Andrea

A man walks into the shelter, holding a rabbit with that old-fashioned "farm grip". Just the rabbit, no carrier. He wants to surrender her because his family is moving back to Europe - Latvia, I think.
The rabbit is passed to me as the workers ask him questions, trying to find out more about her. I appraise her quickly, coldly - a large lop, cute markings, friendly if a little shy, too skinny, rough coat probably due to poor nutrition. Lops go fast, but skinniness is not a good quality to have in a shelter.
The workers ask how old she is, the answer is 3 years. Has she been spayed? "Um, I don't think so." AKA No.
Her name is Andrea.
"She's very nice," The man says affectionately. "I think some very nice people will like her and she'll get a great home."
The workers warn him, as they have to, that a home is not guaranteed for any animal. He asks what would happen to her if she didn't get a home. The answer is, of course, euthanasia.
"Oh."
He sounds shocked, and sad, but he still pays the fee and fills out the form. I start up the stairs, taking Andrea to the Room so she can try her chances at getting someone to care about her once again.
He stares after us, then calls out, "Bye, Andrea."
He sounds like he wants to say goodbye. Like this has all happened faster than he expected and he isn't sure if he should follow us or stay at the desk, if he should say goodbye properly or hold her one more time or if he is even doing the right thing. I glance back and turned slightly, feeling a moment of empathy.
Then I realize all I'm doing is giving Andrea one last glimpse at her family, allowing her to see them let her go. I wonder if she understands. The man looks sad.
I turn away and go up the stairs, taking his skinny, scared rabbit with me. Once her nails are clipped and her fur is brushed, she is placed in a cage, thrown into the Room with thirteen other animals, suddenly in a competition that has no rules and no logic.
Andrea arrived at the shelter yesterday afternoon.
What do I know? Maybe it's nigh impossible to take rabbits to Latvia or Lithuania or wherever. The rabbit had not been mistreated, she's very affectionate and clearly was treated kindly. She's had a bad diet, but I doubt that's out of cruelty, just a lack of knowledge. Those people weren't evil or cruel or even particularly neglectful.
But I always get stuck on that "Oh". Knowing that your pet could be put down, how could you do anything except take her back and find her a home yourself? How could you possibly leave her there?
Do I know that man's exact circumstances? No. Do I care? Not particularly. Even if Andrea gets adopted (which she probably will, she's very cute and lops have a magical ability to get adopted quickly), that was a home that could have gone to one of our other rabbits. Rabbits like red-eyed Lewis or shy little Benji, who will have a harder time because it's easier to pick the cute and friendly one.
There's a popular phrase in rescue, that says when you adopt, you save two lives - the one you adopted and the one who will fill their cage.
Well, it works the other way too. When you surrender, it's not just your animal's life you're putting at risk.

Forever Home

We hadn't planned to keep any of Coraline's babies. But life can throw you curveballs, and suddenly we lost Alice while the little ones were growing up. I've never been one to wait a long time to 'fill the space'. Certainly not out of disrespect for my wonderful girl, but as a friend of mine noted, "Now you can take another one out of the shelter." Besides, a beloved pet can't be 'replaced' - I may get another rabbit but they will be nothing like Alice, and they will have nothing to do with how I remember, or mourn, her. And as the final deciding factor, our other bunny Giles is clearly lonely without a buddy.
We had a litter of babies who had been born in our house, we were already attached to them, and we had a unique opportunity to give a bunny a real, complete forever home: from birth to the end of their life.
And so Magic has joined our family! It's amazing to think this little guy was born right here in our home. And now he will stay with us for the rest of his life, through thick and thin.
I am totally in love with him already. Usually I take a bit of time to really bond with a new animal and consider them 'family', but with this baby boy, it was instantaneous. He is still a baby, under four months old. He is full of baby energy and could spend hours racing up and down the hallway, sliding into walls and leaping two feet straight up into the air for no discernable reason. He's hilarious.
He is also one of the prettiest rabbits I've ever seen. That's not why we chose him of course - we chose him from the litter because he was the one most bonded to us. But man, is he ever pretty - gorgeous fur, wonderfully expressive ears and beautiful blue eyes.
Giles is not impressed by this neurotic, hyper, spastic ball of energy and I don't think the bonding process will be quite as instantaneous as it was with Alice. But he loves having a friend around, and Magic is used to being with his brothers, so I don't think it will take too long. I hope.
It's amazing to think he once looked like this!
I am excited to see the little guy grow and learn (especially to see him learn the valuable lesson of Not Jumping on Giles' Head).

