Woohoo Bunny cuddling in two hours!!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven’t posted much, it’s been super busy this week at work (gosh, why do they want me to do work at work… ) and we put new floors in our bunny condo this week so I’m just tuckered out. Anyways that’s why I haven’t been around!

 

Anyways tonight is my first “Bunny Cuddle” shift at the humane society. I’m going to be doing Wednesdays for one hour (sigh they aren’t open very late) and Saturday’s for 2-3. I’m sooooo pumped.

I made a spreadsheet with all the bunnies on it, so I can keep track of who’s who and also to help me pick who to cuddle when. They only have two other ‘critter cuddlers’ so I want to pick bunnies that have been there the longest first. I’m going to do two that came in Nov/Dec tonight. I’ll come on after and post pic’s of the bunnies I get to see today…I don’t have my cell with me, so I’ll use the website pics.

I think (unless they’ve been cuddled already this week) I’ll be cuddling (oooh I love that term for the volunteer job) Norma a black rex whose been there since Nov and Duke another black rex whose been there since early Dec. I really wanted to cuddle this sweet sweet Agouti minilop (Hagrid) I met last night (stuck his nose right through the cage at me) but he’s only been there since Feb 2 so I’ll try to see him on Saturday.  There are sixteen rabbits there right now, you cuddle two an hour, and I am down for minimum three hours a week, so only six a week. I’m sooo pumped! They are going to have to call security to get me to leave hehe

[LittlePuffyTail]

You seriously are a volunteer “Bunny Cuddler”?? THAT”S FREAKING AWESOME!!!

[RabbitPam]

I love the sound of that. What exactly do you do to cuddle the bunnies?
I know they are resistant to being picked up. Do you get on the floor with them?
Please describe. (Boy, do I wish I had a local rescue for bunnies.)

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

YUP its AWESOME!!

We take them down to a bunny cuddle room. (you sanitize everything when you are done) and let them run around and give them treats and play with them. Awesome!

[RabbitPam]

Oh, Man! I sooooo want to do that!

[MarkBun]

I know Save A Bunny and the HRS here both have volunteers who can, if they choose, do nothing but socialization of buns. That mostly means just having them chill out on your lap and petting them. You could also groom them while there and so on. I usually like to take on the hard cases but there is a pair that even I can’t handle. They have no troubles biting people and it seems when I go to pick up one, the other ambushes me from the side and gets my hand. They’re a team, but I”ll beat them yet!

[JK]

OK now you need to change your name to Bunny Cuddler!  That’s a riot.

[ScooterandAnnette]

OH I am SO jealous! I tried to sign up with the Edmonton Humane Society to do that and had just the worst time. I was scheduled for a training session last summer, worked my schedule so that I got back into town the night before, called them a few days before because I realized I hadn’t heard from them about time and place and they said oh we combined 2 sessions into one and had it last week – everyone was called. Well no, I wasn’t called! So I told them to please let me know about the next session and they didn’t call me .  I called them back to ask what was up and they had no record of me sending in a form at all.  I would have loved to volunteer there as a critter cuddler.
– Annette

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Scooter and Annette: I know how you feel. I’ve had many not so great experiences through them; To be honest it was a total pain to get on and I started the paperwork and all the rigamoral in November; and tonight was my first night. You have to do a general orientation and then a critter cuddle orientation and wait patiently for both, while they take forever to get back to you. I totally sympthatize. It’s annoying and disorganized. You can understand it because they just can’t handle the volume but it’s sooo annoying.The *ONLY* reason I stuck it out was there are sooo many bunnies there right now and only two other volunteers who do the critter cuddle. If you want to go for it again it’s volunteer@edmontonhumanesociety.com Good luck!!

 

Sooooo like I said I pretty much had to be thrown out at closing time, but I did three bunnies tonight:

First I did Duke, he’s the one who was there the longest that had not been seen that day. HOLY BINKY MACHINE! What a cutiepie. A little hard to pick up but he’d sit nice in my lap.

