The Blackburn Family

It’s almost time for our third annual rabbit adoption day at Animall!! If you are looking for something to do next weekend come out and visit. We will have lots of rabbits available for adoption, hot chocolate, fundraisers and lots of information on pet rabbits. We are doing the bunny photo contest again so make sure you check out the contest and vote for Tuscan and Moose!! We won first place last year and won an awesome price.

RABBIT DAY 2010 WEBSITE

I got the camera out this weekend and took some pictures of the bunnies. It has been awhile since I took pictures of them. Tuscan and Moose don’t really cooperate with me because they insist on hiding in their box so there is no light to get their picture!! I also took some of my foster bunnies. They are leaving tomorrow to go to the SPCA and I will really miss them. I always feel bad taking them because I don’t want them to think I abandoned them! They have such a nice cushy life here and it is nice there, but not as nice as here. They get used to my schedule and get lots of time to run around outside of their cage. I am sure the SPCA is a shock to them. Cats, dogs, lots of strange people messing with them, limited veggies, not so great hay, other rabbits and only 15 minutes outside the cage on a good day! It just breaks my heart, but I can’t keep them all and at least I was able to save them from certain death…..

I know I just posted last night, but a friend sent me this list and I had to post a few with my comments. My bunny craziness started 6 years ago this month when I adopted Tuscan from the SPCA. Then I adopted Moose a month later. Since then I have fostered dozens of rabbits, helped to start up the House Rabbit Meetup Group, started the rabbit volunteer program and foster program at the SPCA and become an HRS educator. Here is the complete list on Cats, Rabbits and More.

Here are the ones I could relate to the most with a few comments added by me.

• Their grocery bill is higher than yours and every cardboard box you encounter is analyzed for it’s ‘bunny appropriateness’
• You don’t think twice when things end up with chew holes
• When people think of rabbits you immediately come to mind
• You know what your rabbit is thinking by the tilt of their head, their ears, etc. even when others think they’re just sitting there
• You go to the produce store and buy absolutely nothing for yourself, only for the rabbits
• You catch yourself saying “everybun” or “everybunny” in everyday conversations
• You have 3 cans of pumpkin in the pantry at all times, just in case (also pineapple and baby food)
• You know what a NIC condo is & have probably built one
• You have hay EVERYWHERE
• You have hay/fur in your washer/dryer and have to pick off tiny pieces from your clothing while at work
• You wake up to two foster babies fighting in an enclosure that’s not theirs and the rightful occupant of the enclosure is halfway across the room watching them fight (we have had lots of foster escapes and fights….)
• You wear your nibbled clothing like a badge of honor (my tan coat and now my expensive camera bag!!)
• The smell of fresh hay makes you think of home and your sweet-faced little angels
• You have strategically placed gates and xpens throughout your house that you consistently trip over (don’t forget the screen door!)
• You ask for a special vacuum for Christmas just for the hay (okay, my first anniversary gift was the Dyson, nothing better!)
• You have at least two vacuum cleaners and you always have electrical tape on hand (the hand vacuum downstairs is covered in electrical tape, but we keep the Dyson cord far away from the teeth)
• All your sheets have nibbles in them (they aren’t allowed in my room anymore, but back in the day they destroyed my comforter when I went out of town)
• The TV reception goes out because the antenna cable was chewed off (okay, never lost the antenna cable, but lots of remote buttons)
• It dawns on you that they are actually training you, instead of you training them
• You have to buy computer mice in six-packs because “something” keeps happening to the cords (and laptop power cords)
• You have 5 or 6 buns or more -and you can tell whose poops are whose (I am a poop expert)
• Everyone at the grocery store thinks you eat so healthy because half your order is greens (have heard this one a lot)

After 10 days of eye drops 3 times a day it looks like Tuscan’s eye is all better! Let’s just hope it doesn’t come back. I am so glad we don’t have to give him the drops anymore because it was not fun. Rabbits don’t really like being tipped over!

