Linda's Day, as told by Linda...

It’s been another wonderful day in the life. Makes me wonder so often why we all do this. Life would be so simple without these poor little creatures. I’d get to eat undisturbed and sleep occasionally too.

It started early this AM with the phone ringing with yet another woman wanting to dump her no longer wanted bunny on the Hollow. I told her as I have told 100 other people this last month that w have space for 50 and we are already at 68. I just can’t take any more bunnies in under any circumstances.

I ended up cleaning Chelsea’s bunnies because I felt so guilty about yesterday and the insanity I caused upstairs. I’ll tell that story first!

I had a good shopping trip to Goodwill yesterday where I picked up an adorable double decker plastic doll bed that’s perfect for a bonded pair of bunnies. I decided to give it to Simon Peter and Punky. They adored it! They jumped on both levels and inspected it thoroughly. Then Punky decided to use it as a springboard and jumped as high as she could, cleared her pen and landed in the pen next door with the three girls! The three girls decided they would happily kill Punky the evil intruder and each other while they were at it. It was quite a sight. 4 bunnies all trapped in a 4’ pen trying to kill each other with me screaming and tossing a full size garbage can over top of Punky to keep her safe till I could climb into the pen. I managed to separate all four bunnies and kept batting them to the sides of the pen till Chelsea heard my screams and came running. With time the situation calmed down and the girls forgot they were trying to kill each other and Punky was happily reunited with Simon. Everyone was fine except Chelsea and I. But we survived.

This morning I cleaned Chelsea’s bunnies, vacuumed the shelter for Michele who was arriving soon to start cleaning half of the shelter today. Did a dump run with 12 garbage bags of bunny trash and a load of bunny laundry. Came downstairs and cleaned the 6 bunnies down stairs. Called Brandee to check in and talked with Michele a while about Indiana’s pending adoption. Called South Wilton to make an appointment, cleaned the cage of the guinea pig I was babysitting for and got him ready to return home this afternoon. Turned away another bunny on the phone then did the dishes and l cleaned my bathroom. Spoke to another lady who was worried her bunny was in stasis and helped as much as I could.

I met Maria and her daughter here at noon so they could visit their bunny Snowy who has been recovering here from his broken leg. They visited for an hour, Michele left, Teresa who cleans the other half arrived and a lovely family called who wanted to meet the bunnies. I set the appointment for 4PM as the other family was picking up their piggie at 3:30. Mr Pig left for home and the family came and visited and tried to decide on what bunny they wanted to have join their family, while yet another volunteer arrived to brush bunnies and give hugs and pets to everyone. Of course they really wanted to see the bun I had sent to Brandee’s yesterday to be neutered so they left and will be back Friday night. Fantasia stopped by as I raced to get to the Post Office and get back here for the next appointment. Another typical day in this neighborhood.

I spent part of the night on the computer commiserating with Brandee about bunnies and how much time they take out of our lives. She had the same kind of day and was deeply saddened about a bunny she is caring for while a friend is away who has severe healthy problems and cannot move. He has urine scald and requires a lot of care and he doesn’t seem to be getting better. We were talking about him and when it’s time to say “that’s enough”. To put a living creature to sleep forever still remains the hardest decision for both of us,. Selfishly I thought to myself thank goodness it’s her that has to make the decision this time and not me. Well- I should not have thought that! I got punished. I was busy complaining because there are two sneezers in the shelter tonight when......

A friend of Chelsea's made a late visit tonight about 10:30 and he stopped in my office and said ”Linda, you do know there is a rabbit in a cardboard box outside your door don’t you?” I smiled and said good joke Noel. They I realized from the look on his face he wasn’t kidding.

