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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Hoppily Ever After

Some rabbits have a long road to travel to find their Hoppily Ever After.  Here is Greg's story:

Greg originally came to Red Door in July of 2005. He was transferred from Anti-Cruelty Society and spent the next 6 months in our care. In January of 2006, he was adopted and bonded to a beautiful female named Grace.  Greg and Grace had several happy years together, but he lost his love in 2011.  In the midst of his grief, his "family" had to move to Hawaii.  Because of concerns about invasive species, it is very difficult to bring many pets to Hawaii.

Back at Red Door in 2011

But a Red Door Rabbit is a Red Door Rabbit for life, so Greg came back to us in September of 2011.  He was obviously sad and depressed, and was  also overweight.  One of our Board Members, Lee Kidd, agreed to foster Greg while we again began to search for a home for him.

What Greg didn't know was that he had angels on the horizon.  Keith and Amy had recently lost their bunny, Gelato, at the age of 8 1/2.  After some time, they decided to bring another bun into their lives, so they contacted Red Door.  "We knew it would be harder to find a home for an older bunny, and wanted to be able to spoil one who had been a little down on his luck recently."

Keith and Amy met several buns on their visit.  "Greg seemed very timid and sat quietly and stared straight ahead most of the time we were there, but when we were ready to go he turned and looked at us and seemed to connect with us a little bit.  A few days later we asked to be able to spend time with him separately and spent about two hours with him.  During that time he seemed curious and smart and warmed up a little bit.  He was reluctant to be petted but tried to chew Amy's shoe, so we knew he was feistier than he appeared.   He seemed to like the willow ball we gave him, and seemed willing to spend time with us.  We decided that, in his own way, he was letting us know he wanted to come home with us."

 "We were expecting an older bunny to be more laid back and cautious. But within a few hours of being home, Greg had explored most of our condo, had already figured out that the basket of bunny toys we gave him belonged to him, and had claimed his favorite lounging areas. Greg quickly got on a routine of spending time in a cage at night, in a playpen during the day, and wherever he wants to be when we're home. He is very well litter box trained and didn't have any difficulties at all.

Greg definitely still has some trust issues -- he does not want to be picked up -- but is becoming more comfortable with being petted. He is also scared when he hears a loud noise -- even loud music for a commercial on TV can be enough for him to take off and hide until he decides it's not a predator. We know 7 years is a long time to develop habits, but hope over the next several months he will continue to grow more comfortable in his forever home."

Professor Greg enjoys a quiet read

At nearly 8 years of age, Greg isn't exactly an Olympic-level binkier, but he's certainly enjoying his new life with his new family. He enjoys racing around the coffee table, playing with his toys, and lounging on the living room rug for an evening of TV. ('Law and Order' is a particular favorite)

"When he puts his mind to something, he tends to achieve it. You can tell when he is thinking about his next project -- he will sit and stare at something (the couch, for example), then stands on his back legs to study it further, and then finally -- when he thinks no one is looking -- he hops up onto it and claims his spot.

Sorry, Keith.  It's my chair now!

He has done this with all of our chairs, the couch, the back of the couch, and even our TV stand. When Keith was gone for a weekend recently, Greg seized the opportunity to occupy Keith's favorite chair and seemed quite pleased with himself.

So while there is no denying the appeal of a cute baby bunny, there are a lot of reasons to consider adopting an older rabbit. If they have spent time in foster care, you can find out a lot about their personality and habits, so you have a good idea of what you are getting into.  You won't need to worry about basic litterbox training.  But nothing beats the feeling of knowing that you are giving somebunny a second chance at happiness. 

Adopt a Dog in Chicago Area - This Chocolate Lab Has Zero Calories!

Weatherby may have a very proper British-sounding name, but he's still just a happy chocolate lab looking for a home. He's house-trained, knows sit, loves people, is dog-friendly; he could benefit from some training on how to walk on a leash. And we know he'd love a yard or regular exercise!

Please consider adopting Weatherby. This is one helping of chocolate that's non-fat.