I spoke with Dr. Wendy on Tuesday and she didn’t feel it was necessary to do an ultrasound on JD since he has stopped throwing up for now. She didn’t mention doing the biopsy yet so hopefully we can put that off for awhile. We are going to start him on an antibiotic for three weeks and then do more blood work. There are a couple infectious diseases he could have picked up from fleas/ticks. He doesn’t go outside and I have only found one flea on him in 4 years, but I guess it is still possible. If his blood work doesn’t look better after the antibiotics we will try treating him for IBD for awhile and see if there is an improvement in his blood work. If neither works we are probably looking at a type of intestinal cancer. Dr. Wendy said if he had the most aggressive form he wouldn’t be here right now so we can rule that one out. His red blood count is good so that is a good sign it isn’t cancer, but we can’t rule it out just yet.

No, not the lottery, but I think I should have played. Rabbit Day was Saturday and we won first and fourth place in the photo contest. Thanks to everyone that voted for us! I didn’t accept the 4th place prize, didn’t want to be greedy. However the first place prize is awesome!! It is a huge basket full of baskets and toys from Busy Bunny which is our favorite place for toys. My name was also pulled from the raffle box twice (I only entered 3 times)!! I won a couple books. I guess Saturday was my luck day. Oh, Apple’s picture won first place, but Tuscan and Moose got his prize.

Well, I was hoping our luck would turn around this year, but so far it is the same as last year. Friday I noticed Tuscan was squinting his right eye, but didn’t think too much about it. Then on Saturday I noticed he had a bunch of white “stuff” coming out of his eye. So he went to the vet yesterday. I had Moose go with him so he wouldn’t have to be alone all day. His duct was clogged so they had to flush it out. I have to give him eye drops three times a day for 10 days which should clear up any infections. It isn’t easy and takes both of us to do it. I have to tip him on his side since his eyes are on the side of his head. He isn’t a fan. I really hope it is just an infection. Occasionally when the duct continues to be clogged there is a tooth problem which will be very (very) expensive. Guess it is Tuscan’s year to cost us…. we spent 3K on JD last year. Tuscan has already racked up $120.

As most of you know I am the co-organizer of our local House Rabbit meetup group. We are holding our second annual Rabbit Day on February 28th at Animall in Morrisville. Our fundraiser this year is a bunny photo contest. I submitted a photo of Tuscan and Moose today. I also sent one in of Apple because he is so cute. I need your votes so I can win an awesome price!

Click HERE to place your vote.

You can vote multiple times so keep on voting for us!!!

To learn more about our event click HERE to see our event website.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but Christmas is a busy time. Plus I have gotten hooked on a wii game that is occupying all my time. I had to set some limits for myself or nothing was going to get done. Now I understand why Casey plays every night! No, I am not playing WOW. I am hooked on Animal Crossing. I decided to rent it from Blockbuster before investing in the game and the first night I played it was a bit boring. Then I kept playing and I read a bit online about all the cool things I can do! Ever since then I have been glued to the TV playing. It is one of those games that never really ends. You sell things, buy things, go fishing, visit the city, go to friend’s towns, design clothes, get your hair done, you know fun girly things. Casey thinks it is ridiculous, but it is the EXACT same thing as his game except for girls.

Casey really wants me to mention that before Christmas he went to tour the Childress race facility. Here are the pictures he took while he was there. I let him take my camera even though I really didn’t want to! He didn’t break it.

I also put some pictures from Christmas on flickr here. For Christmas this year we gave Casey’s parents a new bathroom! The kids all went in together to remodel their hall bathroom. We took down the wallpaper, painted, cleaned the tile and added some new accessories. There are lots of pictures in the flickr album. We also played a lot of Mario Kart with the kids while we were down there. Karley and I usually worked as a team (me steering and her hitting the gas) and we always had to be the princess. Also, mom got the mink this year as a present from Sally and Kenny. I am pretty sure I mentioned the mink awhile back when she lived with us, but just in case here is the story. Mom found the mink when cleaning up Uncle Ned’s house (which is also the house she grew up in). The mink belonged to her grandmother so she decided all the descendants should care for the mink. I got it two years ago at Christmas and it was disgusting. It is an actual mink complete with toe nails and eyes. When you open it up (especially when you aren’t expecting it) it really freaks you out. Make sure to check out the pictures of mom’s face when she opened it. Here are the pictures from when the mink lived with us. Here are the ones dad took when I opened it.