On the road outside the front gate was a huge cardboard box with holes cut in the side and a whole carrot and apple inside it. Also a syringe of water and a bunch of bunny food and hay. Along with the goodies was the most pitiful bunny I have ever seen. A beautiful young,yellow Lop with two completely splayed front legs and it appears in complete inability to move his back legs. His tummy fur is a solid urine soaked matt and he is covered in urine scald. He cannot move at all. He will take small amounts of Critical Care and I have given him pain meds. The first thing in the morning we are heading to South Wilton to find out if he has a chance. It may be that his back legs are so weak from hunger that he may be able to regain some movement. I have no idea. I hope the doctor can make the call if he has a chance. If he does then I will do whatever I can to make it work. He is gentle and beautiful. He is frail, skinny and appears half dead. Somewhere someone tried their best to help him. Obviously someone has used the syringe to try to give him water,. Someone cared enough to really try but didn’t have the knowledge needed. We may never know his history but oh my god - how very sad.

I have just finished his 4th force feeding. He has had pain meds and we will both go to sleep now. I know that somewhere someone is wondering how he is doing. I don’t understand why they didn’t call and ask for help instead of leaving him in a box outside in the dark all alone. So vulnerable. With the raccoons and animals around here at night if Noel hadn’t visited he probably would have been killed by the time I found the box in the morning. Apparently some higher power had decided he gets another chance so I’m going to do my best to give it to him. I’ll update tomorrow on what the doctor say. I am seeing that he is regaining a little use of the back legs. I think he is starved and dehydrated perhaps he was too weak to move them. He can now propel himself a few inches before they give out. So perhaps he does have a chance. All I know is that I'm tired and angry and confused. I can only imagine how he feels. Say a prayer guys, send white light, whatever you believe in. He needs all the help he can get.

Hey if anyone can fill in for me at the hollow tomorrow or Wednesday please let me know. This guy is going to take some intensive nursing care for a couple of days and I have no volunteer for Tuesday and Wednesday is a partial volunteer who may not be able to make it. I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment. Wondering why I got myself into this mess. It's been pretty intense lately for both Brandee and I. I could really use your help if anyone has some extra time to donate day or evening. Linda

My Weekend, Rootbeer, Meriden, Steiff Bear Show

Hello to all! Well, again, I'll have to add pictures later! On Friday, I had the wonderful time of bringing Michelle Letizia along with me for a ride. It was a pretty quick/easy day. I went to Petco to get crickets for the bearded dragon and seed for the cockatiels and dove. We then went over to Stratford Animal Control to pick up a couple of carriers and saw all the dogs looking for homes including a beautiful Pit Mix with a very scarred face, it's believed he/she was used as a "bait dog." There are also 5 beautiful mix-breed puppies, look like they have some min-pin in them, eyes still closed. All will be looking for homes, along with all the other doggies there. Afterwards we went to my house to unload and then went to a friends house to pick up her two rabbits (one with severe urine scald as it has been unable to walk since having a large cancerous tumor removed - I have picked up meds and am trying to control the situation) and her Shepard I'll be watching for the next 20 days. Thanks for the company Michelle!

Saturday - blur... What did I do Saturday? I know I cleaned the bunnies, did laundry, house-work - but anything exciting?

Sunday... Chris and I actually slept until 10 which is not like us at all! Got up, did bunny meds,
met a Shepard Mix at my house that will be looking for a new home (4 years old, beautiful!) then went to the Meriden Humane Society where I picked up a bunny (Meriden), a hamster, and 7 of the most beautiful spotted gerbils I have ever seen! I have never seen Gerbils of these colors! I then went to Ansonia to pick up some cat supplies off Freecycle, Shelton to pick up a dog-crate, Stratford to pick up a rabbit cage, then went to the Hollow to drop off the cage and do a bunny swap. Then I went home, set up new cages, took out old ones, and re-arranged a bit in the basement while cleaning cages. It was a busy day.
Jed and Martin will go in for their neuters tomorrow. Both are doing really, really well. Shadow and Bugsy just got neutered and went to the Hollow. Bugsy may go to live with the people who found him in Bpt. They have called religiously to check up on him! Rootbeer went to his new home yesterday. I think he's going to do really, really well!

