Hello: Finn and I are new here!

[PocketFaeries]

Hello, Fellow Bunny Enthusiasts!

I am brand new here and am very much looking forward to learning more and sharing stories with you all.

I rescued a tiny bunny from horrible conditions just a few days ago, and have been busy getting him settled in and squared away comfortably in our home. I say "him," but the vet was unable to sex the bun bun properly because s/he is so young that the testicles would not have descended yet.  We will go back in a month for a gender check.    I did not think it suited this little one’s personality to go a month without a name, so we went ahead and named this friend "Finnegan Cupcake." Finn is received a clean bill of health at the vet, who commented that she was shocked to see such a beautiful bunny come from such ugly circumstances (I don’t want to drone on for too long, so I’m skipping the details but I’m happy to share if anyone is interested).

I joined another bunny forum a couple of days ago but it doesn’t seem very active so I’m hoping to connect more here at BinkyBunny!

I’m attaching some pictures of Finn, who fits in perfectly with our family of fuzzy friends! Finn is our only bunny at this time. We have three dogs, two sugar gliders, and seven beautiful koi in our pond.  They are not really our "pets," but our family members, LOL.  Finn is already adjusting quite nicely, I think, considering his/her origins.  S/he likes to snuggle on the couch while we watch TV, and seems to have already bonded…to our dogs!! We are supervising any interaction closely just to be sure, but it seems Finn thinks s/he is a doggie! LOL

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to getting to know you all. I’m sure I’ll have many inquisitive questions soon!

Love and Smiles,
Jen/PocketFaeries

 

 

 

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[angoralvr]

Finn is a very handsome rabbit! I am glad you saved him from whatever circumstances he was in. Glad to hear that s/he is fitting in well with your furkids.

[Sarita]

Welcome – I’m glad you rescued Finn from a horrible situation. She/he is adorable, I can tell she is happy to be with you.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome Jen! I’m glad that you found us and decided to join! We’re very glad to have you here what a cute bun Finn is! Finn looks like a hotot, is that what he/she is? I would like to know the background Finn came from, I think it would help to know too if you have any questions or beahavioral issues so we know in advance and can help you faster and perhaps guide you better.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Welcome to BB! I think you’ll find it helpful and welcoming here!

It was great of you to rescue the little bun! (S)he is soooo cute!

You’re also like the 7th person on this board named Jen!

[osprey]

Welcome to BB!  Your bunny is a total cutie, looks like he/she is getting the hang of the snuggling thing!

 

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome PocketFaeries! Finncup is so cute!! I am so glad that s/he now has a safe and loving home. What was his/her story?

[PocketFaeries]

Hi, everyone!

Thank you so much for the warm welcomes and the friendly enthusiasm for Finn…what a lovely group you all are!

Finn’s story is one that I was completely unaware of, and happened upon him by "accident."  My husband and I recently moved to this area and attended a county fair that is held nearby to our home.  It was seemingly all fine and good, and we were walking around just enjoying the evening.   I caught sight of a game booth where there were a lot of people crowded around.  It was a kiddie pool with large plastic mallard ducks floating in it.  The game was a challenge to throw these large, hard plastic rings around the heads of the ducks.  I saw all this commotion and got closer to the booth.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that there were about 40 or more live bunnies crammed into this game pen.  If you get a ring around a duck head, you win the "prize" of a horrible galvanized wire "cage" that was less than a foot by a foot.  For one dollar more, you "win" the bunny to go in the cage.

I have seen goldfish given away as prizes at fairs before, but in my life, I had no idea that bunnies could be just handed out like they were stuffed animals or candy the way that they were here. Granted, the game is very hard, but if you win, you take a bunny home…no questions asked.

The floor of the pen was dirt and a little bit of plain yellow hay around the edges, but hardly any. There were a few food stations, and one dirty water station, but with 40 bunnies, there is no way they could all possibly get to the food properly in this small of a space.  Worse yet, the game attendant was smoking and dropping his cigarette butts onto the ground (I’m not sure…has tobacco and ash been added to a balanced bunny diet without me realizing it?).  There was extremely loud rock music blaring through speakers at the game station, AND live music super loud from the band stage.  People were screaming all around on rides, and the noise levels were outrageous for any baby animal.  Worst of all, there were gobs of children crowded around the short pen wall, reaching in and *literally* poking, prodding, and grabbing at the bunnies, who looked perfectly terrified.  I saw children picking up bunnies by whatever part they could grab…ears, paws, tails, anything. Some mean-spirited teens were actually buying rings to toss for the game, and intentionally throwing them AT the live bunnies and laughing if it made them run or hit them!  These bunnies were absolutely horrified, and were trying to hide in corners but there WAS nowhere to hide.  They were crammed in one on top of each other huddling and you could just see the worry in their eyes.  The attendant was stumbling over the bunnies when he walked, pushing them out of the way with his foot at times.

