April 2010

The •
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New Facebook pages
Buddy bunny – face of Easter
Bunny lover’s get-together

Bunologist •
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Melbourne Rabbit Cinic seminar
Adopt me! – bunnies in need of a
home
Health scare: GI stasis
Your FREE monthly rabbit newsletter • Life at the Do Hop Inn
brought to you by BOING • Rabbits: their part in my downfall
(Rex)
To join, visit www.scribd.com/bunologist
or www.boingonline.com

What’s New? Melbourne

Facebook pages of interest bunny lover’s
get-together
Say NO to rabbit on Masterchef
BOING started up this group prior to the When: Sunday 11 April
new series of Masterchef starting up in
the next few weeks. We are happy to say Where: BOING headquarters – The Do Hop
that the group already has over 670 Inn (location is no longer Vegie Bar)
supporters & is growing every day. We
hope that we will get lots more people
joining & expressing their disgust as Time: 1-5pm
cooking shows that promote rabbit as
food. What: Afternoon tea (homemade cakes,
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=10903906 bikkies & drinks)
5782072
Bring: photos of your bunnies (and any
Radical Rabbit
Radical Rabbit is a group started up to newspapers you don’t need)
fight against rabbit abuse. This group is
concerned with the horrific treatment of Leave behind: real bunnies!
rabbits in all areas: factory farming,
cosmetic and scientific experiments, fur If you would like to attend the Bunny Lover’s get-together,
& neglected as pets please email askboing@hotmail.com for address details.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=367977773121

Buddy bunny - the face of Easter

http://www.examiner.com/x-1513-Philadelphia-Animal-Advocate-
Examiner~y2010m3d30-Easter-bunny-saved-by- www.melbournerabbitclinic.com
AWAVoorhees?cid=channel-rss-Pets
Keep up to date with information from The Melbourne
This little Lionhead bunny was
Rabbit Clinic on their Facebook page.
found in a park with deep puncture
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=374
wounds. Considered the cruel act
639009870
of someone letting him go after he
was not wanted anymore, Buddy
was not thought to survive his The Melbourne Rabbit Clinic has moved
horrific injuries. The vets at the New address: 745 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully
Animal Welfare Association worked hard & he fortunately New phone number: (03) 9758 9879
pulled through. Buddy’s recovery is still ongoing but he
was the new face of rabbit care at the AWA’s shelter over FREE bunny seminar – 22 April 2010
Easter to remind people to do their homework before they 7pm @ Quest Apartments (Panorama room), Wantirna
adopt a rabbit. Please call 9758 9879 to book your place.
Adopt me! Health Scare: GI stasis
By myhouserabbit.com
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/my-house-rabbits-bunny-
***LOUISE NEEDS A HOME*** blog.html
Louise
Location: Melbourne We’ve had a very
Contact: Stacey smg.plentyvalley@Petbarn.com.au scary last few days
here. Cosette had
to go to the
emergency vet
Since we last over the weekend
advertised Louise she because she had
has been de-sexed stopped eating and
and vaccinated and pooping and looked
recovered from both quite hunched.
with no problems. After an x-ray, the
vet found that her
Another plus is that stomach was
she is now fully toilet trained indoors. extremely
distended and she
She has had a trial visit with a young working couple and had two large gas
their rabbit Lucy which didn't work out as Lucy was not bubbles. The
happy to share with Louise which was stressful for the diagnosis was GI stasis, and her prognosis was guarded.
lovely Louise.
A dental exam showed that her molars were unevenly
She is as affectionate and inquisitive as ever, LOVES head worn, which most likely led to her digestive issues. They
scratches more than any other rabbit I've ever met and is filed her teeth that night, and during her stay at the vet’s,
quite happy to interact with other small animals (including she received motility medication, pain medication, IV fluids,
rabbits who are friendly. and force feeding of Critical Care.