A note from our courageous leader (come on, she puts her hand in Evie's cage!):

Just a quick update on some Hollow stuff....First I'd like to thank Loftex Industries of New York City for their more than generous donation of towels for the bunnies. A huge box, filled to the top with thick, soft towels arrived yesterday and it's so very appreciated! Comfortable, warm for the bunnies and pretty to look at for the volunteers! Thanks Loftex!I sent out tons of publicity releases for the upcoming Teddy Bear Show and I'd like you all to see one. It explains a little more about the show specifics. If anyone would like me to email you a copy of the actual release to post where they work or play please drop me an email at hopalonghollow@aol.com. The more publicity the better! Here it is.....
October is when the leaves start to turn and the bears and animals come out to play at the 23rd Annual Bristol Teddy Bear and Doll Show on October 14, 2007
Bear Artist Sarah Forrest has taken the show to a new level of excellence. This show will feature some of the best artists in the world of teddy bears and soft sculpture art. There will also be retailers with manufactured and artist pieces, a Steiff event, and appraisals will be available for your antique animals or dolls.
To keep pace with the show’s growth it will now be at the Clarion Hotel in Bristol, Connecticut. This new venue will give collectors and artists a new more comfortable setting to call home. There’s something else new in this year’s show. It will also be a benefit for Hop-A-Long Hollow, a rescue group for homeless rabbits in Norwalk, Connecticut. A soft sculpture collector and benefactor of Hop-A-Long Hollow generously donated a portion of her collection to the shelter. There will be a silent auction of these artist creations, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Hollow. There is also the “Bunny Challenge”; all exhibitors are invited to create a bunny for the event with ten percent of the adoption fee benefiting the Hollow.
For more information about the show go to www.bruinmischief.com
For more information about the Hop A Long Hollow go to www.hopalonghollow.org


Bristol, CT - Clarion Hotel23nd Annual Bristol Teddy Bear and Doll Show 42 Century Drive, Bristol, CT 06010 10am-3pm October 14, 2007Bruin Mischief 860-665-1322www.bruinmischief.com/shows/bristol/2007/bristol.htmsarah@bruinmischief.com

Assuming everyone still wants to ..... I plan on booking some rooms at the hotel for the night before the show, I believe there is a hotel room pre-party for the " big spenders " and artists in Sarah's room and you are all invited. Please let me know if you are planning on going and if you will be willing to be a driver. I assume you all agree it's best to car pool. We will be working hard the day of the show but hopefully we will also be having a lot of fun and making a lot of money for the Hollow! For those of us who are not in the know about Teddy Bear Collecting the fact that this is a Steiff Event means it could be a very, very good fundraiser. Steiff is the best known name in stuffed toys, very pricey and extremely well known world wide. By being designated a Steiff event it gives the show a special ambiance and attracts many, many collectors to the show. Steiff actually sends a representative to work the show. I believe there may even be a special Steiff bear dedicated to the show. Sarah has worked very long hours putting the show together and I'd like to take time to THANK her VERY MUCH! And to add a very special THANK YOU to our generous benefactors Paula and Barry, who donated the bears we are auctioning off at the show. I am not sure if they want their last name mentioned so I won't but you know who you are and thank you from the bottoms of our hearts! Their warmth and support toward the shelter was brought about in part by their love of the bunnies they adopted from the Hollow.
Brandee did still another happy bonding this week. Gussie who has been living on Long Island with Greer for the last several months now has a live in friend! Greer adopted Elvis and it was love at first sight with all three parties involved! Greer, Gussie and Elvis will now live happily ever after along with Greer's three kitties. Miracle is rapidly adjusting to living in the house with Angel (and Harvey and I!) and actually left his cage on his own the other day. That's a huge step for a very timid and terrified bunny. Angel is working wonders with him that we humans just couldn't do. She has taught him that humans are just bunny slaves and nothing to be afraid of!Tennessee Jed is rapidly taking over the house. He and Jessie seem to be becoming good friends though I have kept it thru the cage bars. Jessie discovered the other day that if she curls her tongue enough she can steal all Jed's food right out of his dish right thru the cage bars. Jed is less than thrilled. I'm very sorry to say that Dr. Amanda Cronin has left the South Wilton Vet Group practice. She has moved back to her home town and family. Losing her compassion, gentle touch and rabbit knowledge is a big loss for the bunnies and humans of the Hollow. Thankfully Dr Barbara Mangold has been working with us treating the bunnies and Dr. Claire Fahey and Dr Nick Satinas are also available so we have great doctors working with us. Dr Pieper in Stratford has been cutting back his practice a bit so he is a bit more difficult to get an appointment with. That is also a big loss for the Hollow.After three years in rabbit rescue with neither Brandee or I ever seeing a broken leg on a bunny we have had three in three weeks! First came Jeddie who I think may have had a broken leg that had healed without medical care. One rear is splayed out but he manages quite nicely using it for balance. He was adopted by Harvey and I and has a permanent home at our house.
Martin our little amputee bunny had his surgery several weeks ago and is tearing around on three legs lke it's totally normal. Dr Mangold removed the one horribly damaged hind leg and he was amazing in his recovery. He manages to stand on one hind leg balancing himself against an object with his two front feet! Amazing! He has a permanent home at Brandee's. The third bunny is named Snowy and he was brought to Brandees on a weekend when no vet was available by a desperate owner who found him with the leg broken. Snowy's leg had the bone crushed but on x-ray it appeared heal able so he has spent the last two weeks visiting at my house while he has his leg splinted and wrapped with bandages. It appears to be healing nicely and Snowy will be able to return to his home when the healing progresses a bit more. A huge Thank you to FACT the Ferret Association out of Hartford who kindly donated a big portion of the funds for Snowy's treatment. Their donation shows the wonderful spirit of cooperation we are finding with all the local animal rescue groups.

