LATEST NEWS IN THE NORTHWEST!

5/3/2010
News from the Northwest Satellite


News from the Northwest Colorado Satellite
By Sandy McFall, Manager

Spring has finally sprung in Grand Junction. After a really long, cold, snowy winter, the trees are budding and the grass is greening and all the foster bunnies are enjoying longer and longer play times outdoors.
We had some returns this quarter; Cleopatra and Buddy came back due to a divorce and Miranda, Jasper, and Phoebe came back because they did not fit into their new family. Many thanks to Nancy who has helped us with some of our overflow problems. Jerry and Melanie moved here from Broomfield as Sanctuary bunnies.
Happily, Cameron and Sierra are enjoying their new forever family at the Costello home, and Harvey (now renamed Riley) is finding love anew with Kristine and Jasmine at the Skalla home.
Our biggest transition this quarter was the loss of Spirit. His sudden departure left us all breathless for awhile. Out of all bad comes good, however, and widow Josie has found new happiness in a pile of widows and widowers who now all share a home together. Now with lots of variety for grooming and snuggles, Mortimer, Joey, Abby Rose, and Josie are experiencing renewed fellowship after the loss of loved ones.
We participated in the Fruita Farm and Ranch Expo in March and had bunnies for everyone to admire during the fair. It was a lot of fun, we had a ton of traffic, and were able to provide some excellent education in a mostly agriculturally-oriented community. People were amazed at the idea of rabbits living indoors! One family was quite taken with Tammy and Coleman, and came to the Bunny Barn to visit and make sure no one was allergic. Unfortunately, the daughter broke out in hives when she entered the barn! Visiting the bunny barn has become a regular requirement for our adoptions so we don’t have the heartbreaking experience of placing rabbits in a home and then needing to take them out again due to allergies.
We have a new volunteer program at the Satellite which is bringing in a ton of help. I regularly have weekday help for morning chores and weekend help for PetSmart and other adoption events. In March we partnered with a local orchard owner and brought PILES of newly trimmed apple branches to the Satellite. Our new volunteers have been chopping away, and so far we have three 50-gallon tubs completely full of chopped branches, and the pile has barely gone down! It was a really good time to get a new group of volunteers! The bunnies really love the branches when they are fresh, so all in all, everyone is having a really good Spring around here!
With this issue of the Runner, the Satellite is starting a new feature: Western Bunns of the Quarter! Please meet this quarter’s bunns looking for a forever home:
Rosey & Kappa Kai
These two have quite a history! Rosey came to us as a stray, so filthy we could not tell she was white (we thought she was some unusual brown color) and VERY pregnant. Three days after her rescue, Rosey had 10 babies (you can see a wonderful slide show of her babies on our website http://www.coloradohrs.com/northwest/bunnies_northwest.asp). Talk about overwhelming, to us and to her.
Meanwhile, Kappa Kai was witnessing the murder of his two free-roaming bunny friends in his backyard by the neighborhood cat. His human was so upset she immediately relinquished him to us! So the poor boy lost his home and friends all at once. Talk about trauma.
Kappa Kai had barely landed at the Satellite when Rosey arrived in the next run and promptly gave birth to all those babies. Used to bunny company, Kappa hopped the x-pen and settled in with the new family. Too exhausted to be concerned or to care, Rosey accepted his presence, which turned out to be a really good thing. Kappa got to heal from his trauma and Rosey got help with her very large brood. It was a symbiotic relationship right from the start.

Raising all those little hoppers together cemented their relationship. All the babies grew into adorable rabbits and went into loving homes. Once all the grungy old fur fell out, Rosey turned into a brilliant white Californian who dazzles all she meets. She is the more outgoing of the pair, while Kappa is the mister laid-back, turn-me-on-my-back, I’m-here-for-ya guy. They are a precious pair, looking for a home where they can be their mellow, loving selves.

2/1/2010
News from the Northwest Satellite


News from the Northwest Colorado Satellite
By Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager

2009 was an astoundingly busy year for our Satellite. 55 rabbits cycled through and we had 36 adoptions. The table below compares this activity to the two previous years we’ve been in Grand Junction.

Bunnies taken
into inventory Bunnies adopted
to homes Other % of inventory
adopted Bunnies in
inventory
year-end
2007 21 10 1 (died) 48% 9
2008 32 19 2
(to permanent sanctuary) 60% 11
2009 55 36 3 (died) 66% 16

We participated in large rescues from New Mexico, Wyoming, and Fruita. At one point I had 30 rabbits here. In some instances we took in many more bunnies than we’d planned on. I am happy to say it’s worked out well for the rabbits.

