Friday, December 24, 2010

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Merry Christmas from TAS South! That's one of our staff, Nicola, grinning because the shelter was closing early and everyone got to go home! And that's our donation tree - all that stuff cluttering up the bottom are donations from people feeling especially generous this holiday season. By the way - last count, we sold at least 15 of my cards ($60!).
We had a very elaborate set-up for this holiday shoot - seriously, they are quickly getting out of control. It's just so much fun! If you squint, you can see Luna in the middle there.
I very earnestly suggest that you click on the photos to look at the larger version, because they look so much better.
We had fake Christmas lights, which were a favourite of Rudolph the dwarf hamster (don't worry, he couldn't really eat them). All four of Rudolph's daughters have been adopted in the past week!
His son Donner preferred the Santa hat and pinecone decorations.
Marbles also liked the pinecones, although what she really wanted was to chew the fake candy cane behind them.
Ebony preferred the little Christmas tree, probably because she found a healthy, tasty present waiting for her! Hey, sometimes it takes bribery to get these photos.
Juliet posed very nicely, don't you think? Romeo wanted absolutely nothing to do with the photoshoot, and scolded me very loudly when I took Juliet.
On to the rabbits! Elf did not especially like his "Jingle collar" but doesn't he look dashing?
This may be my crowning achievement. This is Annabelle, who was just transferred to us from North. And she is wearing an elf hat, complete with fake elf ears. And it actually stayed on.
These two are also new, sisters only a few months old. Cute as buttons and completely insane - in other words, completely normal teenage bunnies!
Cocoa, the more adventurous of the two, really loved the fake poinsetta. (Look at the ears! Such lovable ears!)
Cinnamon is the quieter of the two. Hey, how many days is it until Christmas?
Jingle is another new one, the most laid-back rabbit I've ever seen and a perfect little Dutch. Hey, I think it might be less than one day until Christmas now!

I'm sitting here with a cockatiel sleeping on my chest and a rabbit sprawled at my feet. I hope your Christmas Eve is just as sweet!

Edited to add: Haha, I just went back to look and realized that I used the same title last Christmas Eve. It's a classic!

5 comments:

MZMollyTL said...

Merry Christmas Laura and thanks for the great photos. One of these days you are going to have to share your photo-taking secrets for pets.

Anonymous said...

The more I read on here the more I want a bunny. :) Is it possible to get one if you have cats? I've always had cats and I currently own three... I know at least one of them is an accomplished mouser. There's also a dog but Shih-tzu's are not very threatening. XD A rabbit could just kick her in the head a few times. It's the cats I would worry about.

Caroline said...

Great pics Laura, keep up the awesome work!

Laura HP said...

MacphailMaverick -
I have a post about animal photography half-written, actually, I just keep putting it off. I'm not sure I have much useful info to share though!

Aria -
Many, many rabbits live in homes with dogs and cats and get along just fine. It definitely depends on the rabbit's personality, ande the cats', however cats and rabbits are usually more likely to get along than rabbits and dogs. It's best to get a medium-to-large sized rabbit (and it must be adult - babies look like prey to all predators! But babies are a pain anyway). Most cats and rabbits get along fine, many become very close.

This page has some good info on rabbits & cats:
http://www.perfectpaws.com/intro.html

Googling will help you find out more too. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

My girlfriend owns a french lop rabbit which is free range in her home with two cats and a sheltie dog. I have always wanted a rabbit too.

I own a JRT puppy 11 months old who was raised with an older cat and is now best friends with a 4 1/2 year old cat I adopted from TAS 7 months ago. I just adopted a 10 month old rabbit from TAS a week ago. The puppy and cat seem to think that the rabbit is another cat. They get along fine and are allowed to roam free in the same room under supervision. The three all think they are equals, follow each other around and even try to sleep in the same basket.

Therefore, depending how the animals have been raised and the disposition of the pets - dogs, cats, and rabbits can live together as friends.