Louise has also started to really play with her toys - she
loves throwing egg carton pieces and carrot toss toys about
and scampers through her tunnels with them like a little
dog, very cute!
She really just needs a loving and attentive home now.
If you are interested in Louise, please contact Stacey at
smg.plentyvalley@Petbarn.com.au
Galaxy
Location: Melbourne
Contact: Wylyn ourlittlesecrets-23@hotmail.com
Galaxy, although timid due to
constant chasing by our other two
bunnies, is a gentle, sweet, kind
hearted bunny.
She constantly tries her best to get
close to the other two, and she
never fights back.
We would love Galaxy to find a
better home so she can have her
own bunny friend who'll love her, as
she's a very loving and friendly bunny.
Galaxy is an indoor bunny and we are looking for a home
where she will stay indoors. Galaxy is currently
undesexed.
If you are interested in any of these bunnies, please
contact Wylyn at ourlittlesecrets-23@hotmail.com
Sunday morning, her condition had worsened, and the vet
was not optimistic about her chances of survival. With dull,
droopy eyes, a hunched, tense posture, and a visibly
bloated stomach, Cosette looked like she was experiencing
a lot of pain.
Sunday evening, she started perking up a little, and she
managed to eat a little on her own and finally excreted
some soft stool. We brought in more greens and she ate
some cilantro with encouragement by us. This morning,
she excreted formed stools and had more of an appetite,
so she was allowed to come home this evening. Coco was
very excited his friend was finally back.
We will continue her motility medication for the next few
days, and if necessary, we may need to continue syringe
feeding Critical Care to supplement her diet as well. She is
not quite back to her old self at this point. She doesn’t have
quite the appetite, and her stools are quite small. But I was
pleasantly surprised that her litterbox habits appeared to
remain in tact, despite having quite a stressful weekend.
(And of course, that she was actually going to the bathroom
again, and her digestive system was active again.)
I wanted to share this story so that other people could learn
from our scary experience. For example, it’s so important
for your bunny to get regular checkups, including an oral
examination. Even rabbits with a hay-based diet, who show
no signs of pain, can have molar spurs. And this condition
can lead to potentially deadly conditions like GI stasis. For
more information about GI stasis, see Dana Krempel’s
article, GI Stasis: the silent killer
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
Life at The Do Hop Inn
By Karen
Easter time means quite a few boarding buns coming to
stay for the holidays. Some old friends & some new
friends coming to stay at the Do Hop Inn. It’s always
fabulous to see such loved house buns!!
As we were expecting holiday buns coming to stay, there
was a need to move some of our own buns around a little
to free up space. It turned out to be a good idea! Cleaning
up & moving things around was a very therapeutic
exercise!!
Molly moved into Ally’s room into a new enclosure. Our
attempts to introduce Ally & Tinkerbelle doesn’t seem to be
a great match so Molly’s new addition to the room is
already making a difference to Ally. I think they might get
along in the future!! (fingers crossed xx)
Princess had a room makeover! Her room will never be
photographed for a glossy magazine cover but it’s looking
pretty good (in our opinion) and is much more human &
Princess friendly. Kitty’s also moved into Princess’s room
(into a new enclosure) and she loves her new spot (fresh
air & sunshine) – so she couldn’t be happier!
I thought that Kitty & Princess would be so unhappy living
next to each (even with a heavy barrier between them) but
they have been really great. Neither is angry or upset and
both lie next to each other. There’s been a bit of nibbling
of the barrier but I was completely surprised. Both buns,
known to be both angry girls, are really enjoying having a
neighbour to chat with. I still wouldn’t introduce them in
person – we sadly know they would tear each other apart!
Poppy’s been on the rampage again chewing a hole in the
couch and wreaking havoc on anything else she can find.
Dingleberry & Nimal have a snuggle together
Dingleberry has a weepy eye we have been trying to fix for
quite a while. It doesn’t seem to be anything teeth related
but it’s her “uppy” eye (she has a head tilt) so we have to
make sure that her good eye stays healthy.
Rabbits: their part in my
downfall
By Nimal
Rex (adopted September 2009)
This was one of the more pathetic episodes of bunny
surrendering that we have experienced. Karen was asked
on an online forum to give advice to a girl who thought that
her six-year-old rabbit had severe dental problems. The
thing was, the girl’s mother wouldn’t let her take the bunny
to the vet.
Okay, that was pretty poor, but surely something could be
done. Could we pick up the bunny from her house and take
it to the vet on her behalf? No, her mother wouldn’t allow
strangers to come to the house. Well, then, could they bring
the bunny to our house and then pick it up after we had
taken it to the vet? No, her mother would not allow it!
So why exactly was the mother forbidding veterinary
treatment for this bunny? Because being seen to have an
animal in poor condition might reflect badly on her! How
pathetic is that?
As is often the case with issues like this on a forum, there
was plenty or wringing of hands and expressions of
sympathy but precious few offers of help. The girl was
becoming frantic, convinced that her bunny was suffering
and would die if not helped, while the mother’s tyrannical
outbursts were apparently becoming more and more
extreme.
And then there was a strange twist to the story. Karen had
assumed that this poor girl, who was so completely at the
mercy of her ogre of a mother, must be a young schoolgirl.
But now it transpired that she was in fact a 20-year-old uni
student! Karen was flabbergasted. Imagine being an adult
and being so badly bossed about by your mother that your
pet had to die because she said you couldn’t take it to the
vet!
Now thoroughly exasperated, Karen offered to take the
bunny off the girl’s hands if she would contribute to his
neutering and dental treatment costs. This offer was
accepted. Karen asked for the address so that she could
pick up the bunny. Oh, that’s right, no strangers allowed.
So now we had to give out our address so that this horrible
woman could bring her daughter around to surrender her
rabbit!
So Rex arrived at our place, a very cute little Netherland
boy. The daughter sheepishly handed over Rex while the
mother sat in the car (she did eventually attempt a
pleasantry, to which Karen returned a frosty response).
The first thing we noticed about Rex was that he had very
odd front feet. Both of them pointed out to the right at a
distinct angle, which the girl explained was due to him
having “dislocated a leg” when he got caught up in the bars
of his enclosure trying to jump out of it. The enclosure in
question came with Rex and it was so small that at first we
thought it was a rather large carry cage. Only later did we
realise that this must be the thing that Rex had lived in for
the last six years. No wonder he’d tried to jump out! And
now his teeth had gone to pot…or had they?
Anyway, after a few weeks of living in adjacent enclosures,
the two of them finally met face to face in our lounge room.
Predictably, Tessa took one look at Rex and fled in the
opposite direction. Predictably, Rex was fascinated and
took off after her. And here the unforeseen advantage of
Rex’s dickey feet became apparent: he could chase after
Tessa all he liked, but he couldn’t catch up with her! Tessa
would disappear round the back of the armchair and Rex
would look disappointed at having let her get away, but then
she would appear again from the other side and he would
shuffle towards her again only for her to scarper away
again, but then look! There she was again! And so on and
so forth… Their first date was a game of hide and seek that
gave Rex and Tessa the best exercise they’d had in ages!
Along the way, Tessa eventually realised that Rex was not
a threat to her and now they are a most charming couple.
And when the evening meal of tasty fresh green leaves
arrives, Tessa is all over it in a flash. She has to be – Sexy
Rexy loves his salad and there’s nothing wrong with his
teeth!

