Girl Power!

In many ways, the rabbit world runs on Girl Power.  Domestic rabbits were originally bred from the European wild rabbits, which have a matriarchal social structure. In some breeds, the female is usually larger than the male. But no matter what the breed, there are a lot of girlbuns whose personalities are out of all proportion to their physical size.  A perfect example of this is Dora, who is currently living in a Red Door foster home.

I'm not quite sure about you yet...

Isadora was found outside in the spring of 2009. The person who found her was able to foster her for a short while until we had space available. She came to Red Door in April of 2009. She was adopted in June of 2009, only to be returned in June of 2011 when her mom moved to Louisiana.

Dora was not very happy to be back at the shelter, and she became increasingly irritable, so she was fostered by our own Toni.  Toni woke up one day to find a huge puddle of blood in Dora's pen. After a visit to Animal 911, it became apparent that Dora had a severe urinary tract infection and had passed a stone overnight. Poor baby must have been in pain for a while, and that's certainly enough to make a girl pretty cranky!

And what do YOU want?

Dora recovered from her UTI, but was still pretty fiesty when penned, so we sent her to be fostered with Victoria Velinski in September of 2011.  Victoria took to calling her Go-Go, after the character in Kill Bill, because of her aggression.   Female buns, particularly those from less-than-ideal backgrounds, can be VERY cage-protective.

Spring in the garden!

With some stability and patience in her living environment, she has made loads of progress.  She is still very opinionated, usually announcing her arrival in a room with an emphatic THUMP!  But she is also quite social with the animals she shares her foster home with - she likes to play tag with her kitty friends and even gets along well with their large Bernese Mountain Dog!  She can run hot-and-cold as far as other rabbits are concerned, but perhaps she just hasn't met the right guy yet.

Queen of the Castle

Of course, a woman needs her own space.  Dora is still picky about how her cage is arranged, but as long as you open it and let her leave on her own first,  you can clean it without being molested.  Just remember that once you're done, she is going to want some time to move and chin everything back to exactly the way she wants it.  Can you really blame her?  Would you want your living room rearranged every few days?

She will tolerate being picked up, as long as her butt is properly supported, and will even give bunny-kisses!  She is also quite the mountain-goat, once surprising Victoria from the top of the piano.

This confident bungirl is going to need someone who understands that at the age of 4 she has her own ideas about things and wants to be able to do things her own way.  She demands respect, but with her around life will certainly never be boring!

Dora is available for adoption.

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Leap(ing) Year!

We had a great month of adoptions in the month of February.
Here are some of the cats and bunnies who found their forever homes in February:

 

Venetia

Venetia was found in some pretty rough shape. She had were patches of fur missing from her back, scabs all over her body, a small hard nodule just beneath her skin on her shoulder (later found to be a BB pellet), and a damaged left eye.  Now she sleeps in her new momma's bed and greets their 5 year-old with headbutts every morning!

Popeye

Highway

Popeye made a love connection on Valentines Day with a family who originally came in looking for a rabbit!  This charmer managed to change their minds.  (Hint hint - he gets along GREAT with bunnies....)



Little Highway was just a baby when he was found dumped on Dempster Street in Skokie, with a bad case of coccidia.  With time, loving care, and proper treatment he recovered, got his neuter, and now has a home of his own.

Swatch

Rolex

Swatch and Rolex have been Red Door buns from birth!  (Their mother Blossom was pregnant when she was rescued)   They have great homes now, but their brother Poke Chop will be ready for adoption soon.

Mr. Peppermint got to spend some quality time with Toni before finding his forever home.  Now this cuddly big boy is named Louie and he loves to tooth-purr for his new people.




Sir Paul was adopted by a single mom, and is really enjoying having the space to run and binky!  He's still a bit shy of his new people, but they are being patient with him and he should settle in just fine.

Congratulations to our latest Red Door Alumni!

We've got our love to keep us warm!

As Valentine's Day approaches, we thought we'd take the time to share the story of one of Red Door's most devoted couples, Alice and Jasper.

This Californian brother and sister pair are often shy with people, but are absolutely devoted to each other.  They were rescued together, when one of them fell down a basement window well and the other refused to leave their side.  While they look very much alike, they have very distinct personalities.
 
Alice is definitely "large and in charge", and is likely to be the first to investigate new places or people.    Jasper is a bit of a doofy boy, who loves his food but definitely loves his sister.  Alice is also slightly larger, and her markings are slightly lighter and more grey than her brother's.  Like all siblings, they squabble and fuss sometimes, especially at mealtimes - we all know that the kale is always greener in the other bunny's mouth!  But at the end of the day, it's clearly a case of "you and me against the world".

Californians get their lovely white color and size from their New Zealand White ancestors, their deep soft coats from a dash of Chinchilla rabbit, and their colored "points" from their Himalayan cousins.  This color pattern, called acromelanism, is also found in Siamese and Himalayan cats.  These markings change over time in response to temperature conditions.