Thank you kindly for the updates Linda!
Pictures to follow!
Brandee :o)

baby bunnies, Mandy from Cottontail Rabbit Rescue steps up to help!

This is Diamond. She is part if a court-case seizure and has had babies in the past 2 days. Mandy read our blog last night and saw that we were in need of a lactating mother for the 3 baby bunnies that came in 2 days ago and called to take in the 3 babies we just got in to join the 4 that Diamond just had. Hopefully all will go well, we will bring the 3 back here, have them spayed/nuetered and send them on their way to their new INDOOR homes. Diamond was so kind to feed the babies right away, even with her injured leg (broken and now healing) she was grooming them. We hope that she will take care of all babies, and thank Mandy from the bottom of our hearts for the phone call that may just save their lives. Michelle M. had them for 2 nights and nursed them very well. Thank you Michelle!

I just want to send a bunch of pictures through tonight... I went and dropped off the babies, went to an awesome farmer's market on Middletown road, and then went the coastline home, dying to go to Lake Compounce,or someplace else to just have some fun... Here Goes....

Beckam chilling to the left and Jojo lazy down below...

2 swans, their "ugly" (beautiful!) ducklings in Branford a long with a duck family. NIGHT!

A crazy day, Alestair, Flash, Carmie, Elvis

Well, it's 11:40 and I just want to talk to someone, and no one is home. Chris is asleep on the couch with Jojo the Pug puppy we are watching for 2 weeks (so cute!) and Will & Grace is on the T.V. I had a few laughs, but the day was long and a bit frustrating. Michelle Malone called a few days ago about these people living next door to her mother in-law that had kittens outside all over the place. Michelle caught two, then trapped the mom today. I had her release the mom again as there seems to be two moms and two litters and we don't know who is nursing who at the time. Some seem to be 3 weeks, some 5 weeks old. I think the neighbors denied having cats, but let her in to look for a kitten that was in the house somehow and saw litter boxes and cat toys everywhere... Needless to say, we will have kittens for adoption in the next few weeks. PLEASE HELP! The moms will need homes too as they are trapped.

