Bugs Bunny?

Wikipedia Bugs

He was a cartoon character who showed up in 1940 and did lots of carrot eating. You can see the image I borrowed from wikipedia and read all about this zany and resilient fantasy bunny.

Heartland Rabbit Rescue now has their own resident Bugs Bunny. He came to us because of a reported allergy to rabbits. Someone had bought him at an auction but then couldn't keep him because of the allergy.

Heartland's Bugs isn't a cartoon character yet he brings as many smiles and laughs as the entertainer because of his exuberant personality and his physical antics.

Heartland Bugs

As you can see...he's a beauty on the outside and I can assure that his personality is just as excellent. He's a youngster and appears to be still growing. He's always interested in having his head caressed and comes as close to dancing when putting on a binky show as any bunny can. He's a happy fellow and it's almost impossible to be around him without having a smile appear or a laugh. Thanks Bugs, you remind us everyday that the joy of living belongs to every being.

He's a big practitioner of the bunny stare. I've noticed that some buns have magical eyes and will focus  on the face of a human that they're interested in having them do something for them and they will send out some sort of bunny rays toward you until they get what they want. Bugs possess this magic power fully and it's almost impossible to avoid or ignore him when he turns on his magic generator.

Bugs investigating.

 Recently we took some bunnies in for medical attention and while there the vet asked if we could make room for a bunny that had been dumped outside the clinic. Yep, humans dump bunnies (which is essentially a death sentence) all the time and these humans dumped a baby bunny right at the vets...after having approached the personnel there wanting to know if anyone took unwanted bunnies and having been given information about  and contact info for Heartland. Apparently that was too much trouble so...abandoned bunny.

BB the abandoned bunny.

Here she is, and while she (we think she) has colorings that aren't quite as pronounced as those of Bugs, they're similar enough that she may end up being named BB (Baby Bugs). We're guessing she's about 3 months old and is very friendly and tolerant of humans.

This month marks my 3rd full year of retirement from doing stuff full-time to get money. Since then I've spent several hours a day for 5 or 6 days a week out at the rescue. I've pretty much focused on bunny house cleaning (including potty boxes) and getting the bunny people outside so they can enjoy their planet and play or dig or nosh on tasty plants.

On a given day usually 10 to 15 potty boxes will get emptied, hosed out, splashed with white vinegar and then scrubbed out, rinsed, air dried and then refilled with hardwood pellets and returned to a cleaned bunny enclosure. That means, conservatively (10 boxes per day times 5 days a week times 50 weeks a year times 3 years) that some 7,500 potty box cleanings have been accomplished. If you up the number per day to 15 that would mean over 11 thousand potty box cleanings. I was sort of surprised when I first ran the numbers. It's sort of cool how much gets done when you just stick to it. Like Woody Allen said, 80% of life is just showing up...that goes for getting clean areas for bunnies too. And by the way, my efforts are as nothing when compared to Jeannie and Brad (the director of HRR and her husband)...they've been at the bunny caring stuff for over 15 years. I can't even wrap my mind around all that they've done for the lagomorphs...and donkeys and little horses and ducks and Tag (resident cat) and sometimes a stray dog.

If you possibly can, please look into volunteering at a local rescue and/or sanctuary or at least donating funds to them. The amount of care (and expense) involved in looking after the refugees from human indifference or harm is simply unbelievable. And, go vegan if you haven't already. I can assure you that the rewards for helping and for living vegan far outweigh any that are available from the consumer society that surrounds us. Plus...we owe it to our fellow Earthlings...especially Bugs. :-)

(P.S. I'm really not trying to toot my own horn about the potty box numbers so please understand that...I'm wanting to show how much can get done with a little time and persistence and also to highlight the staggering amount of effort and attention and care that are involved in helping out the refugees we've created by our massive failures at being the "superior" species. Sometimes we end up doing things that are much more important and meaningful after we retire from active full-time "workforce" participation than we ever could imagine. Thanks.:-) )