I did not know whether to be outraged or to just cry.  I knew I would be talking with the people who run the fair to prevent this for NEXT year, but in the meantime, these poor bunnies were here NOW and I just kept thinking "I’ve got to get at least one of them out of here!"  I do NOT agree with the ethics of supporting this type of activity, but I felt that I was between a rock and a hard place. These bunnies got no quality interaction with people, and health and dietary conditions were deplorable.  I told my husband to play the game and see if he could win.  Then we could rescue at least one little bun.   He bought 20 rings for $5 and missed every time.  I did not know what to do…I just could not leave without helping one bunny.  I stepped away, said a little prayer up to the universe, and said, "okay, look: I am volunteering to rescue one of these bunnies and give him a good forever home with me, but I cannot possibly get a ring around a duck head by myself. If you will get the ring on the duck head, I will take care of the bunny." 

I walked back, bought rings, and threw. I "won" on my third toss.  I spent an hour thereafter trying to "pick" one out of all of those poor bunnies. I felt so guilty that I couldn’t take them all. But I could take one.  It was Finn.  The attendant roughly picked Finn up, put him/her in this horrible, sharp edged homemade wire "cage", and handed him to me.  There was NO mention of the kind of responsibility a bunny takes (far more than a goldfish, indeed!), or any mention of food, a proper cage or pen setting, or anything else. I found myself wandering home with a bunny who was scared to death.  Finn did not eat, pee, or poop at ALL for 24 hours.  He seemed just frozen stiff with fear, and I worried that with the conditions he came from, there was no telling if s/he even GOT food or water. Finn was the littlest underdog of the group…I thought for sure he must’ve been lost trying to get to the food and water with so many rabbits competing for resources. I worried about dehydration and malnourishment. These rabbits seemed to get pellets and dirty water, and nothing else…no Timothy hay, no fresh food at all.

With a little TLC and patience, about 24 hours after arriving to our home, Finn began eating (voraciously) and a little poop came out. Then some pee,and within another 24 hours all voiding seemed on target.  The vet gave Finn a clean bill of health but could not yet confirm gender.

Finn now is fitting in beautifully, and seems SO happy already!   I actually found out later that there is another cruel game at that same fair (I didn’t see it…once I got focused on the rabbits that was it).  They have a "rat roulette" game where they spin this rat around over and over and it walks dizzied onto a section…and the people who "bet" on that section win prizes.  Thank goodness I didn’t see that one. I would have probably just kidnapped the rat, LOL!

Thanks a million for reading this long post. I just needed to vent to someone who understands.  I think a lot of people are misinformed about bunnies, and think they are just dehumanized "livestock" without feelings. I could *see* the sadness and fear in these bunnies’ eyes. I will be talking with the club who sponsors the fair as a fundraiser for their charity work. They are probably unaware of the cruelty of these animal games. I hope that they won’t look only at the fact that having cute bunnies sells a lot of game tickets.  I shudder to think about the bunnies who don’t get "won" (do they keep them in these horrid circumstances 24/7? Let them loose in the wild?), and shudder to think about when they do get "won" (by an impulsive child and an irresponsible parent)?

Finn is doing great, and I am so happy to have him in my life.   I would like to share more pictures but I am not sure of photo sizes…I’ll try to look it up!   Thanks again for "listening." Love and Smiles, Jen

 

[Sarita]

Wow, Jen, thank you for sharing Finn’s story. Do you have a humane society or something where you live that can help you in this endeavor for next year? if this fair is every year? It is probably somethng you won’t want to take on yourself and it would be good to get the humane society involved in your effort.

[PocketFaeries]

Hi, Sarita!  Yes…there is a wonderful Humane Society here and a close friend of mine is on their board of directors.  I will definitely be sharing the story with them and asking for their support in changing this aspect of the fair.   I know that they end up receiving…and euthanizing…many bunnies each year.  I am sure that bunnies impulsively "won" as prizes at a fair are prime candidates for ending up in their animal shelter after the novelty of a cute "instant" bunny wears off and the true responsibility of caring for a rabbit begins.

My hope is that the charity club will understand that the fair will be every bit as successful without these two games that are cruel to animals, and this way, it’s a win-win for everyone.  The fair does come every year, and the focus is a very positive message and end result: raising funds to help needy families and providing eye glasses and vision help to children, I believe.   So I will be an optimist for now, and spend time preparing with some research and facts on bunny rescue to help them understand how important this is.

I believe there is also a Northeast Georgia House Rabbit group of some sort (I am not familiar with them, though) and may find out if they have any statistics or helpful information to bring home the point.