We didn’t do anything special for New Year’s Eve, but I did manage to stay up until midnight. I am not sure why since all we did was watch them count down and then I went to bed. I might as well have just gone to bed at 10. New Year’s Day we cooked a special meal (per Casey’s instruction). We had black eyed peas (I think for luck), green beans (for money, I don’t eat any other greens), ham (no idea why) and sweet potatoes (also no idea why). Hopefully it will bring us luck and lots of money! I didn’t much like 2008 so I have high hopes for 2009. I feel like it will be a much better year than 2008. At least I am not turning 30 this year.

Okay, I think that is enough! I have a couple other things to do before I can play my game again!!

Here are a few pictures I took today of the bunnies and JD. They had a really hard day.

No, not JD this time! Today Tuscan and Moose had to go in for their yearly physical. They both look great, no problems! Tuscan weighs in at 4.5 pounds and Moose at 2.7 pounds. They both have lost a bit of weight since their visit last year. Usually I take them in for their examinations and then bring them back, but now my work is 5 minutes from the vet and 35-40 minutes from the house so they had to stay there all day today. It was the first time I have left them anywhere since I adopted them almost 5 years ago! As soon as I got the carrier out this morning they started thumping and hiding from me. They are still in their room and Tuscan is giving me some nasty looks.

When I got to the vet’s office to pick them up after work they told me Moose had managed to break out of the play area they had set up for them this morning. She is a crafty little bunny. The vet tech said they had them in a play area together with a litter box, but then they had to seperate them to try to get fecal samples. They put them in seperate cages, but Tuscan was the only one with a litter box. They tried to get a sample from Moose most of the day, but nothing. So they put her in the play area with a litterbox and she ran right over and started using it. She wasn’t giving a sample because she didn’t have a litterbox! What a good little bunny.

JD has been a bit out of it this week thanks to all his pain medicine. Extra loving and really sleepy (even more than usual). Well tonight Tuscan and Moose decided to check him out on the couch. Usually JD is scared of the bunnies and he freaks out if they get too close to him. He didn’t mind either of them sniffing his shaved back or walking all around him. Tuscan even gave him some nose kisses and stood in front of JD’s face for a long time sniffing at him. One time JD seemed like he was going to bop him on the head like he usually does, but he didn’t seem to have the energy or desire to do it. Those are some good drugs.

On another note, I cleaned downstairs tonight since Apple is gone. It is the first time in 1.5 years that I haven’t had bunnies downstairs and I don’t like it!! It is too empty down there without them.

Apple came to live with us a few days before Christmas last year as a short term foster. Unfortunately the family that was interested in him didn’t work out so he stayed here with us for almost a year. Everyone that came over and met him loved him. I have had 10 foster rabbits, 2 of my own rabbits and have worked with at least 30 rabbits at the SPCA over the years and none has been as special as Apple (don’t tell the others!). I know some of you don’t understand having a rabbit as a pet and it may seem strange to you, but they are wonderful pets with as much personality as any dog or cat. Apple is a very unique rabbit. He loves people and would always run over to get some love from anyone willing to pet him. He isn’t shy or scared of people like some rabbits. He always came running to greet me when I came home and would usually come when we called his name. I am so excited that he has such a wonderful new home, but I will really miss him.

JD is doing much better, but the drugs have him really out of it. He is extra loving while on his meds and extra sleepy. His fur isn’t growing in much yet, but no more diarrhea. He goes in next week for a check up and to check his urine. Hopefully the stones will stay away for awhile.

To see Apple’s flickr album click here.