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November 2010
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Life at the Do Hop Inn
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Medicine time!
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Summer care
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World Vegan Day
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Christmas gift ideas
What’s News?
Tell Donna Karan Executives to Ditch Fur!
Despite knowing about the suffering that goes into everyfur-trimmed coat, hat, and bag, Donna Karan has made thecruel decision to use the skins of dead rabbits in herclothing lines.One of the best ways that you can help animals who arebeaten and tortured for their fur is to tell Donna Karanexecutives that you'll boycott the designer's collections untilshe stops using fur. Many top designers—including StellaMcCartney, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren,and Liz Claiborne—have chosen to create wonderful workwithout using animal fur.Ms. Donna KaranDonna Karan International, Inc.550 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10018phone 212/789-1839fax 212/789-1856sparham@dkintl.com
 
A Hutch is not Enough campaign
23 November 2010 –  www.pressdispensary.co.uk  In the light of the current outcry about a controversial JohnLewis television advertisement showing a neglected dog,the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) is drawingattention to a wider issue: the silent suffering of a muchlarger number – possibly hundreds of thousands – of petrabbits.The ad, which shows a child hanging a Christmas stockingon a kennel for the family dog, kept outside in the snow,has generated support from almost 2500 people onFacebook and a great deal of media interest. Thecontroversy stems from the fact that the dog is kept alone,outdoors, in inadequate accommodation: this, says theRWAF, is the norm for most pet rabbits in the UK, yet petrabbits are no more suited to this than pet dogs.“Rabbits deserve the same level of responsibility as a dogor a cat, but they are so often the forgotten pet.”Anne Mitchell, who runs the RWAF helpline. agrees. "Ireceive a huge amount of calls in the winter from distressedowners who have found their rabbit frozen to death in itshutch. People think that because they have fur coatsthey’re fine in the cold, but the truth is that in the wild theylive underground where the temperature only varies a fewdegrees between winter and summer, in large groupssharing body warmth. Rabbits are not designed to livealone, and they're not designed to live in a small woodenbox in the garden."
** This also applies to rabbits in Australia oversummer. Death rates of rabbits living outside risesdramatically in hot weather. Please see the article onsummer care.
 
 
Life at the Do Hop Inn
By KarenWe’ve had another busy month. Happily we haven’t lost abunny this month but gained one instead.This is “Peter”. He’s a little bunny who lost his partner andwas looking for a friend. We have taken him in to see if hewants to bond with one of our buns. Currently he’s livingnext to Stuart (who lost his buddy Peanut) on one side &Isabelle on the other side. Things are going well so far andwe hope that Peter finds a friend soon.
Peter rabbit
Our Ginger buns (far left)needed to visit theMelbourne Rabbit Clinicrecently when one nightwe noticed that he wasn’table to eat his dinner. Heseemed fine but his chinwas wet. He tried to chewon his veggies but he justcouldn’t and sat under the bed looking quite miserable.We took him to the clinic the next day and it turned out hehad a very nasty molar spur. The spur was so pointy that ithad cut into his tongue. No wonder he couldn’t eat!!Ginger’s molar spur (it’s that really pointy thing). You cansee the cut in his tongue next to the spur! It must havebeen so painful!!We’ve had quite a few hot days recently so it was time togive the angoras a good clipping for the summer. Ourclippers are still working well (probably need a new blade)but they are such an excellent piece of equipment whenfaced with long haired bunnies!!Missy & Charlie after their haircuts for summer. Still havelots more fur to trim around their tummies & feet!!
Medicine Time
Do you have difficulty giving your bunny medicine?? Doesyour bunny hate being caught, held and have syringesinserted into their mouths?Here’s an idea that works for us and it could work for youtoo.If one of our bunnies requires long term medication, we mixthe medication into mashed banana (or another fruit) on alittle low plate or bowl (bunny size).This method works only for buns who love fruit and arehappy to lick the fruit off a bowl. This is where you cantrain your bun before they may require medication. As aspecial treat, mash the fruit of their choice on a little bowland tempt them to lick it up. In the future, if they thenrequire medication at some point, you can incorporate thatinto the mashed fruit mix and serve!To see a video of Lulu enjoying her banana & medicinepudding, please visit:
http://rabbittv.blogspot.com/  
** don’t give banana to a rabbit with kidney problems.
 
 
Summer care for yourrabbits
 by US House Rabbit Society – www.rabbit.org It is very important tokeep an eye on yourrabbit during thesummer months.Rabbits do not tolerateheat well and can diefrom being overheated.Each rabbit will tolerateheat differently and it isimportant to observeyour rabbit daily.
How do I keep my rabbit cool?
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Make sure bunny is out of the sun. If they are confinedto a cage or small room for part of the day, be sure thatthere is plenty of shady space for the bunny to rest.
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Set up a circulating fan that will breeze past your rabbitwithout blowing directly on him all day. You can alsodrape a damp towel over part of the cage so the fan willblow through the towel and create cooler air. Be sure tobunny-proof the fan cord!
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Place a ceramic tile or marble square in the cage or inbun's favorite place. The marble or tile stays cool forthem to lie on.
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Place a few ice cubes in their water crock so the wateris tempting and they can also lie against the cool crock.
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Mist the rabbit's ears. Rabbits dissipate heat throughtheir ears and misting them will help keep the rabbitcool.
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Brush out excessive fur. Who wants to wear an extrafur coat in the summer? If you have a long hairedrabbit, consider cropping your bunny's coat short forthe summer months.
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Fill 1 or 2 liter soda bottles with water and freeze them.Once frozen, put the frozen water bottle in Bun's cageso he can lean against it to keep cool. Keep a few ofthese on hand in your freezer.
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Be sure Bun is getting his fair share of veggies to helpkeep him hydrated.
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Be especially watchful of rabbits over 5 years old orones who are overweight or incapacitated. Theserabbits tend to be more sedentary and may not get upto drink water if they are too hot. This can quickly leadto dehydration which can lead to death or other healthproblems.
What do I do if my rabbit experiences heatstroke?
DO NOT submerge him in cold water. This could place therabbit in shock.Dampen his ears and body with cool water.GET HIM TO YOUR VETERINARIAN OR EMERGENCYCLINIC IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT WAIT!
What other concerns arise in warmweather?
Fly StrikeAs the weather warms, flies can strike and kill a healthyanimal who has temporary loose stools, but at particularrisk are aging, disabled, long-haired or overweight rabbitswho are not able to clean themselves.Within 24 hours, rabbits can enter a terminal state of shockdue to maggot infestation. Moisture, warmth, and odorattract flies.If open sores are present, or if thick fur is dampened withurine or feces, flies will head toward these warm incubationareas to lay their eggs.The chances are greater if the rabbit is outside, but it onlytakes one fly indoors to do the damage.Maintaining a watchful eye, keeping your bunny dry and (ifneeded) short-even-shaved are the most criticalpreventative steps.
What do I do if my rabbit experiences flystrike?
Don’t try & remove the maggots yourself.GET HIM TO YOUR VETERINARIAN OR EMERGENCYCLINIC IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT WAIT!
Bring your bunny indoors on hot days.If you are hot outside, so are they!
 
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