Bristol County Rabbit Rescue
Saving Lives,One Bunny At A Time"
Rescue Updates
Bristol County Rabbit Rescue Does offer aid to local animal control agencies and other groups when it comes to saving the lives of bunnies. Here are a few tales of recent rescues we have been involved in.
-Express Rescue-
In February of 2006 Bristol County Rabbit Rescue received a call from a Braintree Inn. The hotel manager was frantic in asking for help. "Please send someone here now! There are dead animals!" he stated.
It was roughly 11:15pm when the call came, and it was snowing pretty heavily. A hotel manager along with Boston Police officials were asking Bristol County Rabbit Rescue volunteers to lend a helping hand in a cruelty case. A client of the hotel had managed to sneak in over 50 rabbits . The client had left the hotel undetecte about a week before the rabbits had been found! When The volunteers were finally able to enter the hotel room, the smell of decomposition was unbearable! 44 of the 50 rabbits were deceased in carriers. Only 6 rabbits were still alive,though vert skinny and dehydrated. The heat has been left on 82'F in the hotel room, it was a surprise that any rabbits had survived! The rabbits were taken into the care of Bristol County Rabbit Rescue and rushed to the nearest emergency veterinary clinic.Luckily all 6 rabbits survived the ordeal. What remains a mystery is: How can anyone abandon live animals with no food or water, and just leave them to die?
-Plymouth Rescue-
Bristol County Rabbit Rescue assisted the House Rabbit Network in the capture of several rabbits "living free" on a Plymouth prperty. The rabbits had, assumingly ,been set free by their previous owner and had been living ferel and breeding. Volunteers Mandy,Ashly,Haley,Noel,Shellie,Tara,Denise,Diana,and Marly all worked on this rescue.We managed to capture seven rabbits in total. The "Plymouth bunnies" Will be ready for adoption this summer.
Rachel Stretch Dexter
We are currently taking Donations towards the treatment of Stretch's ( a "plymouth bun) abcesses. It is suspected that Stretch has seen some tough times, he is covered in bite scars-probably from predators such as dogs and cyotes. The vet has determined he has several abcesses (isolated infections) along his outer jaws and around his eyes. We have pursued treatment and Stretch is doing fine. Ironically it has really stretched our budget to treat this rescued bun. Any donations towards his treatment are appreciated.
Stretch is recovering from what seems to be the reminess of a predator attack.He is responding well to treatment and should reach full recovery soon!
Update: Stretch
Stretch is adjusting to indoor life under the watchful eye of his foster parents.Stretch is still very timid and shy. We are taking a slow approach to socilization in efforts to earn his trust. The picture above is a literal miracle! This is the only time Stretch has explored outside of his cage! He actually sniffed and searched the sofa while his foster mother sat next to him capturing the happenings on film. He is slowly starting to come out of his shell, it will still be some time before Stretch is ready for a new home.We have tried intorducing him to four of the other "Plymouth Rescue Buns" in hopes that he would open up to a familiar face. Unfortunatly,he is just too scared at this point to open up and show his true colors! On a lighter note; Some of the fur around his abcesses is begining to grow back, and several of the abcesses have already diminished. Luckily all of Stretch's abcesses were treated externally, requireing no surgeries. He is a very lucky bun, to be alive today! Judging from some of the scars he has, he has had a very uncertain and rough past until now.
Update:Samuel and Susan
Samuel and Susan, a pair of REW "Plymouth Rescue Buns" have been adopted by animal behaviorist Tara W. She found the pair to be exceptionaly appealing and decided to take on their socialization. Tara is a volunteer for Bristol County Rabbit Rescue. Tara's story " When I heard that we had rescued seven unsocialized bunnies in total, I decided to get more deeply involved. I went to another volunteer's house to observe the bunnies and determine a stratagy to socialize and work with them. Immediatly Samuel and Susan stole my heart. I knew they needed some TLC, and I am more than willing to provide that! I am happy to say that Samuel is fitting in as if he were a house rabbit his entire life. Susan , on the other hand, is a little more reserved, but she IS following Samuel's lead by coming out into the "bunny room" for a few minutes at a time. We are making slow but worth while progress" Pictures and more updates will be posted soon.
-Pet Shop Shut down-
Bristol County Rabbit Rescue members were recently preforming an "undercover" investigation of a local pet shop. The shop was found to be unsanitary. The animals were not receiving proper care either,Water and food was not made available at all times, the cages were disgusting,and there were many dead animals in empty cages.We legally cannot list the shop's name on this site, but we can tell you it was located in Raynham Massachusetts.
Posing as interested customers, volunteers would enter the store and record all findings, reporting back to local animal control.
The story took a dramatic turn when the shop owner contacted with a desperate request. She admitted she had too many rabbits and wanted to know if we could take a few. This request was reported to officals. The shop's owner was forced to surrender all her rabbits over to Bristol County Rabbit Rescue. We are pleased to report that the pet shop has been shut down by Animal Control as well as the MA Board of Health. The remaining members of the 13 bunnies rescued from the pet shop are doing well and awaiting their forever homes.
A special thanks goes out to all who helped with this lengthy time consuming investigation
Baby Blue and Thea are two of the Pet-Shop-Surrendered buns