Living with Growly. By Rob Lovicz. Spring Raffle Three s a Crowd?...5

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1 Volum 15 Numbr 1 T h N w s l t t r o f t h B u c k y H o u s R a b b i t S o c i t y Wintr 2011 Living with Growly By Rob Lovicz I hav a rabbit namd Siggy (formrly Frud) who cam to us through th Bucky HRS about two yars ago. Siggy was rscud from a svr ovrcrowding situation. H is a man-prtty Californian with th gratst littl fac. That, of cours, is looking at him from a distanc. Whn you gt clos to him h will growl at you if you invad his trritory. His growls tnd to sound lik odd noiss; som sound lik a wooki whil othrs sound lik an angry grunting pig. It is quit funny to m, but to popl nw to him thy ar quit takn aback. Sig is vry trritorial and dos dmonstrat som aggrssiv bhavior. His growling is an aggrssiv rspons h probably larnd to hlp him stay aliv whn food was scarc in that ovrcrowdd hom h cam from. H dos not bit, which is a bit unusual. Usually th two aggrssiv bhaviors go hand in hand. In this issu Spring Raffl Thr s a Crowd? W'r Growing! Farwll to Bll Hr's a closr look at aggrssiv bhavior: 1) Aggrssiv rabbits can b scary. Rabbits growl, bit hard, kick hard, and mov fast, so it's not unusual for ownrs to gt intimidatd. 2) Rabbits arn't born man. Ninty-nin prcnt of aggrssiv rabbits hav a bhavioral problm, not a gntic on. Bhavior can b changd, so giv your bunny a chanc. 3) our rabbit dosn't hat you. Mor likly, sh's afraid you'r going to hurt hr. 4) ou'r th only on who can solv th problm and figur out what's wrong and initiat nw ways of intracting. 5) ou can't hit a rabbit. Som popl try to "tach" thir bunnis not to bit by swatting thir noss or vn hitting thm Continud on pag 4

2 Spcial Thanks to: Linda Gardnr, for hr gnrous donation in mmory of Wndall. Harlins, th Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity Nwslttr, is publishd by th all-voluntr, non-profit Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity, Athns, OH. Chaptr Managr: Hrta Rodina Educators & Fostrrs: Canton Kristi Col Clvland East.... Kristn Dohrty Frmont...Kith & Su Zimmrman Cincinnati.... Michl Roth Krly Dayton Jann Kuntavanish Nwslttr Editor:.. Hrta Rodina Layout/Dsign: Rbcca Nagly Contributing Writrs: Dbbi Braunschwigr, Stphani Lodg, Rob Lovicz, Kith Zimmrman. Visit th Hous Rabbit Socity at and th Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity at Th Bucky HRS Rspcts our Privacy W know our mmbrs valu thir privacy and that s why w nvr, vr, sll our mailing list or distribut it to any othr party. All of our mmbrs information is hld in th strictst confidnc. Bonni Hagrman, for hr thoughtful tribut to Chlo's mmory. Dnis Whitford, for snding a supply of timothy cubs and appl sticks for our fostr rabbits. Pam Loch's 5th grad studnts, who onc again honord thir tachr with gnrous holiday donations to th Bucky HRS! Th following mmbrs, whos montary and in-kind donations allow us to mt our ongoing fostring and ducational goals: Ann Zimmrman, Holly Wirbaugh, Gintt Brumbaugh, Gary Savag, Christa Billrman, Natasha Millr, Jim and Laura Gills, Maurn O'Nil, Paula Ottr, Jim and Laura Brown, Cathy Montigl, Mark and Jann Kuntavanish, Jant Rd, Rné Falcon. All of our wondrful Sanctuary Rabbit Sponsors! This program would not b possibl without your compassion and gnrosity. Ths spcial rabbits, who must spnd th rst of thir livs in fostr car du to srious mdical conditions, hav you to thank. As always, th Monks Copy Shop of downtown Columbus, for thir discount on printing our nwslttr. Holiday Raffl Rsults And th winnrs ar... Dbbi Nyhus ("Mothr Har Fortuna") and Kimbrly Johnson ("Th Harvst"). Th thr runnrs up, who ach gt to choos a Funny Bunny Warning Sign by Py Lu, ar: Carmlla Coia, Staci Hcht, Jann Kuntavanish. Congratulations to th winnrs and many thanks to all who supportd th Bucky HRS through th purchas of raffl tickts. Procds will allow us to mak th futur brightr for mor homlss bunnis in Ohio.