This quarter Shawn and Stella moved in with the Lowe family and they are providing wonderful daily entertainment for two families.

Sadly, we lost Finnegan, Snow, and Bambi all in a two-week stretch in December. We had many rabbits sick at the same time, with some serious surgeries, but most came out well and whole. For this we are grateful.

During the course of 2009 several volunteers really made a difference in the lives of our bunnies. Chuck Duncan was with us every week helping with chores, and moved in for multiple days in a row to care for everyone while I traveled for work. Debra Hughes volunteered so many hours her employer donated $1000 to the bunnies! Mike and Collette Fluharty came every other Sunday and cleaned the bunny barn. Anne Knipe came many Sundays and brushed bunnies as resident bunny-whisperer. Finally, Paxton and Paige Gordon came every Friday over the summer and played with bunnies and made bunny toys.

We are also grateful for the wonderful donations received at year’s end for our furry orphans. Without the support of our membership, both in volunteer hours and funds, we would have to say no to many more needy abused and abandoned rabbits.

Sandy McFall manages the Grand Junction Satellite, and can be reached at 970-263-7775 or nwco-hrs@msn.com.

11/1/2009
Northwest Satellite News


Northwest Colorado Satellite Report
By Sandy McFall

We have so much love in the Bunny Barn right now.

We have the newlyweds: Carlos and Noir, Sean and Stella, Chimini and Sienna, and Coleman and Tammy, all reveling in their new loves.

There is the fuzzy threesome: Miranda, Phoebe, and Jasper (lucky guy!) really enjoying themselves in their new space.

And the retreads: loving, experienced rabbits returned to the Satellite through no fault of their own: Sage and Sally, Sierra and Cameron, Blizzard and Tippy, and Rosey and Kappa Kai.

Everyone is happy to be together in the Bunny Barn and the good vibes are palpable.
It is so awesome! What a privilege to spend time in this space with these beautiful creatures.

This quarter the following rabbits found loving homes:
Monty and Easter moved in with Mady Ragar and her family.
Jacob and Carlysle moved into a mountain home with the Hanshaw family.
Mora became a new bride in the Hopper family.
Thumper became a new hus-bunn in the Birmingham family.

Eight rabbits were returned and eleven rabbits came into the Satellite, making a total of nineteen gorgeous rabbits seeking forever homes. Many thanks to Debbie Hughes and Linda Rotert who are providing foster homes for some of our kids.

We attended two excellent events this quarter, giving us great exposure. The PetSmart National Adoption Fair was held in September, and the Western Slope Animal Expo was held in October at the Mesa County Fairgrounds. Many thanks to the following volunteers who made it possible: Chuck Duncan, Debra Hughes, Mady Ragar and friends, Lydnsy Boone, Jeff Dart, Jenny and Misha Martin-Williams, and Linda Rotert. Of course, as always, the rabbits were the big stars! Our bunny ambassadors have a way of working their way into the hearts and minds of the people they meet.

Sandy McFall manages the Northwest Colorado Satellite in Grand Junction, 970-263-7775, nwco-hrs@msn.com, www.coloradhrs.com/northwest

8/1/2009
News from the Northwest Satellite


News from the Northwest Colorado Satellite
by Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager

We have settled in comfortably to our wonderful new bunny barn. Because I continue to call it the “bunny barn” despite several cute name suggestions, it’s now officially the Northwest Bunny Barn. Chuck Duncan has made two wonderful folding rolling runs which we collapse down and take to PetSmart for our weekend booth. Be sure to see Chuck’s rolling runs in the Rabbitat exhibit during the Spring Fling. They are a huge time- and mess-saver, all the foster bunnies love them, and they are nice-enough to be quality furniture in your home.

We adopted five rabbits this quarter. Zahara moved in with her sister Shilo (LoLo) and Dancer, Russell and Maria moved in with Mariah and Katrina Zerbe, and Blizzard and Tippy moved in with Anne Anthony. We are very happy for these wonderful new families! Alex and Blake remain in Angie Hart’s foster home, and we suspect they are working their way permanently into the hearts of Angie and her boyfriend, John.

Additions this quarter include Russell, who was found by some nice people in Rifle and promptly brought to Grand Junction for rescue! This adorable, personality-plus palomino-mix wasn’t here long before sisters Mariah and Katrina Zerbe fell in love with him.