I was excited it was a bit colder and raining today, thinking to myself "Wow! I can clean the Hollow, clean the buns here and call it a day!" Well, the pug baby we are watching appears to be having something like seizures starting to kick in. I got up this morning and with her owners consent I dropped her at their vet in Fairfield for blood work and then proceeded on to Dr. Pieper with 3 rabbits to be neutered in Stratford (the beginning of my day as this is where I live). I went to Poster Animal Hospital with three of the 11 hamsters we had taken in and Dr. Poster adopted one but we couldn't find a cage for it, so I said I would take the hammies to the Hollow with me and drop off one back to her with a temporary cage. I then went to Westport to see if I could see any of the kittens, but alas, it was raining and cats don't like the wet, so I dropped off a borrowed Havahart trap from Dr. Poster and went on my way to clean the Hollow in Norwalk as I called the Humane Society and Petco to see what they might have for adoption. There is a parakeet at the HS in Westport looking for a home, no other small animals at either location other than the HS rabbits.

While at the Hollow, we had a family stop by to see the other two hamsters, they picked one out and left to get there supplies. They came back to pick up their hamster, left donations, and I finished cleaning. I went in to visit with Snowy who had his leg broken this past weekend getting it stuck in his cage while on a shelf. Carmie, Linda's bunny bonded to Angel died yesterday, so the cage looked sad and lonely. Angel will be bonded to Miracle if all goes well. After leaving Linda's (several phone calls coming in while I was there) I proceeded back to where the kittens are (with a Guinea Pig in tote that Christine aka. Wignug, is going to foster) to see Michelle and her kids, her friend Kathy and her kids, all out in the rain trying to capture some of the other small ones. I nabbed one who was very upset with me, then left them to go about there business in catching any others (no luck more today) and went to drop of Dr. Posters hammie. I met Chris for lunch and then proceeded to pick up a table to borrow from Linda's husbands place in Fairfield, Fairfield Hardwood Supply. After leaving there, I went to pick up the pug baby Jojo. I got there and the receptionist told me "I'm sorry, she is going to have to stay with us." I was beginning to panic thinking something was really wrong when they told me "she has to stay, she is just too cute!" After that heart-failure, Jojo and I got in the car and I received a call from a guy on the phone who dropped the phone and was swearing while talking to me about a mom bunny that had 3 babies this morning but the mom had died. I gave him a number or two to call, since I don't like taking in babies - they are just too hard to keep alive... On the way home, Dr. Piepers office gave me another near heart failure as they said 2 of the rabbits out of 3 (Alastair and Flash) made it through surgery just fine, just as I felt a lump in my throat they said that Elvis never had to have surgery as he was an already neutered bunny. He was the one that had been dumped at the Queen's zoo. I got home and one of the dogs (Sheffie I am sure) had knocked my lap-top on the floor and broke the back - still working though, I am on it, and somehow JD had finagled the food dehydrator out onto the kitchen floor and was trying to clean off any cinnamon from the apples he could find... I had Chelsea (my new 13 year old and very awesome volunteer!) come over with a friend of hers and they helped clean cages, do water and food, and played with Jojo while I was doing other things (thank you Chelsea, you helped bring some sanity to my life today and I appreciate your kindness very much!). Christine came by and picked up the piggie and was in tears when she saw how great Martin, our newly 3 legged bunny, is doing. Chris came home, I made dinner, then begged him to do Dance Dance Revolution with me for 1/2 hour. It has been a long day, but that is OK. Michelle Malone took the 3 baby bunnies from the guy who called, he says he wants them back... We'll see what happens there. Ali dropped off a bag of lactated ringer for me and I can't find it anywhere, so that is my goal tomorrow morning, find the lactated ringer, get those babies hydrated and then we will all decide what to do from there. I have another dog staying with me this week too, a Golden named Beckam. He and Jojo are AWESOME dogs and have played much and just fit in to our routine so nicely... Thank you GOD!

Chris called me this morning about hearing news that a local animal rescue person was arrested. Turns out the woman (who yelled at me for Arthur not having water in his cage 5 minutes after I set it up) from "Companions for Life" that was arrested last year for her deplorable condition of 129 dogs was arrested again yesterday. I'm not sure, but something about moving and not telling anyone and having more dogs again. I was so afraid it would be worse... It could have been!