[Deleted User]

my goodness, that poor little guy. I don’t know how I would have picked just one. What a great heart you have to rescue the little guy, who is adorable I might ad.

[Sarita]

That’s would be good to get both the Georgia HRS Chapter and Humane Society to join forces in this! Keep us updated – I’m sure everyone on the forum would be happy to help you with any ideas too if needed.

[PocketFaeries]

Now that you’ve heard the sad part of Finn’s origins, it’s time to see pics of the "happy beginning" (because this is just the beginning off little Finn’s life)!   Here we are taking a friendly nap on the couch.   Ignore the fact that you are "meeting" me while I sleep…LOL…it’s not a flattering pic of me, but it melts my heart to see this little bun bun snuggling in for a few zzzz’s!    If they will attach, there are other pics of Finn with my hubby and one of our beautiful doggies, who has taken a maternal role with Finn!

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[MooBunnay]

Hello & welcome to Binky Bunny!!

It is so fantastic of you to save little Finn = he is absolutely beautiful – he even looks like he coulld be an angora with that poofball fur he has! I like that last picture – it looks like little Finn is giving the dog the warning eye, like “watch out or I will thump you right on the nose” !

It must have been so hard to see all those bunnies at the fair – if it were me my boyfriend probably would have had to give me some type of serious tranquilizer to calm me down. He actually has to scan pet stores for me before I go in to make sure there are no animals inside because it will bring on a bout of tears I don’t even know what I would have done in that situation, but I am so glad you were able to at least save one bun. I’m almost positive that a Humane Society would put an end to that at once, I would get in touch with them ASAP, and if you need any kind of support I work with a rabbit rescue group here in Texas, and two in southern california who could definitely quickly distribute the link to an online petition or anything like that.

Give Finn a nice pet on the head for me – he’s one lucky bunny!

[Thumpers_Mom]

I am soooo glad that you were able to take in Finn and give him/her a happy life! Those poor bunnies…it just breaks my heart.

I’ve always been an animal lover, just never attached. So I couldn’t understand the attachment that my mom had for her doggies…like her children. After having been blessed with Thumper, I now know what that feeling is.  He is my third boy (albeit one I didn’t birth )

Thx for having a heart and helping the lil fella!

[Deleted User]

MooBunny I was thinking the same thing about that last pic. That is the glare look that I get from Coney. In the second pic he looks like a toy he is just so cute.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Jen, I am absolutely totally and utterly agog at Finns story.  I am trying to wrap my brain around the idea of animals in the aspect that you so bravely described. Like Sarita, do not take this on by yourself, alert the Humane Society/ASPCA and your local rabbit rescues, in fact if it comes around again next year with the same thing, call them and report animal cruelty. Finn is one lucky bunny and that was one heck of a prayer and the big guy must have heard you thank goodness! My word. Your new bun looks like one happy poof ball!

[Spacehopper]

#*$@ing bastards!  (excuse my english)  You and your hubby sound lovely, and lucky lucky Finn!  Certainly has settled in well, must think he’s in heaven.  My god I would throw an absolute mental if I saw that here (and having kept many rats over the years, so that game also sickens me to the pit of my stomach).   Some people’s mentality astounds me!  How on earth did you keep your composure??    Should’ve thrown darts at the sickos and mistaken them for a "game".

[BinkyBunny]

My best friend had a similar experience in Tennessee! She has a beautiful bunny out of it, but she also reported it, but since not all states have laws about this, she didn’t get much support from hers.

Just a few days ago, for the first time ever, while I visiting a little street fair in Loudenville, OH, I also saw this! And not only that the carny guy was yelling NEW 3 WEEK OLD bunnies JUST IN. WIN WIN WIN! I was furious! I went over to a nearby police officer and asked if they were part of animal care and control (in some states ACC is a division of the police department) Anyway, he said no, but asked me what my complaint was. I asked him if he knew what the laws were about having animals as prizes, and also about the weaning too early issue. He said as long as they had food, water, clean cage and in humane conditions (not overcrowded) then there was nothing he could do. I said that it was clean, they did have food and water and that it was not overcrowded, but the fact that they are prizes…he then said, as long as they are in humane conditions…and I said, That’s considered humane? He said…"I know, I know, I understand" He really was sincere and I could tell he felt like his hands were tied.

I then researched online and found that what he said was true, but there was a petition to prevent carnivals from having rabbits as prizees in the state of Ohio. So I just did what I could, and we are also going to write a letter to the Fair presenters. But this is all over the country. It’s sickening!

I am glad the universe blessed you and this little fuzzy face. Looks like you both will benefit from the love you both have to offer.

 

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Wow, Finn is adorable! Your story made me very angry/sad. I don’t know what I would do if I came across that situation. I honestly hope I never have to see something like that!

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