Judith Hopper worked very hard to rescue three bunnies from a backyard neglect situation. All three rabbits were running free in the neighborhood, being chased by dogs and automobiles. They had a network of burrows in the backyard which made catching them quite tricky. Harmony and Sapphire were captured first, and the third bunny eluded rescuers for several more days before finally allowing herself to be caught. Tiny Maria, the most shy and unsocialized, was nevertheless the first of the three to go to a happily-ever-after home with the dashing and entertaining Russell.

Sadly, we lost a bunny in April to megacolon, a congenital abnormality of the colon which eventually prevents the formation of cecotropes and healthy proceesing of food. The surviving partner Cleopatra is getting extra care and loving to help her through this time of grief.

We currently have 9 orphans looking for homes, among them are Rosey and six offspring who are about the sweetest, most agreeable bunnies we have ever fostered. (At the time of this writing two of the babies are scheduled for delivery in a week!) We are expanding our marketing with a new Petfinder account, Adopt-a-Pet account, and display books of our rabbits in the Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction Petco stores.


For NWCO-HRS business, contact Sandy McFall at 970-263-7775.

2/1/2009
Northwest Satellite News


Fall & Winter News from the Northwest Colorado Satellite
By Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager

Ashley Furniture Howl-o-Ween Event
NWCO-HRS was one of the animal rescue groups to benefit from the annual Ashley Furniture Howl-o-Ween event this year. We had an adoption booth and found a wonderful new foster family. We appreciate the continued support of Ashley Furniture and the recognition of the Colorado House Rabbit Society as a viable Grand Junction animal rescue organization.

Western Colorado Adoption Fair Sponsored by Best Friends
We participated in this fun and productive all-weekend event at PetSmart in early November. Two bunnies went to new homes as a result: Shilo moved in with the Stortz family and Maddox set up housekeeping with the LaPlant family and Fuzz. We always appreciate the hard work of Best Friends Animal Society and the Grand Junction PetSmart for making this huge event a resounding success.

Barn Warming a Great Success
The bunny barn warming party held on November 23 was great fun. We had many old and new friends support the bunnies with sales and donations of over $500! Bunnies provided maze demonstrations, rolling run demonstrations, cute demonstrations, and outdoor binkie demonstrations. We had a great response to the bake sale and the hand-made bunny plates and treats sold very well. Our new sweatshirts with the NWCO logo also did well. The Grand Junction Free Press showed up and model Karlee Nasalrod with Jamal made an appealing picture in the paper a few days later.

Special thanks go to the following volunteers: Tabatha Savage for organizing the event and making many of the bunny and people goodies for sale; Cathy Gaggini for financial, moral, and food support; Linda Rotert for making many wonderful items for sale including adorable original bunny cards, as well as donating many bunny items for sale; Judith Hopper for making and donating items for sale; Chuck Duncan for working tirelessly to get the garage finished for the event; and Joe Magruder for cashiering. It was a blast. Thanks to all of you who showed up for the celebration.

Bunny Barn Naming Contest
We had suggestions of Hopper Haven, Bunny Haven, and Bunny Bungalow. I can’t decide! Which one do you like? Feedback is appreciated …

Caprock Academy Kindergartners
On December 8 the foster bunnies got an early Christmas present from kindergartners at charter school Caprock Academy. Representatives Sophia, Amelia, and Kaci Knaysi, along with Katie, Jack, and Christy Fry presented the bunnies with boxes and boxes of toys and treats. The gifts represented days of work by the Knaysi, Fry, Witwer, Sisac, Gardner, Queally, and Suplizio families. While the bunnies happily chewed on treats, the kids cuddled rabbits and learned basic handling. It was a wonderful holiday gift and the bunnies continue to enjoy the treats! [Heather, kindergartner pictures somewhere in here please.]

Calendar Year Statistics
Inventory activity increased by 52% this year. I find it useful to compare 2008 statistics to 2007 in the table below:
Bunnies taken
into inventory Bunnies adopted
to homes Other % of inventory
adopted Bunnies in
inventory
year-end
2007 21 10 1 (died) 48% 9
2008 32 19 2
(to permanent sanctuary) 60% 11

While it has seemed we’ve had less adoption activity, these statistics show otherwise! Having two litters of babies born at the Satellite has posed particular challenges, but we certainly have some lovely, loving bunnies as a result of raising them from birth. They will be good ambassadors when they get into homes.

As always, we appreciate your ongoing support of the Northwest Colorado Satellite. Sandy McFall, nwco-hrs@msn.com, 970-263-7775, www.coloradohrs.com/northwest.

11/1/2008
Northwest Satellite News


Northwest Colorado Satellite News
By Sandy McFall, Manager

The Bunny Barn is a reality!


