Caring for abandoned rabbits and wildlife across North Texas

Happy Hoppin’ Christmas to all our WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue Friends!

The Year of the Rabbit has proven to be just that – quite a year! So much to tell you about that surely I will run out of space.

For those of you who are new to us or who were not aware, we are a dual purpose organization. We not only rescue and adopt out domestic rabbits, but also are a fully functioning rescue and rehabilitation center for our native Texas cottontails and black tailed jackrabbits. Our wonderful veterinarians work with us year round to give our wildlife a fighting chance at survive with state of the art medical care. These same vets see our domestic rabbits, who often come to us in not-go-good shape. All of this equates to a whole lot of work for us, but more importantly it means a lot of lives are saved through the efforts of our volunteers and, ultimately, you!

This was by far our busiest baby season ever. At least 1,600 little wild things came to us this year, starting in February. Over 60 came in to the Rescue on one day in March! Our resources and time were truly put to the test with all that came through our doors. We fielded over 3,000 telephone calls, including one from Spain! Watch for us in the April issue of National Geographic Kids this new year — they are featuring us in a story about a litter of cottontails we rescued from the wildfires at Possum Kingdom! We helped rescue cottontails all over the country this year, including some in Connecticut who fell victim to Hurricane Irene. Those of you who brought us wildlife in need showed great compassion by traveling to us from all distances. Thank you for caring enough to help those little orphaned, injured, wet or cold babies and helping us save lives.

Thank you to everyone who adopted domestic rabbits from the Rescue! We are so glad to have you in our extended bunny family. It takes a great heart to open your home to a furry one, and we couldn’t think of a better companion than a domestic house rabbit. We have adopted out almost 150 fur kids to new homes this year, including a few very special kitties – a number greater than any year previously thanks to our amazing partnership with local Petco stores. We assisted in the rescue of 27 rabbits from a hoarder case in Dallas, holding them safe in protective custody until the case closed and the rabbits — and the more than 200 other animals — were granted to their respective rescues. Those 27 turned into 41 when all the pregnant moms had their babies, and nearly all 41 of them have since been adopted! We also took in rabbits from several rescue operations across the country who were either overloaded or had shut their doors. We may feel overwhelmed at times with the amount of domestic rabbtis in our care seeking homes, but the work we do is important and there would be such precious lives lost if we were not able to step in for their sakes.

We want to thank our friends and volunteers from Petco and the Petco Foundation for helping us expand our adoption program to include almost every Petco store in the Metroplex! This is a dream come true for us – something we have slowly but surely been working toward for several years. Because of this relationship even more deserving bunnies will go to their forever homes. The stellar staff at our Petco stores are always willing and able to help people find the right rabbit to adopt. We simply cannot say enough or thank you enough. Petco was there to help in all of our emergencies – donating product, time and extra space to give our kids the most exposure possible. The bunnies here at Rabbit Rescue give you all a 21 Bun Salute!Our amazing volunteers – we could do nothing without you. The love and care you show is inspiring and noble. Whether it is trudging through the mud, sweeping the rehab room floor or making yet another GRAH run, just know that we love you! Your efforts are forever appreciated. THANK YOU!!! And of course, a Humphrey-sized Thank You to our veterinarians – Dr. Elizabeth Rogers, Dr. Patty Weber, Dr. Pam Henrichs and Dr. Kyle Jones – thank you for your support, love and care for all of our rescued rabbits and wildlife.

We received some incredible in-kind donations this year. With the setup of our Amazon Wish List we were able to give an answer to people who asked, “What do you need?” Carriers, water bottles, food for all species, incredible things were donated! Orbitz Misters donated 1,000 ft. of misters for the back yard to help cool the bunnies in the scorching heat we had this summer! Oxbow donated hundreds of pounds of hay and food for the rabbits from the hoarder situation. The Petco Foundation, Petsmart Charities, and the James. A. “Buddy” Davidson Charitable Foundation provided grants to help with spay/neuter surgeries, caging, and even funds to build an on-site aviary!

Every year I say this, and every year I shake my head in disbelief. By far, this was the worst year we have ever seen with regard to dumped domestic rabbits – either in shelters or out on the street. When you know how intelligent these creatures are, what love and companionship they can give, it truly breaks your heart to see them so very mistreated – not even given a chance to show their human what they are truly like as a companion and friend. 12 just came in from Plano, another 15 from Irving Animal Services. Our work is cut out for us, and no it is never done. Late nights, tears of frustration, one more trip to Dr. Rogers, Jones or Patty for a Friday pick-up, exhaustion and determination are all part and parcel of what we do here.

Our organization is growing by huge hips and hops! This coming year we will be renovating the garage into our new Wellness Center, constructing outdoor shelters for the two bunny yards, converting the storage shed into a habitat for our senior and special needs rabbits, and running water and electricity througout the Center. An anonymous donor has offered to match a dollar for every two dollars donated between February 1st and February 29th, 2012 which will enable us to complete those renovations! Read more about this on our website.

