently have the money for a vet, but the lady there is experienced enough with buns, rescuing them and such, to be able to give me an accurate diagnosis of her health), and the lady there cleaned her up, cut the fur that was matted, treated the now-healing urine scalding the poor dear had on her hind legs, and groomed what she could of her.
The sweet lady, whose name I believe was Yvette, told me right off the bat that the bun isn't a dwarf at all, but about six weeks old. In fact, the poor thing is so young, she was unable to difinitively tell me her gender (I'm calling her "she" becz "it" sounds so horrible...lol).
In the end, Yvette was happy to inform us that the little baby has no serious health problems, except for a bit of urine scalding on her hind legs. Everything else indicates good health, with the exception of the fact that she's very skinny and malnourished.
Well, needless to say, we've decided to keep this little bundle of fluffiness, and decided to name her Flower because flowers are so delicate and beautiful...as she is. And...if she winds up being a boy, I figure if the little skunk in Bambi can get away with the name and be a boy...so can my baby!
So, our little four-month-old Maisie has a new little friend (though they won't be living together for quite some time...until they are both fixed and have been through a thorough bonding process). Though I have to admit, she got her friend a little sooner than I was planning, little Flower is such a joy! She is incredibly sweet, and loving. She likes to come up to the front of the carrier she's currently in and will poke her nose in for little kisses from anyone nearby. We currently have her carrier securely on a counter so the kitties will leave her alone until she's stronger, and she follows us in the carrier throughout the room. I've let her out to hop around a couple times, but not too much until her legs fully heal (which might be a couple weeks). I haven't tried to hold her because I don't want to hurt those little legs...but soon I should be able to!
Anyway, sorry this is so long...I just wanted to tell you guys all about our new little friend. I'll post pictures as soon as I have them, not to mention the fact that I now have to change my signature to include my baby!
Have a great day, everyone!!