With construction delays, 100% cost overruns, and firing the contractor, we weren’t sure the NWCO Bunny Barn was going to happen. Enter master carpenter/animal lover/ knight-in-shining-armor Chuck Duncan, who has donated hundreds of hours of finish carpentry to get us open. We moved in the first weekend in October. 15 rabbits are out here in rolling runs, plus a nice office for me. I love working out here with the bunnies! Once the garage is remodeled and organized, we’ll be running all the bunny business out of here. Our first official function was a tune-up class in late September. There is still much to be done, but with the help of many local volunteers and Chuck, we’ll have a fully-functioning facility soon! Snorgles!


Holiday Party and Barn-Warming


To celebrate our new facility, NWCO-HRS is having a party Sunday, November 23, from Noon to 4 p.m. Tabatha Savage is coordinating the event, which will include refreshments, maze demonstrations, a tune-up station, and wonderful holiday gifts for bunnies and their humans. Tabatha can use help with toy making and other preparations. Contact her at 970-263-8525 or tabncolorado@bresnan.net. We hope all our local families will plan to attend and we’ll be getting out more information about this as the time nears.


Name the Bunny Barn Fundraiser


Needless to say, constructing the barn has cost me a LOT more than planned. We’ll now have ongoing expenses as well and will be putting a more concerted effort into regular fundraising to keep things going. Our first fundraising effort is to choose a wonderful name for our new facility, and we’re holding a contest to do it. Conger up your most clever ideas and send them to us for $2 a proposal or $5 for 3 proposals to the following address:


Barn Naming Contest
NWC-HRS
P.O. Box 404
Grand Junction CO 81502


We’ll be naming the winner at Christmas time. The successful entry will win 10# of bunny pellets or a tin of papaya, and be mentioned in the next Bunny Runner.


Other Happenings


We’ve participated in a two day PetSmart Adoption Fair in September and will be showing bunnies at the Best Friends Western Slope Adoption Event in early November. These fairs are great exposure for the Satellite and the bunnies. We always have a good response for help from our volunteers with these fun events.


Adoptions


Cranberry and Jackson Jr. have been placed in a wonderful home with the Pearson family, who waited a whole year to get rabbits until the children were old-enough to handle them safely. These teenage bunnies did well for themselves!


This has been a difficult quarter for adoptions. Three pair placements have fallen through with no explanation. This is heartbreaking since the bunnies think they are going home and then are disappointed. Supply sales and contributions are down as well.


Inventory (pictures and full descriptions are available at www.coloradohrs.com/northwest)


Finnegan and Abby Rose – Personality plus and available for permanent foster
Kappa Kai and Rosie – A complete transformation of these two bunnies has mama bunn and foster dad deeply in love and and affectionate toward people too
Sisters Raini and Robin - Sweet, polite, adorable girls are committed to each other
Brothers Blizzard and Tippy – Precious, precocious, and affectionate (can stay together or be paired individually with a single bunny)
Brothers Blake and Alex - Active, inquisitive, a ton of fun (can stay together or be paired individually with a single bunny)


Contact Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager, at 970-263-7775 or nwco-hrs@msn.com.

5/2/2007
Northwestern Colorado Satellite Moves to Grand Junction!


Grand County Satellite becomes Northwestern Colorado Satellite
By Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager
May 1, 2007

Moving the Northwestern Colorado Satellite headquarters from Grand County to Grand Junction has been a very good move for the rescue effort. In December I moved into a nice house with my 10 rabbits and Cocker Spaniel Samantha, and set up our new headquarters. I had hardwood flooring installed in about half the house, had three 9-foot rolling bunny runs built by a cabinet maker, and promptly installed 8 of the 10 bunnies in my dining room! It is a lovely setup. Dominic and BeBe, the two bigger bunnies, have a larger run to themselves in the office a few feet away.

I was worried the bunnies would not be as happy because they have less room. On the contrary, we are all together as a family, in one place. The bunnies have been absolute angels and seem quite content being able to see their neighbors but having their own space to themselves. Even the herd, four bunnies in one run, are doing quite well. Everyone gets outside every day, I see more of everyone, and every bunny gets handled daily. It has been absolutely wonderful. And I have easy access to snuggles at night!

The rolling runs make cleanup a breeze. The runs move on the floor for easy sweeping and vacuuming, the linoleum floors in the runs make a great surface for fluffy rugs. I reach in from the top and everyone is in petting reach! Hay is easily refilled and treats are easily administered. There is room to hop and jump and stretch out and cuddle.