Duke
Animal ID: 5059 Age: 10.00 Months Primary Breed: Rex Secondary Breed:   Color: Black & None Sex: M Intake Date: 2007-12-01 Location	Duke

 

 

The second bunny I saw was Zoe. She’s this terribly proportioned Netherland dwarf. Boy does she look funny (huge with tiny tiny ears). She’s shy but a total lap bunny. She was cautious and barely hoped around, prefering to be in my lap. *SWOON*

Animal ID: 5733 Age: 2.00 Years AND 2.00 Months Primary Breed: Dwarf Secondary Breed:   Color: Black & None Sex: F Intake Date: 2008-01-17 Location

Zoe

I found staff and asked how long people would be in the building and convinced them that I could do  just one more bunny before I left. This boy was rattling the cage bars to get out and super cute so I had to take him out. He was York and holy ADD bunny. He ran around Huffing and talking the whole time, his tail wiggling like I’ve never seen before! He was zooming and crazy excited, but not really in a happy way. Poor thing’s been there about a week but still seems really unsettled. I assume he might have been given up because he’s sooo energetic that he was just to hard to handle…Poor guy!

York
Animal ID: 6931 Age: 1.00 Year Primary Breed: Mini Lop Secondary Breed:   Color: Grey & None Sex: M Intake Date: 2008-03-19 Location

[ScooterandAnnette]

K&K, we’re glad to hear that your first night as a “bunny buddy” was a success! We’d love to volunteer, but one of the things they also require is a minimum six-month commitment. And with us moving out of area in three months….

[RabbitPam]

Are these buns already spayed/neutered? York sounds a bit like a teenager that pre-fixing.

[Lisa_43]

Bunny cuddling volunteer would be the best thing ever, I am jealous.

[babybunsmum]

awww… such sweet bun buns.  glad your first session went well k&k!  i’m still wating to hear from my local humaine society about volunteering with them.  i signed up for being a ‘pet pal’ (grooming) or a ‘play therapist’ but the wait list is looooong.  i’m due to drop in on my own & see what bun bns are there… last visit there were only 4.

[ScooterandAnnette]

rabbitpam, the Edmonton Humane Society will spay/neuter rabbits when it can. Dogs and cats get priority. In practice, few rabbits wind up altered. They don’t appear to have sufficient resources…their current facility is small and cramped and quite inadequate for their needs. They are working on building a larger and better facility but it will be years before that is available.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Yup, York just got there so I don’t believe he’s spayed/neutered yet. Their policy is nothing goes out the door unless it’s spayed/neutered but of course that’s not always possible. I am pretty sure Zoe was recently done, as I could feel that she was just shaved, so I checked her incision-it looked great! The good news is space-wise the new building should be done (it’s going to be huge and beautiful) by Jan 09 (supposed to be this fall but with the boom, they don’t really expect it done until the new year).

ScooterandAnnette, that’s riight I forgot your moving! That stinks! Well the other option, if your avail when I go and want to, I am always allowed to bring a guest (they just have to sign a waiver when we get there) so your welcome to join me sometime! I go wednesdays 530/6-7/730 (technically 6-7 but I am coming a bit early, staying a bit late ) and Saturdays from 3-5!

[babybunsmum]

oh i wish my humane society would spay/neuter buns too.  they call themselves a spay/neuter clinic (its even on a big sign outside the door) but they don’t include buns in that

[ScooterandAnnette]

K&K, I think we’ll definitely be taking you up on that in the future!

I don’t see her listed on the site anymore but when we were there a few weeks ago a bunny named Rini had a surprise birthing. She was in one of the cages in the lobby/foyer and I noticed a bit of red just under her back end. When I was able to get her to move a bit there was a baby bun under her. I’m fairly certain it was probably stillborn because it was the strangest looking thing I have ever seen. It was HUGE, and not totally formed, and must have been very uncomfortable for her to birth. There was no fluff or evidence of attempted nesting in the cage. I managed to get one of the staff there and they got it and her out of the cage, and she was off the site for about a week but listed again after. She’s not on the site anymore so I don’t know if that means that she’s been adopted or she’s had more problems.