And you know what's kind of lovely? When Coraline first gave birth, she didn't have a proper nest. Because fur is so important to keep the newborns warm, I pulled some of Alice's loose fur (she was shedding). And so, when he was first born, Magic was kept safe and warm by Alice's fur. Which is just kind of heart-warming, in my opinion.
Welcome to the family, baby boy!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It's been another busy week in the Room! I can remember a time when the Room usually hosted an average of 6 animals, but it's been quite a while. Well, you deal with the hand you're dealt, right?
This is another new dove! Crazy! Her name is Trinity and we're hoping to introduce her to Mocha, who is already trying to woo her with his mad cooing skills in the cage next door.
Another new bird! Juno here is a young budgie, and I'm fairly sure she's hand tamed. She knows how to step on to your finger but she's quite scared right now and it's hard to tell how tame she is. After she calms down a bit, we'll get a better idea.
We already have two white rabbits with red eyes, so it's just fantastic that we got another one. Tolkien here is another transfer from Etobicoke, and at least he's more outgoing than Lewis. Dear Public, Please stop bringing rabbits to the Etobicoke shelter, they can't keep them. Take them to North or East instead. Thanks!
At least his arrival is balanced by an adoption - Beans has been adopted! Finally! This sweet boy went to a great, bunny-knowledgeable home. Mr Smithers (the black lop) and Panda are also gone; both of them went to Rabbit Rescue. Also, Carroll the white rabbit and Coraline (my foster babies' mom!) have been adopted, they're just being held for spay. I'm so glad Coraline got a home right away!
Unfortunately, Jenkins the guinea pig had to be euthanized a few days ago. She had a large abscess and despite treatment, she wasn't getting any better and the decision had to be made.

The Room makes me think of the law of conservation of energy - some come, some go, yet somehow, we always manage to end up with the same number of animals we had before.

Update on Dobby!

I love getting updates on my foster babies!
Hello!
Since the day I brought him home a week ago, Dobby has been doing spectacular! He's no doubt one of the handsomest hamsters I've owned and always brings a smile to my face. Dobby has just recently accepted food out of my hand and just last night, happily sat on it, snacking on a carrot, as I rested it on the floor of his cage. And when I began to slowly raise my hand up he remained on it, calmly eating the carrot until I was able to safely cup him in my hands. He's a total sweetheart.
And a wheelaholic! Oh my, from the first night he was brought home, Dobby has been racing on a wheel. I can hear him running his little heart out through the walls. He's a very curious little guy and enjoys zooming through the tubes and exploring the many other toys in his cage.
Thank you so very much, Laura. If it wasn't for you, Dobby wouldn't be here with me. I had heard brief tidbits here and there about the crazy amount of small animals dropped off at the shelter on June 30th but never knew the reality of it until I visited your blog. I am a strong believer in adopting and I am so very blessed for what you do.
What a great update! She also mentioned how he wasn't used to being handled (my fault, oops) so it's been going very slowly - but thanks to her patience and care, it's going well! Yay Dobby!
Dobby and his sister Hedwig have great homes now, but their three other siblings are still waiting! Flitwick (above) is still at my house - the LAST foster! I've been waiting for the Room to calm down a bit before I can sneak him back in.
Tonks isn't at the shelter either, because he's at a brand-new store location! Yes, we now have a Pet Valu store that can house some of our small animals - it's right around the corner from the shelter and they chose to have a room for adoptions instead of selling animals. Yay Pet Valu store!
Bella is actually at the shelter waiting for her home. This little one is full of personality (maybe too much). She escaped in the shelter and we thought she'd been stolen - only to find her under a rabbit cage a few days later! This girl needs a secure cage!

We Don't Want Your Rabbit

We have enough!
Current rabbits in the Room:
Mosby: Transferred from Etobicoke last week. Somehow got a note about 'biting' on his cage even though he's easy to handle and sweet. Guess Etobicoke didn't think so?
Beans: Waiting over two months even though he's cute and small and friendly. I think he gets lost in the crowd, which is a shame because he's lovely.
Beans update here!
Benji: One of my foster babies, just got neutered and is ready to go!
Carroll: Been here a month (time flies!). Shy, big girl.
Jewel: Found running around Queen's Park a few days ago! Gorgeous girl.
Lewis: Alarmingly large already, he's going to be a big boy! Arrived with Carroll.
Mr Smithers: Another transfer from Etobicoke last week. Thanks, Etobicoke!
Munchkin: One of my foster babies, not quite ready to be spayed, so really she's just taking up space. Good thing she's cute!
Panda: Surrendered a month ago, much healthier now but still waiting!
Seuss: One of my foster babies. Just got neutered and is ready to go!

So that's 10 rabbits in our little Room. Ah well. At least the boys have been neutered now, so they can go as soon as someone wants them!
And even better, Rabbit Rescue has agreed to take a couple! I've got my fingers crossed for Panda and Lewis or Carroll, but of course they'll take who they think is best. What's important is that we'll have some breathing space!

One Last Shoot

The bunny family is back at the shelter! It's hard to believe they're gone. We went and got pretty attached to them, they were real characters. We miss them! Coraline and her daughter are in one cage, while the three boys are in another cage. They were very confused to be in a shelter, poor little guys.
All their names and genders have changed since the last time I posted. Well, obviously their genders didn't change, but we were 99% wrong. Oops!
Emily turned out to be a guy, and is now named Benji. Benji is crazy full of energy and probably the shyest of the group. He is still quite skittish, which I don't understand, since we've held him since the day he was born.
He's still lovely however,and hilarious to watch. I write bios for all the small animals in the Room, and they are pinned up on the cages for potential adopters. The bios for my foster babies are basically just a list of overwhelmingly positive adjectives - 'awesome', 'fantastic', 'handsome', 'perfect' bunnies!
Magic also turned out to be a guy, but no name change was required. He already has a home and will be getting his own post soon!
Munchkin is a girl, and just about the most hyper bunny I've ever seen. I'm sure she'll calm down as she grows up, but damn - girl has energy! She is such a sweetie and will fall out of the cage trying to get your attention.
Munchkin loves her mom. They are best friends. I would love for them to get adopted together but I know that ain't happening. We should really split them into separate cages lest they become a bonded pair, but there's no room.
Stellaluna turned out to be a guy and is now named Seuss. At least now we can tell the black ones apart for sure! Seuss is the quietest of the bunch - not exactly shy, because he is the most eager to be petted, but he's not as active and prefers to watch everyone else.