This setup has served several purposes:
• We are all together as a family
• Cleanup is a breeze
• The bunnies are right in the center of the “action”
• It gives people new ideas for bunny living spaces
• We have easy access to the rabbits for interaction
• Bunny personalities are readily observed

Since getting established in Grand Junction, we have had several marketing coups:
• Tabatha Savage has distributed adorable refrigerator magnet business cards in veterinary offices and pet stores, and we keep replacing them with more!
• An ongoing ad in The Nickel has brought in several wonderful volunteers
• I had a live 15-minute interview on the local public radio station talking about our bunny rescue, right before Easter
• We had a FABULOUS 1 ½ page article on the front page of the Westlife Section of the Daily Sentinel on Easter Sunday (you can read the copy at http://www.gjsentinel.com/featr/content/features/index.html, go to the local features section, and hit the "cuddly bunnies" article. Note, you may need to sign in first)
• Tabatha, Debby, Sierra, Linda, and Karlee did a 3-day Best Friends Adopt-A-Thon at PetSmart
• And, we had our second bunny tune-up class with several new members

We have also taken in 5 new bunnies, giving us 6 adoptable rabbits in inventory. They have just been spayed and neutered at the new low-cost spay and neuter clinic in Grand Junction, and everyone is recuperating in foster homes. This new clinic relationship will save us and our bunny families a lot of money.

Supply sales continue to increase, and more rabbits in Grand Junction are getting good food and treats!

None of this would have been possible without the tireless assistance of my partner Tabatha Savage. Tabatha, daughter Sierra, new volunteers Debbie Hughes and daughter Karlee, along with longstanding volunteers Linda McCulley and Jennifer Halbach have all worked hard to increase the visibility of our bunny rescue and education effort. We think it is working! The proof will be in getting the adoptable rabbits into new and loving homes.

Sandy McFall and Tabatha Savage operate the Northwest Colorado Satellite of the Colorado House Rabbit Society located in Grand Junction. They can be reached at 970-263-7775, 970-263-8525, nwco-hrs@msn.com, or on the website, www.coloradohrs.com/northwest.


10/29/2006
News from the Northwest Satellite


We’ve had a lot of action in our satellite in the last quarter. Grand Junction volunteers Tabatha Savage and Judith Hopper are going gangbusters in getting rabbits out of Mesa County Animal Services. Lilly, a Sable mix, Poptart, a lop mix, Bee Bee, a Californian Mix, and Mr. Shivers, an angora, are now in foster care recovering from spay and neuter surgeries. Charmin, a beautiful 4 year-old lop rescued from a backyard neglect situation, is mending nicely from ovarian cancer surgery, and bonding with foster mom Linda Rotert.

Our foster moms Jennifer Halbeck in Montrose, along with Kathryn Fortier, Linda Rotert, and Tabatha Savage in Grand Junction are providing the invaluable service of caring for these five bunnies until they are ready to be adopted into loving homes. Kathryn Fortier also adopted an additional rabbit from the MCAS, saving us from having to take it in!

We have been funding spay and neuter surgeries out of an initial private donation. We are now setting up our own checking account and have begun fundraising efforts. Because we pay more for surgery on the western slope, our adoption fees do not always cover the cost we incur with the bunnies. Tabatha and Judith helped with a booth at the Grand Junction Farmers Market for much of the summer, providing exposure for the concept of house rabbits, and making valuable connections with other rescue groups in the area. We had a successful tune-up class in September, resulting in two more memberships for CO-HRS and a nice donation for the NWCO satellite.

You can now view all our foster bunnies available for adoption on the NWCO Satellite web page by clicking on the “Satellites” link at the top of the CO-HRS website, and hitting the Northwest link. Rebecca Donnelly and Mary-Kaye Buchtel have worked tirelessly to get the satellite web pages up and running. Western slope adopters will be able to e-mail adoption applications to me, and western slope rabbits will be finding homes on the western slope!

And speaking of homes on the western slope, I saved the best news for last. Robyn and Ronnie, 3-year residents of Broomfield, came to “Summer Camp” with me in Hot Sulphur Springs when the Broomfield remodel started. I was taken with how entertaining and special these guys were, and when we had an inquiry from a family in Glenwood Springs, I was able to advocate for R & R as true “fun bunns”. The Kontours of Glenwood Springs now count Robyn and Ronnie as family members, and these two former shelter dwellers are LIVIN’ LARGE. It’s these “happily ever after” stories that keep us doing what we do at CO-HRS!

10/23/2006
Northwestern Satellite Goes Live!


This has been a long time coming, but is a dream come true.