We’ve adopted 3 bunnies from there and 2 cats. None of the bunnies was altered when we adopted them, we had to pay for that to be done. The cats already were altered. Their policy with the bunnies seems to be that if they get time to they’ll alter them, but if they don’t then they don’t.

OH, before I forget, I have a pamphlet for you from the Winnipeg Humane Society called “Living with a House Rabbit” – it seems to be produced byt the House Rabbit Society. As soon as I saw it there I thought of you and grabbed it. The new facility in Winnipeg is AMAZING. It’s absolutely HUGE for one thing. The rabbit area is is just off to the right of the lobby, at first I thought it was a child’s play area but they’ve got all the bunny cages right there so they’re easily visible and accessible. There are… I can’t even count how many cat rooms – some of which have cages for them, some of them are communal and have chairs and blankets etc in. What really impressed me was the dog rooms. Each dog has it’s own room instead of just being in like a prison cell type setup. There are no separate visiting rooms for the dogs that they get hauled into for you to meet them – if you want to visit with a dog then you get let into that dog’s room. I can’t find the link that shows what it looks like now, but here’s the photo archives from the building process: http://www.winnipeghumanesociety.ca/unleash/building.php

I’m really impressed with the Winnipeg Humane Society overall. On their homepage they’ve got a link to the rabbit.org for people who are considering adopting a bunny. They’ve got a great marketing team – they’re upcoming event is the PAWSCARS – red carpet, Pawparazzi and all that. It’s held at one of the downtown hotels and dogs are welcome to attend. (http://www.winnipeghumanesociety.ca/special_Events/Yappy_Hour_.php)

Thanks again for the offer of joining you at the EHS – I’m sure we will!
– Annette

[Sage Cat]

Wow, Bunny cuddlier.
I wonder if it’s possible to get a paying job like that. He, he, he.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

OK that’s what they were talking about, at orientation the night before last, that bunny actually got pregnant through the cage!!! So, it’s unlisted for adoption and in a foster home. So, she’s in a foster home. I believe she’s doing well but I’ll ask as soon as I can! It’s a little hard to find things out there b/c it’s kind of gong show!

The winnipeg Humane Society is AWESOME. My family is originally from winnipeg and spme of my extended family is still there. I actually get their calender every year Thansk for the pamphlet! So I fogot but are you moving to Winnipeg? It’s definitely an amazing humane society and it’s been run really extremely well. They have great volunteer programs and are always ethical and humane.

Just let me know when you wanna come!

[Beka27]

how cool!  thanks for the write-up!

[rabbitsmba]

My husband and I do bunny cuddling “on the side”. Our local shelter doesn’t have any sort of official “bunny cuddling program” but they have come to know us there and allow us to take the bunnies out of their cages and cuddle with them and let them run around. It’s so nice to feel the bunny relax in your arms, chatter their teeth and snuggle, and then when you put them back, they flop out in their cages with happiness. For a lot of them, it’s this human touch that does wonders for their spirit.

I know the Toronto Humane Society has a huge number of Bunny Cuddlers – they have a lot of rabbits there – and they also have bunny runs for the bunnies to play in and exercise. But it’s a little too far for us so we go to our local shelter.

Many shelters do have this and even if they don’t, go inside and arm yourself with literature about the benefits of bunny cuddlers. Let them know other shelters do it and you are willing to try it out at their shelter – you never know, chances are they might go for it.

Bunny cuddling is so theraputic for everyone involved!

[kittsbuns]

I agree with sagecat I want a job cuddleing bunnys that would be the perfect job they would’nt have to pay me much Ha Ha.

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