In one of their recent foster homes, Jasper and Alice spent most of their time in the kitchen, which was the warmest room of the house.  The color change from day to day was very subtle, but it was not until they went through their next shed that the dramatic color change was visible.

A few short weeks later, POOF!

Alice and Jasper are currently in a foster home, where their mom says that they have returned to their former dark-eared state. 

Won't you consider giving this devoted pair a forever home, and their own Hoppily Ever After?

Jade 9/20/2010

Many volunteers over the years at Red Door know and remember Jade the cat. Originally Jade came to Red Door in 2004, after living on the streets and being cared for over a year by a woman. Potential adopters visiting the shelter over the years were always drawn to her because she was very striking and beautiful. However, Jade was always a bit of a wall flower, very sweet once you get to know her, but very shy to start with. For that reason, Jade was overlooked by adopters time and again for over 6 years.

Back in April, staff at Red Door discovered some tumors on Jade's underside. After having them removed by our vet Dr. Gia, she did a biopsy, and the results came back positive for cancer. The doctor speculated that even though we had caught the tumor, most likely the cancer had metastasized and spread. She said Jade most likely had weeks to months left to live, and it would be great if we could find a hospice foster home for the time she had left.

A family did step forward and offered to care for Jade during her last days. They provided over 4 months of love, attention, and care for Jade. They reported that Jade was frequently run throughout the house and loved to play. As you can see in her picture, she was absolutely content in her new home.

Sadly, Jade passed away yesterday. However, we can celebrate the fact that she was able to live in peace and happiness, as every animal should, for a brief time in her life. It really goes to show how living in a loving home environment can change any cats personality. So remember to give that shy or special needs animal a second look next time you're thinking of adopting...you could be looking at a wall flower turned social butterfly.

Special thanks to Jade's foster family and to all of Red Door's foster providers for the work they do everyday. We wouldn't be able to do it without you.

Coraline: From foster to adopt

Many volunteers at Red Door are familiar with Coraline, the cute little cat who showed up on our door one day with four newborn kittens. All of her offspring had been adopted, and Coraline still waited. Finally a lovely couple came along interested in adopting Coraline, but they had some reservations. One of them had experienced allergies to cats in the past, and wanted to be sure that adopting a cat wouldn't worsen those allergies. So they decided to try fostering Coraline first, to see if their allegies became an issue, and also to make sure that Coraline was the right fit for them. Needless to say, and as you can see from the photo, they felt Coraline was a wonderful fit (and she agreed), and the foster parents reported no allergy flare ups. The couple was more than thrilled with her, and they decided to move ahead with the adoption.

Fostering is a great way to try out an animal, especially if you're unsure if the animal is the right fit for your home, or if you're concerned about any issues. The process is very similar to that of adoption, though it's not as permanent. That way, if it doesn't work out with the animal for some reason, they can come back to the shelter, and we can say that they got a nice vacation from the shelter. Of course, everyone's hope is that it does work out in the end, and that their story ends the same as Coraline's.

Of course, some volunteers foster animals, long term or short term, for a variety of reasons. Some foster just to give the animal a break from the shelter, some foster because it helps to create space for more animals at the shelter, some foster because a home environment is always more enjoyable for an animal than a shelter environment, some foster for terminally ill animals or animals with medical conditions, etc. The reasons are infinite. Please consider opening your home to foster an animal in need.

Match.rabbit

I was describing the process of adoption to a friend, who remarked that it was like dating... which inspired me to write up a profile for Elenor in online dating style. Enjoy!



Name: Elenor Rigby. Yes, after the Beatles song. Yes, spelled differently. I go by Elenor.

Age: A lady never tells. But I am quite grown up.

Fur color: White. Very soft, if I do say so myself.
Eye color: A very attractive red and pink combo.

Weight: Healthy/Athletic.

Perfect first date: Approach me quietly. No clumping feet or loud friendly greetings, please! I like to get to know people slowly -- I'm shy at first, but I open up eventually if you give me time.

Likes: Music, including but not limited to the Beatles. I love it when my human plays the guitar. Carpeting that I can run around on. Massages behind the ears and on the forehead. Anything chewy. My human's Complete Works of William Shakespeare was especially delicious.

Dislikes: I'm not wild about dogs. When my human watches a movie or TV and a dog barks in the background, I freeze.

Conversation: I do occasionally tooth-rub and grunt, but I'm not a big talker.

Favorite foods: Curly parsley and pears. I even ate part of an orange peel that my human unwisely left sitting out, with no ill effects.

A typical day: Eat, sleep, get petted, eat, sleep, run around, explore, get petted, eat, sleep.

A new kind of carrier

How many rabbits can you fit in a guitar case?

At least one.



Elenor had a good time exploring everything in her foster home recently. It was tough getting a good photo -- she wouldn't stop moving!

Meet Elenor

I got a new foster rabbit yesterday. Elenor's a large albino rabbit with the classic pink eyes and white fur. She'll get me ready for that Alice in Wonderland movie that's coming out! She was a bit nervous at first, but seems to be settling in -- loves to be scratched behind the ears and is always, always looking for a treat.