We are really going to miss these guys! Their new homes better be super awesome - and send updates!

Isn't It Always

I got home from the shelter today and complained about how full the Room was. My mom replied, "The shelter is always full."
I do say that a lot, especially lately. Ever since the hoarder, it's been a steady intake of small animals and we're always at capacity.
This little guy (or girl? Didn't have time to check) was transferred from Etobicoke today. Cute! Normally I wouldn't mind a little dude like this showing up - tiny, cute, friendly, will go fast. Right now we're so full we had to put him in the back room.
Mr Smithers is another arrival from Etobicoke. Thanks, Etobicoke! It might not be their fault (they don't keep rabbits), but it's still exasperating to have more arrive every day.
Coraline's entire family is out of foster and at the shelter now. I hate to add to the crowd, but they need to be fixed.
Everyone is sick of having a full Room. The workers are sick of it, I'm sick of it, the animals are sick of it. Everyone's tired of being so full, but it's not like there's a great alternative.
Every time I think it's easing up, it rises back up and overflows. Last count - three hamsters, two rats, two birds, two guinea pigs, freaking 11 rabbits.
At least there is some good news (and relief!) on the horizon!

Home Sweet Home

It's time for some updates! First off, Hedwig the hamster was adopted last month by a young girl I knew from my summer job. She had just lost her old hamster and was looking for the perfect match. She sent me this email the day she took Hedwig home:

Hi Laura, once I set up the cage and put Hedwig in it, she looked like she had lived in it forever! Thank you so much for inviting me and my family to your shelter. I am really really happy that I chose Hedwig. For some reason, I wasn't sure that I wanted Hedwig in the beginning, but once we were driving home I was really really glad that I did. I am pretty sure that we were meant for each other! Her personality is a lot like mine. But I still think I will need to work on having her let me pick her up. She will have to get used to me a little more. Thanks again very very much, I am very happy!
Then we have an update on Ashley the rabbit, who was adopted into the same home as Mr Guiners (it's an update on him too!).

Ashley is very happy here. She is doing "binkies" all over the place. She rolls over on her back and wriggles. She follows me around in the mornings. She is very curious and wants to get into the cupboards. This morning she jumped into Mr Guinters cage from the top opening. I had to rescue Mr G and pull her out with the other hand. Luckily some branches from the top of the trees beside our apartment building were blown off. I took them for the guinea pigs and Ashley. Ashley enjoys stripping the bark.

I'm so glad that rabbit got a home that gives her lots of exercise - she was built to be an athlete!

I also got a really awesome update on Fuzzy the guinea pig, but it's quite long so it'll get its own entry.
Yay updates! And in other good news, Sherlock has finally been adopted! I'm so happy for that little guy, he was a dear.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I always make a point to go to the shelter on holidays. It doesn't mean a thing to the animals, but it's a time for family and they don't really have any, so I like to shower them with treats. And make them pose for photos.
Presenting....the Thanksgiving photoshoot, starring TAS South's small animals! For the record, I totally love Mocha the dove, he was a superstar and had a lot of fun posing with the backdrop.
The rabbits were the hardest to get, since they aren't big fans of standing still, but Sherlock posed very nicely.
It was fun doing the hamsters - Bellatrix is about the same size as those gourds.
Beans is thankful for greens (aka bribery)!
Jenkins is new to the Room - he is a young guinea pig who has quite the wild hair style!
Whiskey here is also new, having just arrived a few days ago. This photo took a lot of work, this boy does not like to stay still!
Arizona is big for a rat, but he's got nothing on that pumpkin! Of course the rattie boys would not pose together for a photo.
Actually, Hudson wouldn't pose at all, he did not see a good reason to stay still when there was so much to explore!
Hershey was not so sure about posing, but he couldn't resist checking out the colourful gourds we were using as props (seriously, those things are really odd).
Ginger, our largest hamster, was still dwarfed by the smallest gourd.
Junior's another newbie, and he is the most chilled-out guinea pig you'll ever meet.
Lewis really enjoyed chewing on the gourd stems. "Who me, I wasn't doing anything!"
Tonks is a shy young guy, but he is really fantastic at posing for photos.
Munchkin was the worst! We tried getting her mom, too, but neither of them would stop running and jumping at top speed. So this shot of her stuffing her face was the best we could do.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Sorry for the long post but (as you can see), we're pretty packed and I couldn't resist posting everyone.
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!