When we submitted Rex to a veterinary check it turned out

that his teeth were actually okay! Naturally, this made us
wonder about the fuss and hysteria leading up to his
surrender. Why would this girl have thought that his teeth
were a problem? He was eating his greens and eating his
hay – what more could you want? As for his feet, he had
obviously suffered a fracture that had healed wonky and
over time the other foot had bent to the same angle to
compensate.

We weren’t particularly fond of the name Rex and were

tempted to make a change, but in the end we stuck with it Tessie (top) and Sexy Rexy (bottom) snuggling
because we had got into the habit of calling him “Sexy
Rexy” in reference to this undesexed boy’s masculine
ways. “Squirty Bertie” and “Humping Humphrey” would
also have been appropriate. Actually, he was not nearly as
disgusting as some other intact males we have known (and
then there are the rabbits…)

In fact, Rex was just about the cutest little guy you could
hope to meet. He would run over to you as quickly as his
deformed feet could carry him, his chubby little face looking
up in expectation of a pat. You’d think the girl bunnies
would be queuing up to be his special friend, but that would
be wishful thinking indeed given the unrivalled collection of
uptight, aggressive individuals that makes up the BOING
ensemble of single female rabbits!

Consider this for a portfolio of available girls: Princess

(“The Beast”), Dingleberry (“Killer”), Molly (“Monster”), Kitty
(“The Feral Peril”), Tinkerbelle (“Madame Lash”), Lulu
(“Loony”), Izzy (“The Tank”) and Poppy (“Destructo-Bun”).
In short, we had on our books a collection of viragos that
would strike fear into the heart of any bunny bachelor!

Fortunately, we had one more option: Tessa. It’s not so

much that she was an obvious and perfect candidate for
Rex, but more that she seemed the one least likely to rip
his head off. I have to admit I was skeptical. Tessa was
such an odd little misfit; I couldn’t figure her out at all. And
that thing about her not liking greens – what kind of rabbit
doesn’t like greens?