Think of us, then, when you want to donate financially. We are a grass-roots nonprofit organization that struggles constantly, yet one that is always turned to as one of the best and most responsive in the country. Donating to us ensures a quality care program for those rabbits and wildlife coming into our care. Your money does not go to salaries – it goes to buying much needed resources for all the animals while they are here. Our medical bill traditionally is close to $30,000 per year — even more this year in particular due to the sheer volume that has come through our doors. Just because a rabbit needs teeth trimming, a leg needs amputating, wildlife needs transport to another facility; doesn’t mean we won’t help – we certainly do. You can donate right at our vets’ clinics by helping us to pay down our veterinary bills. You can donate online on our website via Paypal. A check can be mailed to the address on our website. Help us help them!

I hope that as Christmas approaches the memory of gallant deeds and warm bunny kisses will bring you peace and joy. Keep doing what you are doing – making a difference, stopping to help a creature in need, adopting an animal that otherwise would not have a chance. Keep moving forward with smiles and hope – hope that one day, animal shelters will be a thing of the past and all creatures will know the joy of human love. Compassion and mercy are contagious – pass them on!

With love,

Diana

One of the nice things about having a university right down the street from your Rescue is that every now and then the newspaper staff ask to do a story on us!  NT Daily TV Reporter Nadia Galindo stopped by and filmed the Rescue for a webcast (link coming soon).  She also wrote a great article about our Rescue that was published today in the NT Daily newspaper.

This summer we went from having cages upon cages full of rabbits waiting for adoptive homes, keeping them all separated and keeping our volunteers VERY busy.  With the heat of this past summer we could no longer operate that way and keep the rabbits safe and cool, so we transformed our “boys’ yard,” formerly full of caging, into a second open-air, free-roaming pen for the rabbits.  We had to keep the balance of rabbits in there just right and still keep our unneutered males safely caged and away from the unspayed females, but with the help of grants from the Petco Foundation and from Petsmart Charities, we were able to get over 100 many rabbits neutered and spayed so we could get them out of cages as quickly as possible!  With the help of a donation of a huge mister system from Orbit Misters we were able to help the rabbits stay cool in the misty shade.  With all of these efforts and donations our adoption rate went up, the huge amount of effort on our volunteers’ part went down, and most importantly the rabbits were much happier and healthier.

We are going to maintain this cage-free lifestyle for our rabbits and improve it by erecting carport-style shelters over half of each of our two yards to provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain and snow.  In times of inclement weather we will be able to roll down vinyl blinds on the exposed side of the shelter to provide an extra bit of shelter while still allowing for air flow.  The bunnies — ok, and we ourselves — can’t wait to see these shelters erected and good to go for the coming winter months!

Although we have applied for grant funding to help with the construction of these shelters, we will need to construct them within the next couple weeks to keep our rabbits safe and happy before that grant funding comes in.  If you would like to help us get these up even sooner, you are welcome to donate to their construction!  There is a button, top right of this website, where you can donate via PayPal.  You do not need to have a PayPal account to donate, it works off any credit or debit card as well.  Please pass on the word to friends, family and coworkers.  Let’s get these built now!

A copy of the article published in today’s NT Daily by Nadia Galindo is below for you to read.  Thank you all for your interest in our organization, love for the animals, and willingness to help your local nonprofit animal rescue organizations.

Rabbit rescue works to raise money for updated shelter

Nadia Galindo / NT Daily TV Reporter

In preparation for the coming winter months and holiday season, Denton’s WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue is raising money to add on to its shelter.

The rescue has taken in about 150 domestic rabbits this year. Many of those rabbits came in after the holidays because many rabbits are given as gifts but then given up or dumped, said Diana Leggett, president of the rescue.

“January alone, we took in 47 domestic rabbits from the area shelters and then it’s just snowballed,” Leggett said.

This is one of the reasons the Denton-based nonprofit organization has added an additional outside pen this summer.

“We never have to say no, or worse, euthanize because of a lack of space,” said Lindsay Hooker, a UNT alumna and volunteer at the organization. “We always make it work.”

The rescue is trying to raise money to build a carport-style shelter to cover half of the two bunny pens.

“We want them to have a quality of life until we can find them their forever home,” Leggett said. “The best way to do that is by giving them their freedom and their space.”

Leggett said the shelters will cost a minimum of $1,200. In addition to building shelters, the organization hopes to raise $10,000 to convert a garage into a hospital room and a shed into a resting room.

Leggett said the shelters are the top priority because they are needed before winter to keep the bunnies in an appropriate environment.

“We want to at least get the shelters up before the onset of winter; we just need to generate funds and, no pun intended, hop to it,” Hooker said.

WildRescue, Inc./Rabbit Rescue takes in about 1,000 cottontail rabbits a year. The organization also takes in squirrels, ducks and other wildlife. Animals are cared for and rehabilitated, then released back into the wild. Domestic rabbits are spayed and neutered; however, some are in bad shape and need medical care, which can be expensive.

“We watch rabbits come from hoarder situations, a 1-square-foot mouse cage, a hutch where dogs nipped at it through the wire, all kinds of neglectful and abusive situations,” Hooker said. “It is a miraculous thing to see these rabbits turn into beautiful, sociable creatures with huge personalities.”

Leggett said she had a bunny as a little girl and transferred her love for the animal to her children. She has been rescuing rabbits and wildlife for more than 25 years.

“I am one of the biggest advocates for these kids,” Leggett said. “I can’t imagine stopping that now.”