Francesca, 5x5 in., acrylic, by Eileen Crowley

The House Rabbit Society is holding a Holiday Art Show and Auction on their Facebook page. Proceeds from the auction/art show will go to the Emergency Medical Fund for the House Rabbit Society and to East Bay Rabbit Rescue.

This is a great opportunity to purchase fabulous rabbit art and bunny supplies at affordable prices while also supporting two rabbit organizations.

The auction/art show ends at 1 pm PST on Dec 6.

View Auction »

NOTE: Although it should go without saying, I will say it anyway: Please don’t feed your bunny Doritos.

Congratulations to Wing T. from Honolulu, Hawaii for winning our Bunny Christmas Card giveaway!

Many people chimed in on why rabbits make great indoor pets. Here are some popular reasons:

• Easily litter-trained / clean
• Binkies and other bunny behavior
• Quiet
• Loving / social
• Intelligent
• Cute

For those who didn’t win, you can purchase these Christmas cards, along with a slew of other bunny-themed cards, prints, and gifts at our Bunny Lover Gift Shop.

For a wide variety of animal cards and prints (including bunnies), stop by Grizzly Bear Greetings, the Etsy shop of My House Rabbit co-editor Abi Cushman.  You’ll find pole-vaulting hippos, bulldozing aardvarks, and many other fun designs.

Canmore, Alberta has been home to an overabundance of feral rabbits for nearly 30 years. Recently the town council contracted Animal Damage Control to cull the rabbits starting November 14.

The feral population exploded after pet owners released their domestic rabbits into the wild. Although domestic rabbits usually do not survive on their own, these did. And the rabbits produced more and more offspring until the population reached its current estimated total of 800 rabbits.

These feral rabbits damage property and attract wild predators into neighborhoods and therefore must be removed from the town. However, local rescue group Save Canmore Bunnies, headed by Kyndra Biggy, would like to impose a different solution than a cull. Their plan is to round up the rabbits, spay/neuter them, and then relocate them to bunny-friendly sanctuaries. But this costs money. The group needs to raise $100,000 in order to put their plan into action. If you would like to donate money, veterinary services, or sanctuary land, visit the Save Canmore Bunnies Want to Help page.

Save Canmore Bunnies has estimated it will cost $130 per rabbit.

To learn more, see:
CTV Edmonton
Save Canmore Bunnies

This year, the Thanksgiving Fund will go towards opening a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in northern California. The money raised will pay for a part-time veterinarian, a part-time vet tech, and some medical supplies.

So this is a great opportunity to help rabbits and rabbit owners! Make a donation at the House Rabbit Society website.

The rabbit care conference will cover topics such as rabbit behavior and training, bunny bonding, medical Q&As, demonstrations, goodies, and more! You may even run into actress/comedienne and longtime rabbit advocate Amy Sedaris!

For more information, see the Rabbit Rescue & Rehab website.

Pygmy rabbit (Photo by Washington State University)

Both the pygmy rabbit and the New England cottontail have been in the news recently for diminishing populations in the wild.

Earlier this week, Western Watersheds Project of Hailey, Idaho filed a court challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s denial of endangered species protection to pygmy rabbits.  Pygmy rabbits, which are tiny enough to fit into the palm of your hand, have experienced a decrease in population as a result of habitat fragmentation and loss, which was caused by livestock grazing.

A survey conducted by scientists at the University of Rhode Island and the state Department of Environmental Management revealed virtually no sign of the native New England cottontail rabbit in Rhode Island.  Last winter, rabbit droppings were collected and DNA tested.  The results showed that all the droppings belonged to non-native Eastern cottontails.  Eastern cottontails were introduced to the area in the 1930s and have flourished while New England cottontail populations declined. Although attempts have been made to introduce new habitat (young forests, scrub brush), the New England cottontail is close to being placed on the Endangered Species List.

For more info, see:

Pygmy Rabbit: Western Watersheds Project Press Release
New England Cottontail: Providence  Journal

Rabbit Ray looks like a cute white rabbit toy on the surface.  But student designer Esther Wang Chunshu of Singapore has created much more than just a toy; she has designed a useful tool for hospital staff to communicate with child patients.

Rabbit Ray has several functions. On the outside, the cute rabbit face comforts kids.  In fact, its aesthetic was the most popular choice in a survey of 50 children.  Further, because it is structured similar to a human body, kids can point to areas on the bunny that correspond to where it hurts on their own bodies.

The bunny toy opens up to show a diagram of organs in the body.  This is useful for explaining common illnesses to children.  The other side houses tools for common procedures like drawing blood.  Medical practitioners can use these instruments on the toy rabbit to demonstrate the procedure to the children so they will understand and become more comfortable with the process.

The invention has been nominated for the James Dyson Award, which is an international student design award.  The focus is for students to “design something that solves a problem.”

To learn more, see Rabbit Ray’s entry on the James Dyson Award website.

Baskets for Bunnies

This year, they have chosen seven rescues to aid:

• Zooh Corner, San Gabriel CA
• Little Furries Rescue, Brown Mills, NJ
• Gainesville Rabbit Rescue, Gainesville, FL
• Funny Bunny Sanctuary, Athens, WV
• Bunny Castle, Bishop CA
• Ohio House Rabbit Rescue, Columbus, OH
• Frisky Ferrets, Fuzzies, & Feathered Friends Rescue & Sanctuary, Youngstown, OH

In the future, Parker plans to expand Baskets for Bunnies to include a spay/neuter program and to support rescues internationally.

If you are interested in learning more about Baskets for Bunnies, the rescues they support, or donating, please visit them at their website or  find them on Facebook.

Fallen tree from Hurricane Irene

Here in coastal Connecticut, Hurricane Irene wreaked a fair amount of havoc, damaging trees and property, causing flooding, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power (including us).

We found our apple trees at 45 degree angles.

We had staked everything down on our raised beds and moved most of our potted plants to the basement.

But through all that, Coco and Cosette were happily oblivious to the storm.  (Apparently bunnies aren’t that bothered when they don’t have lights or internet access.)  Their veggies stayed cold enough in the fridge and there were still cardboard castles to renovate.

Here they are today, two days after the storm, still happily oblivious.

Yesterday, while we were still without power, we spent a very pleasant, sunny day cleaning up the yard and gardens. It was the perfect opportunity to plant some fall crops as well! We planted bok choy, romaine lettuce, and spinach.

We staked our apple trees so they are now growing upright again.

We cleaned up our gardens, brought the potted plants back out, and planted new fall crops.

For those of you also affected by the hurricane, how are you and your bunnies faring now?