3 Spring Raffl to Bnfit Bucky HRS Fostr Rabbits! Shak off thos wintr blus and lap straight into spring with this bright and chry wall hanging! Imagin that vlvty-soft bunny frolicking in a sunlit madow of May flowrs. Can't you just smll thos blossoms? Wouldn't this scn look fabulous in your hom? Gnrously donatd for our third annual Spring Raffl, this hand-mad wall hanging is adaptd from an original dsign by Ltitia Hutchings calld "Natur's Swt Kiss." Th artist, Ohio rsidnt Christin Anilski, dcrasd th siz of th dsign, addd buttons as accnts, and hand mbroidrd th ntir pic instad of machin top stitching. Th work is approximatly 3 ft. wid x 2 ft. high. Sinc th rabbit in th wall hanging appars to b making frinds with a lady bug, Christin namd hr vrsion "Springtim Acquaintancs." All procds will go dirctly to our fostr program and will nsur that ndy bunnis hav a saf havn until thy find th happinss of a prmannt hom. Tickts cost $1 ach and you may buy as many as you wish. All ntris must b postmarkd no latr than April 9, Plas includ your phon numbr and mail (if availabl) with your chck or mony ordr and indicat it's for th raffl. Mail your rqust to: Bucky HRS, P.O. Box 5767, Athns, OH Th lucky winnr will b notifid bfor Eastr. This charming wall hanging is bst viwd in color on our wbsit at

4 Living with Growly Cont d. with nwspaprs. This will only aggravat th problm. ou nd to rassur your rabbit that his or hr nvironmnt is saf. 1 Whn Sig gts aggrssiv and upst, h growls vry loudly, assums a bulldog stanc, and prsss his ars down to his body. It's an intimidating look to somon who is not familiar with him. Th bst way to dal with him is to talk vry soothingly. I call him a big scary bunny in a vry soothing ton and pt his had from abov his nos to th tip of his ars to show him that I am th on in control. I am th alpha bunny. H will typically rlax and sttl down. In cass whr a rabbit bits you, do not ovr-ract. Try saying NO in a vry firm ton right aftr th offnc and thn push bunny's had down gntly with your hand. Whn h attmpts to nip, pt his had from abov and talk in soothing tons. This shows him that vrything is saf, as wll as that you ar in control. That pushing down of th had is a sign to rabbits that thy ar th subsrvint partnr in th rlationship. In th wild, th dominant rabbits do similar things to thir subordinat rabbits and that conduct is ingraind in thm. This disciplin may nd to b rpatd till th nipping stops or dcrass significantly -- and it will. Growling and biting is a way that som rabbits xprss thmslvs. It is not a positiv xprssion to you or m, but that is how th rabbit has larnd to adapt and cop in lif. It is up to us to curb ngativ bhaviors and aggrssions. Sig is harmlss. It is important that I lt him xprss himslf and only try to rduc his vry worst bulldog-stanc, aggrssiv rsponss. I will b honst; I rally gt a kick out of listning to him grumbl whn you go down to pt him, whn you fd him, whn you groom him, or whn a toy dosn t do what h wants it to. Th growling is part of his wondrfully rich prsonality. 1 National Hous Rabbit Socity, FAQ: Aggrssion

