The Carrot Tribune - December 2020
In this issue...
Our New Look
Bunny and Guinea Pig of the Month
Our Wish List
Year in Review
Please note, we're still closed to public due to Covid-19. We're looking forward to reopening the shelter, restarting Hoppy Hour, and holding Basic Bunny and Guinea Pig classes again. Until it's safe to do so, we are here for the rabbits and guinea pigs and for bunny and piggie parents.
Our RedesignedWebsite
Our website has a fresh coat of paint! Hope you like it!
Guinea Pig of the Month
Goku is a super hero!
This handsome piggy boy is a calm and sweet boy with beautiful coat colors. He is an amiable chap who is happy to sit for pets, and is a curious, active boy, too.
Goku would love to find his forever home and share lots of love with some lucky adopter.
Meet our Bunny of the Month over at bunssb.org/bunny-of-the-month!
Our Wish List
There are few things we can call normal this year, including our holiday season, but one thing that remains the same is the good feeling we get from sharing gifts and giving to those in need. If it would brighten your holidays and warm your fuzzy heart to give a gift to the rabbits and guinea pigs at BUNS while they wait to be adopted, here are some ideas for what would make the furries happy and the volunteers who care for them...
Palm plates (for healthy, safe chewing delight)
Whisk brooms
Oxbow treats
Oxbow supplements: Digestive support and Joint Support
Pet safe pine cones
Willow wreaths
Willow balls and baskets, tents and tunnels
Pet safe, natural material chew toys
Colored laundry baskets (to use as hidey places in the exercise pens)
Good pellets for bunnies and guinea pigs can be ordered from BUNS' Amazon Wish List
Binkybunny.com and Bunnybytes.com are great resources for toys, treats and more
Year in Review
2020 has been a challenging year for BUNS and we are thankful that it is almost over. The Covid 19 shutdown changed both our volunteer and our adoption programs. Hoppy Hour, Pignic, Basic Bunny and Guinea Pig were put on hold and grooming came to an end. Hay sales moved to the front porch of the shelter. Vets put non-essential care like spay neuter surgeries on hold. Then Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) began its march toward Santa Barbara County. We quarantined incoming rabbits, began the process to import the RHDV2 vaccine from Europe and focused rabbit adoptions on indoor homes which are safer than outdoor homes.
But, through it all we adopted rabbits and guinea pigs. Through November, 161 rabbits and guinea pigs found their forever homes. All adoptions make us happy, but here is one story that was special. Sugar came to the shelter in August of 2019, a lovely white Mini Rex with red eyes. She was born and lived in a backyard with her sister. When the girls became teen-aged they started to fight. The family kept her sister and brought Sugar to BUNS. She must have wondered why. Like many rabbits with red eyes, Sugar was overlooked by all the families that came to the shelter. Red eyes are just too strange. Manny months and many families passed by Sugar. Covid 19 came, the shelter closed to visitors and finally a year passed. Sugar was still at BUNS. At last, a family that had fostered rabbits, decided they wanted one of their own. Sugar caught their eye. She was just right for them. Sugar became a house bunny with a loving family and a room of her own. Sugar proves there is a home for every bunny and Guinea Pig.
They may leave BUNS, but they will always be BUNS bunnies and piggies. We watched RHDV2 cross the South West and enter California, worrying about our shelter rabbits and all the BUNS bunnies living in their new homes. We partnered with Dr. Haskell to import 1,000 doses of RHDV2 vaccine. We sent 150 doses to the Bunny Brigade in Ventura County. We sent vaccine to our County shelters in North County. We vaccinated the bunnies at BUNS. Then we reached out by Face Book and e-mail to rabbit families. Doctors Sostrin and Welton volunteered their time at vaccine clinics. The Elks Lodge #613 in Goleta gave us their parking lot for two clinics. We held other clinics at the BUNS shelter. So far we have vaccinated over 500 rabbits. We will do more. We have asked the County for help in finding a vet to staff a clinic in North County. In 2021 we will continue our South County Clinics as well.
Covid infections are surging again and the lives of people are disrupted by job loss and illness. But BUNS is still here. We are caring for rabbits and guinea pigs. We offer a safe place for pets of families that must move or who are just over-whelmed by all the challenges. We will find new homes. We will vaccinate rabbits. We look forward to a new year when for people will make everyone safer. We will be so happy to join you at Hoppy Hours and Pignics. We know those nails need trimming. Together we will get there. As always your help and support makes everything we possible.
As the year ends, so many groups are asking for help, but may we offer a paw? Your gift will shelter, feed and rehome homeless rabbits and guinea pigs. Your gift will vaccinate rabbits and give vet care to rabbits and guinea pigs. We cannot fix the world, but we can make it just a little better. Will you join the effort by clicking here: http://www.bunssb.org/donations/ Thank you.
About Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter
BUNS is an independent non-profit corporation dedicated to the care and welfare of rabbits and guinea pigs. BUNS works to find bunnies and guinea pigs permanent homes, and educates the public on caring for their guinea pig and rabbit companion.
Your contribution can go a long way towards helping rabbits and guinea pigs in Santa Barbara.