Good night to all!
Brandee :o)

RATS!! HELP! Snowy's Broken Leg, Cockatiels and GP's Need Homes NOW!

Hello to all!

No pictures tonight, though a new Martin Video will surface soon, but we have great need this week for foster or forever homes! Two male cockatiels ages about 4-6 need homes, supposedly chatty though their current foster mom has not yet heard them speak. I had a couple of calls on rats this week, several from one woman that took some in, and also some guy in Colchester released about 100, 70 of which have been caught, all looking for homes. I guess after the rats are caught charges will be pressed, but we are in need of foster homes now for the ones trapped including many solids, hoodeds and PEW's. Rats are charming and intelligent pets! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!! We also had a call in from a woman today looking to place 3 Guinea Pigs, I think 2 females and an altered male, but son is really allergic and can't go into that part of the house. Let me know directly what you can help with. FYI If you are afraid of rats, step down from it, they are AWESOME pets! Look them up online! We do have 3 hamsters that are all social and sweet, approximately 8 weeks old up for adoption as well. Please contact me with what you can help with ASAP at brandeesbunch@aol.com and let me know in the subject line what you are looking to foster/keep forever.

On another hand... Snowy (brothers and sister are Indiana, Colorado and Carolina) was brought to me on Sunday with a shattered leg from it getting caught (we believe) in a cage bar. He has to have surgery to fix it, possibly our second amputation this month, and the second in the Hollow history. There was blood and a limp foot... I had him here Sunday, and it stinks not having an exotic vet on call on Sundays... It's Linda and myself... Lucky us... If anyone is willing to make donations to help with the surgery you can make them through Paypal at hopalonghollow@aol.com or make a direct donation to South Wilton Veterinary group. The family who owns him could use all help! Thanks to all who have helped us this month (and prior months as well) we very much appreciate your support! I promise to put more clips of Martin, our new 3-legged rabbit up soon! He is doing AWESOME - thanks to all our support!

Brandee :o)

Martins Amputation, Welcome Hannah, Elvis possible bond to Gussie!

This is Martin's Leg prior to yesterday's very successful amputation. It appears it was stripped of all skin and just started rotting away. He has had it like this for so long, that having it removed has been a great thing for him, it is no longer hitting things and in the way. We picked him up from South Wilton Veterinary (Thank you so much for the wonderful job Dr. Mangold!) today and already he is eager to come out and play. I have limited his time out, as I don't want him to hurt himself and he needs to have his healing time. He did not get neutered during this surgery as the Doc felt it too much at once, and he is already happily trying to mount my feet and mark his territory... Oh well, another day! As long as he is safe, happy and alive, that is what we fought for! We raised enough money in donations to help not only have his leg amputated, but to have him also get neutered. Thank you so much every body for all your support once again. We can always count on you all when the going gets really tough, and it is also what keeps Linda and myself going... All our wonderful volunteers and wonderful contributors!

Hannah was dropped two days ago, another Red-eyed white bunny, and another coming in tomorrow. We have received so many phone calls in the past several weeks, it is hard to get to them all promptly. Elvis is getting neutered on the 14th a long with Flash, and both will more than likely be going to their new homes... Elvis to Greer with Gussie and Flash to Ali and Lumar with Scout and Alex. Wish them luck!

I had a pretty good day today, I had a new volunteer, Chelsea, come over this morning and help me bust through cleaning the cages, we were done in under an hour I think, maybe about an hour. She helped with litter boxes, feeding and the water bottles - huge help, THANK YOU CHELSEA!

Please visit You-Tube to see an awesome Video of Martin! Visit at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOcTofpyDLM

Excuse my lisp which Chris keeps making fun of me for, I wear a night guard a bit for my stressful clinching of the teeth and have worn it all this week, and am over compensating for it!

Thank you all again!

Brandee