5 Thr s a Crowd? I Bg to Disagr By Dbbi Braunschwigr In lat summr 09 w wr contactd by a woman namd Sara who was looking for a bondd pair of young buns to possibly bond with hr snior fmal, Spic. Sadly, Spic s bondd partnr of fiv yars had passd away a fw months prior and Spic was not adjusting wll. Sara was concrnd that although Spic was six and still had a fw good yars ahad of hr, sh might start to go downhill without a frind or frinds to kp hr stimulatd and ngagd in lif. Part of hr thinking was that whn th tim cam for Spic to pass, th two buns would still hav ach othr. Whn Sara contactd us, it just so happnd that our shltr had a pair of four-month-old dwarf hotot bondd brothrs, Gn and Ac, who might b up to th challng. I was somwhat apprhnsiv at attmpting to bond thr rabbits, as I d only participatd in bonding two bunnis twic bfor, but I was also intrigud to s if it was vn possibl. So, w st up a "dat" at th shltr and procdd to us on of th bonding rooms (a 5' by 5' spac with a bnch) to bgin our matchmaking procss. To our amazmnt, Gn and Ac ach circld Spic, and thn chasing and grooming nsud. It wasn t long bfor I was scrtly wishing our room s windows wr blackd out, as our littl group quickly bcam R-ratd. Aftr about thirty minuts, all thr wr lying sid by sid and taking turns grooming. Unblivabl, if I hadn t sn it with my own ys. Lt s fast forward to last month whn I contactd Sara to find out how things wr going with hr littl thrsom. Hr two sons had rnamd th bunnis Boomrman and Joy. Hr s an xcrpt from Sara s mail, (publishd with prmission): "Boomrman, Joy, and Spic did bond rally wll. I bliv that bcaus thos two buns wr willing to lov Spic, sh livd longr than I xpctd. Joy, spcially, was Spic's champion. H'd clan hr fac, cuddl, bun spoon with hr, and just gnrally hlp hr. ou s, Spic was blind. Th two boy buns would guid hr around and hlp hr if sh ndd it. I couldn't hav askd for two bttr frinds to b with my girl, Spic. Sh passd away in hr slp in August 2010, just a fw months shy of th boys' on-yar adoption dat. Sh spnt th last fw months of hr lif in our mastr bath with Boomrman and Joy gtting daily visitation privilgs. I bliv it was th highlight of hr day to hav thm with hr. Thy wor hr out with thir nrgy, though. So, just visitation rights in hr last months. Boomrman and Joy wr a grat choic and I'm thankful to hav found thm. Both boys ar halthy and happy. Th fact that thy bondd with Spic so wll and so quickly was an answrd prayr for m. I ndd Spic's last months to b filld with bunny lov and thy did that bautifully." If you vr gt th chanc to bond thr bunnis, accpt th challng. It may not go as smoothly as for Spic and hr two buddis, but it might vry wll nd up bing th most hartwarming rabbit opportunity you ll vr ncountr.

6 6 W'r Growing! Th Bucky HRS has four nw voluntrs! ou mt Jann Kuntavanish of Dayton in our prvious dition of Harlins. Hr's an opportunity to gt to know our two othr Dayton ducators, Dbbi Braunschwigr and Jn Parks, as wll as our nw Clvland-ara fostrr, Stphani Lodg. W'r vry plasd to hav thm all aboard! Dbbi Braunschwigr Hi, I m on of th nwst ducators-in-training in th Dayton ara. I m rally xcitd to b a part of th Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity and can t wait to start sharing xprincs with all of you sasond rabbit lovrs. I v bn a rabbit lovr vr sinc I was a young girl and brought hom a bunny from a ranch I visitd with my frind's family in Southrn California. Ndlss to say, h wasn t rcivd with th gratst of nthusiasm, but I was allowd to kp him and h livd a long, happy lif. Now I m living in Kttring, Ohio with my husband, Craig, and thr cats, two birds, and fiv rabbits - - four of my own and on fostr. My husband and I hav bn marrid for tn yars and, no, h didn t hav any animals bfor I mt him; h knw going in that it was a "packag dal". H quickly adaptd and is quit attachd to thm all. I m fortunat to b in a position whr I can work part tim at a local Wild Birds Unlimitd stor nar my hom and also voluntr at th Human Socity of Gratr Dayton whr I knnl and fostr th shltr rabbits and also mntor othr voluntrs wanting to larn about rabbits. It s bn rwarding, hartbraking, and frustrating at tims, but dfinitly on of th things I njoy most in lif. I look forward to working with Bucky HRS to hlp sprad th word on th joys of living with hous rabbits. Jn Parks I'm a scinc tachr at Wst Carrollton High School in Dayton. I hav bn taching for ight yars and currntly tach 9th grad intgratd scinc, 10th grad intgratd biology, and honors biology. I lov what I do (although th frshmn can rally try my patinc at tims!). I'm vry much into xrcis and th outdoors and lad a vry halthy lifstyl (including bing vgan). I liv in Brookvill with my husband, Chris, of ovr thr yars (h's a first grad tachr). W hav two dogs Boomr, a lab mix, and Molly, a yllow lab Flix th cat, and, OF COURSE, two wondrful rabbits -- a mini rx namd