I've actually never had a rabbit this large. You probably can't get the scale from the photo, but I think her ears are almost five inches long. Her fur is also much thicker than most albinos', which makes her lots of fun to pet.

I'm thankful to have her, and she's probably thankful to have a break from the shelter, so happy Thanksgiving to Elenor... and to all of you!

Inside the mind of a rabbit

People who aren't familiar with rabbits as pets are always asking me what they do. Do they do tricks? Are they fun to play with? Do they know their names?

It's a little hard to answer some of these, though they are definitely fun to play with. Rabbits vary widely, just like dogs and cats. I had one foster rabbit who was incredibly responsive to commands. He would come running at top speed when you called, jump up on the couch when you patted it, and even stand up to "kiss" your cheek when you offered it. I don't know if he understood the words so much as the context and gestures, but he definitely understood.

My current foster bunny, Avery, isn't quite that responsive, but I can't tell if it's because he doesn't want to listen or doesn't know. One thing he definitely knows is the word "no." He quickly learned that the sound of the refrigerator opening or a knife hitting a chopping block often leads to food! But he also had to learn that it could lead to disappointment, when I walk out of the kitchen saying, "No, Avery. No. People food." "No" also means "stop chewing!" Avery is a bit of a chewer, so I do have to keep an eye on him when I let him out. (It's very easy to bunny-proof the key things against chewing, though, and they don't chew randomly.) As with most animals, bribery works very well to get them to move around when words fail. Bits of apple or carrot are all the communication you need sometimes!

I sometimes wish I knew what Avery was thinking. For example, he doesn't mind me playing the guitar, but he does mind A LOT when I walk past him holding it. I've gotten into the habit of keeping my body between the guitar and the pen when I have to move it around. My best guess is that he sees some weird object approaching (not human-shaped) and doesn't know what it is, so he gets scared. I've noticed this a couple of times when I'm carrying other large things. I'm just glad he can stand to listen to me play!

Track star

I let Avery out of his pen for the first time on this visit last night. He's a very active rabbit, and even though the pen is big, I notice that he's much happier if he gets at least a good run in. It's been a while since I last fostered him, so he had to investigate the room thoroughly last night while I kept one eye on him to make sure that he wasn't chewing anything he shouldn't. Once he had nosed his way around, including the space between the DVD player and the TV, he took off on a sprint around the perimeter of the room. Behind the TV, over the wires, behind the radiator, under the sofa, through the clear space past the door, and a grand finale by surfing his way the length of my guitar case. Hilarious.

There was quite a bit of slipping and sliding in the run, because I don't have carpeting. Active rabbits LOVE a good gallop on something that gives their furry paws some friction. Still, Avery doesn't seem to mind as long as he gets to explore!

Introducing Avery

This is Avery, one of Red Door's special needs animals. Avery is an active, adorable Dutch rabbit with an enlarged heart, so he gets drops twice a day. But aside from that, he's just a normal bunny, eager to be out and exploring, and always looking for a treat. He's lucky that it's apple season right now, and he's getting all of my pear peelings and apple cores!

I'm Heidi, and I'm fostering Avery right now to give him a break from the shelter. Even though Red Door's facilities, staff, and volunteers are great, it's a nice change for some of the rabbits who have been there for a while to get more individual attention and a quieter environment with no other animals around. I'll be posting some updates on him to help give a little look into the life of a foster bunny. Don't forget, Red Door also has cats and dogs, and even the occasional farm bird!

Goliath Gets a Big Send-off to New Home

Goliath is a medium-sized dog with a big heart. He was rescued from someone who could no longer care for him. And he deserved a better life--before he was crated all the time and given little love and attention. Red Door was happy to take in Goliath (we don't know wehre he got that name!) and a wonderful foster family welcomed him into their home. Thanks to your support, our work, and wonderful photographs by Sheri Berliner at petraits.com, Goliath found the home of his dreams.

Here are a few shots of Goliath outside the shelter, both with his foster family and his adopter. Happy New Home, Goliath!

Consider becoming a Red Door Foster Home

There are a lot of great animals at Red Door that could use a "break" from shelter life. A couple of our cats, Gerri & Brenna, for example have been putting on a lot of weight and could use a foster home that would be able to encourage play and excercise. We are also always looking for foster homes for many of our rabbits, and potential foster homes for any dogs that find their way to Red Door. Check out the website or call the shelter for more details!

Baby Bunnies Need Foster Homes!

Doting rabbit mother Jacqueline came to Red Door on June 6th, with her brood of two-hour-old babies. Now those babies are weaned and old enough to go to a foster home until they can be fixed and adopted. Do you have any room for a small bunny or two? We guarantee that Panda, Ling-Ling, Dominino, Kit, Shay, or Squiggy will make you smile for the brief time one or two of them stay with you. We have cages, litter boxes, etc., to loan to fosterers.

Oh, and just because a couple of the rabbits are Cubs fans, future foster homes don't have to be!