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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Here Is What NOT To Do...

For the second time this week, a box has been left at the front door with an animal inside. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time unfortunately. However, both times, the animal that was inside escaped and the box was empty by the time the staff came in the morning. One of the animals was recovered by someone, the other unfortunately has not been found. If you find an animal, or know someone who has, please do NOT leave it at an animal shelter after hours. Aside from the animal possibly escaping and running into traffic (Red Door is located near a very busy intersection & alleyway), many times left without food or water, the animal is also exposed to the elements outside including rain, heat, snow, predators, insects, and even people who may want to do the animal harm. Also, leaving an animal at any shelter in the city other than Chicago Animal Care and Control is considered animal abandonment and is punishable by law. Understandably, people think they're doing the right thing, or may not know where else to turn.
So what should I do with an animal I find outside after hours? If you can house the animal overnight (spare bedroom, bathroom, etc) you can contact area animal shelters in the morning to check on availability. If you absolutely cannot keep the animal overnight and it's after hours, you can contact Chicago Animal Care and Control, who by law must take any stray animals for a holding period.

Rabbits Helping Community Gardens

Like all the Red Door rabbits, Aries is working hard for the Humboldt Park Community Garden. The shelter bunnies have been donating their hay boxes--after a hard day's workout as a litterbox--to the gardeners.

Aries, who was left in a plastic container at the door, is a happy, helpful rabbit ready for adoption. If you're not ready to adopt, please consider making a donation to Red Door's 10th Anniversary Celebration Gimme Shelter! Walk for the Animals.

You can find information and a secured donation page at reddoorshelter.org

Hooray for Savannah!!

After a year at Red Door, a failed relationship and a few foster homes, Savannah the dwarf is finally bonded and adopted! She met her new husbun, aptly named Bun, last Sunday. Thursday morning I received this message:

"I am very pleased to report that Savannah and Bun are officially
bonded! Things changed this afternoon when they cuddled and
groomed each other! Bun even let Savannah have her way with him.
Her Humpalump (Savvy's stuffed guinea pig toy) seemed to bring
them together. It started with Bun grooming Humpalump, and then
Savannah. Thank you for everything! Both bunnies seem
very happy."

Thank you to all the volunteers who help turn Savvy from a sassy dwarf (is that redundant?) into a sweet princess.

Clooney Disapproves!

Clooney, adopted from Red Door, makes the Disapproving Rabbits web site! He disapproves of the whole thing, particularly that he is a "Clooney Eclipse." Read all about disapproving rabbits at http://www.disapprovingrabbits.com/2008/04/clooney.html