7 7 Clyd and a mixd brd namd Harrison. I'm also fostring Daphn, a hug Flmish Giant mix from th Human Socity. Animals hav always bn a larg part of my lif, and in th last fw yars, I dcidd to dvot som of my tim to th Human Socity of Gratr Dayton. I bgan working primarily with th cats, but thn on day, Clyd cam in as part of a crulty invstigation, and I fll compltly in lov with him! I would play with him ach wk as I cam in to clan th cats, and vntually Clyd cam up for adoption, and th rst is history! As I bgan to larn mor about rabbits, I mt Jann K. and Dbbi B. and vntually transitiond to working solly with thm and th rabbits. I'm vry xcitd to b an ducator-in-training for th Bucky HRS! I hop my currnt skills as a tachr will hlp m spak ffctivly to th gnral public about rabbits. Stphani Lodg I liv on th wst sid of Clvland with my husband, Phil. W just got marrid in January in Cancun. I hav bn voluntring for th Clvland Animal Protctiv Lagu sinc May 2007, focusing primarily on th rabbits. I clip th nails of all th buns and guina pigs that com into th APL. Shortly aftr I startd voluntring thr, w (my thn-fiancé and I) adoptd our first bun. Sh s a small Flmish Giant wighing in at only 15 lbs. Shortly aftr, w adoptd Humphry, a grumpy Frnch Lop, and a fw months latr cam Edison, also a Frnch Lop but vry happy. Th boys didn t gt along in th bginning, but aftr a lot of work and many months, thy ar bst frinds. W also hav thr guina pigs and on fuzzy cat. W normally hav a fostr bunny or guina pig. Maximus Rabbiticus is our currnt Bucky HRS fostr. H is such a lovr, mor so than many of th othr buns I v mt. Look for his writ-up on pag 9. I also pt sit and do hom visit nail trimming in Clvland and th surrounding ara. I am thrilld to b a part of th Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity. It s wondrful mting popl with similar intrsts who undrstand whr I m coming from.

8 Sombunny Nds OU! Sylvstr is quit a uniqu looking bunny with his strips and twotond fac! H LOVES his fr tim and pllts. This handsom guy would mak a grat addition to your hom. ih has lots of lov to giv. Why not mak an appointmnt to mt him? Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrs-su@ohar.org) Tazwll is on of th bunnis who was rscud from th Elyria ovrcrowding situation. H s from on of th last littrs to b born thr (Jan Apr 2006). Taz is a littl shy, h will nd tim with you to warm up and dvlop trust. H s on th small sid, wighing roughly 4.0 lbs, his full-grown wight. H lovs his bamboo papr plat holdrs for chwing and is prfct with his littr box. Plas contact Kristn Dohrty (bhrs-kristn@ ohar.org) Dixi knows how to hav a good tim; whthr it is tossing around hr toys, chwing on hr ball, or racing through hr tunnl. Whn sh is don, this adorabl whit bunny (with long whit y lashs), will sit for a good ptting and thn strtch out in hr box for a nic nap. Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrs-su@ohar.org) Hav you vr wantd back into a tim of innocnc, whn rabbits could b big and whit and magic? This young lovly, born in spring '09, will tak you thr. Opn your door to hr, and com hom to th land of Honal. Plas contact Hrta Rodina (bhrs-hrta@ohar.org) This is Pumpkin! Sh is a vry swt young lady. Just look at hr awsom blu/gray fur! What a bautiful bunny! Pumpkin njoys playing with hr toys and sh spcially lovs to chomp on hay. Wouldn't you lov to mak Pumpkin a mmbr of your family? Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrs-su@ ohar.org) Coco Ban is a ral snuggl bunny. Sh lovs to b pttd and is vry frindly. With hr vlvt soft fur Coco is quit a bauty. Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrs-su@ohar.org) Evry sason will b a winning sason with this Bngal stripd bunny. Hnry (namd for th lat Chris Hnry) has xcllnt littr box habits and knows how to mak th play. Mak Hnry a mmbr of your tam today. Whody! Plas contact Michl Roth Krly (bhrs-michl@ohar.org)

9 Chili and Chiqua cam all th way to Ohio from a larg rscu in Nw Mxico. Chili has dark chocolat-brown fur and a spicy prsonality. Sh also has on ar that lops down and th othr that stands straight up. Chiqua is all black with vlvty-soft fur and lots of curiosity. Mak an appointmnt to mt thm today! Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrssu@ohar.org) Alma (Alma Sdgs Tidy Bts), a bautiful blu-gray mini lop, and Ellsworth, a 4 lb. gray and whit Dutch who acts as hr chif protctor and bodyguard, hav a uniqu bond unlik anything w v sn. Most tims you will find thm snuggling and grooming ach othr swtly, though occasionally Ellsworth will giv a loud grunt if h thinks you will harm Alma in any way. Thy ar vry funny to watch. Thy ar roughly 4-5 yars old, in vry good halth, and must b adoptd as a pair. Plas contact Kristn Dohrty (bhrskristn@ohar.org) Maximus th Rabbiticus is a gorgous black mal with a grat apptit for food and for lov. Max has an incrdibly swt disposition and adjusts asily to nw situations. H dosn t mind bing pickd up and is quit contnt as a lap bunny. H is 7 yars old and in grat halth, but dos hav arthritis in his hind lgs. Plas contact Stphani Lodg (bhrs-stphani@ ohar.org) Alfonso, a littl mini-rx, gts so xcitd for his mals that h runs round and round frantically until h is fd. If you pick him up, howvr, h mlts in your arms and nuzzls his fac undr your chin. H wighs about 3.5 lbs, is prfct with his littrbox, and ats a ton of hay for such a littl guy. H also lovs cruising through his miniatur tunnls and boxs. Plas contact Kristn Dohrty (bhrs-kristn@ohar.org) su@ohar.org) I can't find nough good things to say about Franki. H stol our harts th momnt w mt him. H is a supr frindly and happy-golucky kind of guy. H wants to b whr you ar and h lovs to b pttd. Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrs- Littl Tss is an adorabl young rabbit, about four months old, with a vry swt prsonality. Tss lovs to b pttd on hr had and dos wll in a hom with dogs and othr animals. Plas contact Su Zimmrman (bhrssu@ohar.org) ou ll hav a whal of a good tim with this dwarf bunny. Many tals will b told of Moby's swt natur and grat littr box habits. At two pounds h s th catch of th day and will mak an xcllnt addition to your family. Plas contact Michl Roth Krly (bhrsmichl@ohar.org)

10 10 Adoptd! Huy has a nw hom with Judy Sklly and hr family. Spdy now rsids with Brandi Siwik of Lakwood. Kathln Flihman has brought Dwy into hr hart and into hr hom. Farwll to Browni My littl b. Thr ar so many things about you that I miss. Whn I first saw you I was so incrdibly hopful that th bad tims wr bhind you and only good things wr to com. It was a rough road for you, bing bouncd around from fostr hom to fostr hom, manwhil th docs not knowing xactly what you ndd to fl 100% again. Although you only spnt 4 months living with Phil and m, you mad such an impact on our livs. ou wr th first bun to gt priority living spac (thanks to Phil giving up half th room h kps his cloths in). Bcaus of you I larnd so many things about had tilt, things that you can only larn firsthand. I hav to admit having your had cockd to on sid rally mad for an adorabl pictur. ou always lookd lik you wr posing. our silly hair sticking up around your ars, th on pic that always fll prfctly to on sid and your ridiculous handlbar mustach always brought a smil to my fac. Evn though you wr apprhnsiv about cuddling, you wr afraid of nothing at dinnr tim. Whn I was taking down th gardn and harvsting th last of th basil, I thought "Browni will fast tonight." Thn I ralizd you had alrady crossd th bridg. It's still hard going into your old room; my immdiat raction is -- whr ar you? I know th bginning of your lif was bumpy at bst, but w gav you vrything your littl hart could want for thos last fw months. I think Humphry (lop bun) misss watching you through th play pn wall. Whn I took that wall down, Humphry and his brothr had to invstigat immdiatly, I'm sur wondring "whr did that cut littl brown girl go?" It braks my hart to writ this, sinc I always xpctd that you wr tough as nails and could rbound against th odds. ou can tak comfort in knowing that your brothr Snickrs is doing amazingly wll with his nw family. H's vn takn a shin to on of th cats, although I don't know how th cat fls about bing followd 24/7. I miss you and hop you ar frolicking (without tipping ovr) in bunny havn. Lov, Stphani (mom)

11 11 Farwll to Bll, our Sanctuary Rabbit By Kith Zimmrman Lik vry fostr rabbit that coms to us, w had such high hops whn you cam into our hom. W d gt you spayd and halthy so that a loving family would giv you a forvr hom, whr you d liv th lif of a hous rabbit. But for on rason or anothr -- prhaps you wr too shy or old, or asily frightnd, or you usd your tth to xprss yourslf whn a growl would suffic - - no on cam to adopt you. So it was with Bll (aka Mrs. Bootski), a stray who was capturd in Bllfontain aftr vading hr captors for thr cold months in Throughout Fbruary, March, and April,nighbors had spottd hr roaming th ara bfor sh was finally corralld and caught. Evn though w wr 100 mils away, w wr th only fostr hom that had room for hr, so w mad th trip to pick hr up. It was obvious that Bll was xtrmly shy and unaccustomd to human affction. Dspit our bst fforts to socializ hr, sh didn't warm to anything mor than a nos rub at fding tim. Sh wasn t vn intrstd in xploring during hr fr tim. As th wks turnd to months, and th months turnd to yars, w knw it was going to b hard to plac Bll into a nw hom. Aftr thr yars of zro intrst in hr from potntial adoptrs, w dcidd that vn if Bll was adoptd, it would b spcially strssful for hr to gt r-sttld; thrfor sh joind our sanctuary program. Sh movd into th living room whr sh smd to njoy intracting with th dogs, cat, and (somwhat) with us. Still, sh didn t com out of hr pn whn givn th chanc, and bcam stiff as a board whn pickd up for cuddling or grooming. Although sh was constraind by th rstrictd librtis of bing a fostr, sh finally sttld into hr routins and bcam comfortabl with familiar surroundings and with th popl who card for hr. On night around bdtim, Su noticd that Bll hadn t atn hr vggis or hr pllts and sh smd to b uncomfortabl. I pickd hr up and hld hr whil casually xamining hr. Sh was cold and lthargic, so I lt hr snuggl into a plush blankt on my lap and gntly strokd hr had and ars whil sh rlaxd and hr ys startd to clos. Twnty minuts latr sh lt out a dp sigh and sh did. Dspit all th uthanasias I d tndd to in th past with rabbits and dogs, this was th first tim an animal had vr did in my arms of natural causs. Thankfully, it was a quit and pacful passing, although it still lft m fling mpty and hlplss in th fac of "Th Black Rabbit."

12 12 M m b r s h i p F o r m our $33.00 annual mmbrship in th Bucky HRS includs: National mmbrship ($18.00) and 3-4 issus of th Hous Rabbit Journal Local mmbrship ($15.00) and issus of Harlins If you ar alrady a national mmbr, your local f is $15.00 o I would lik to donat $ to hlp a fostr rabbit (vt car, supplis) o I would lik to donat $ in mmory of. Th griving family rcivs an acknowldgmnt of your gracious gstur. I would lik to voluntr to: o Distribut information to vts o Assist with mailing Plas mak chcks payabl to: Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity P.O. Box 5767 Athns, OH All donations ar tax-dductibl. o Hlp at Bucky HRS booth at Pt Expos and fairs o Othr Nam Addrss City, Stat, Zip Phon addrss Bunnis nams and spcial dats Bucky Hous Rabbit Socity P.O. Box 5767 Athns, OH Buy a bunny a littl tim