Upcoming Events, rats, hammies, gerbils

Well, I got up and went to see Linda Howard this morning at her doggie salon in Stratford (very nice woman, and an excellent groomer!), she took in a beautiful little brown dwarf bunny girl that has an enlarged mammary gland. We are going to see about getting her into the vet this week, spayed next month, and off to a new home. I picked up hay in Fairfield and went to the Hollow in Norwalk. I got to see Michelle Malone today, who I hadn't seen in quite some time, so that was really nice. Linda had picked up some new outfits for baby Katie, and Jess dropped me a bunch of little baby stuff too. Thank you guys so much! Don't think that your generosity will get you out of baby sitting!
I went by the Humane Society on the way home to visit with the bunnies and see who they have up for adoption. Well, I ended up calling Linda, and she brought one home... It's a very big bunny girl that has an eye infection (perhaps tooth related) and is very scared. She has been there for 4 months, so we figured maybe we could clean her up and work on her personality. I also just got a call to take in 3-5 rats, believed to be male. A guy is moving and has decided to keep 2 but was going to let the other 3 go. Anyone that might be able to foster these guys, or 2 dwarf hamster and 2 gerbils, please let me know! We are also looking for possible foster homes for a couple of rabbits, you choose your size, we provide the cage/food/hay, etc...
Well, hopefully the last of our fliers are sent out now and we get good response for Saturday the 15th, our big Petco day! Don't forget Saturday the 22nd too, we are at the Humane Society in Westport to do an adoption event to try to adopt out their buns! As much help as possible at these two events would just be incredible. Both are scheduled for 11-3pm. Even just a couple of hours would be so very helpful! Let's all try to make this the best Hop-A-Long Hollow Easter Fundraiser Season YET!!!
Any ideas or items you wish to donate to sell at these events, or anyone that is willing to be in our bunny suit and be our mascot and possibly someone to take the Polaroids for us, please, please get in touch with me at brandeesbunch@aol.com!
For everyone that keeps asking, Chris and I are registered under Brandee LaCava at amazon.com and babydepot.com.
More to come...

Thanks Jim and Ali, Paperwork, Bunnies, and cake!

Ok, let's get the cake out of the way first. I just got to work (an hour ago) and there is banana bread and chocolate cake for breakfast! Exciting news!
Thank you Jim for driving the paperwork up from the Hollow to Stratford yesterday. Ali and I got so much accomplished between making sure that everybun had a folder, everybun for adoption that was on the web-site is in the Hollow Adoption Book (we still have a few to add but now we know who!) and making sure all the paperwork is filed accordingly. Next step, Chelsea's database! I can't believe how many bunnies we have seen come and go even in this past year alone. Ali also helped me clean yesterday, thanks Ali! I collected a trunk load of papers for the Hollow again this morning and will be trying to keep things low-key this week. Ahhh, what will the rabbits have in store for us?
Brandee

Snow! Annabelle is well. One of Trixies babies passes away.

I feel sick. I think either I'm over exhausted or I ate something that the baby doesn't like, again. I'm excited to have the weekend off with nothing to do, and if I had a longer couch, I'd sleep in my living room from now till tomorrow just listening to Stargate. I'm going to rest this weekend and kick this cold I have before it drives me to my 3rd course of antibiotics in this pregnancy!
I was so happy to see snow, finally, this morning when I got up. I ran a couple of quick errands, but have been home almost all day letting each of the buns and the chinchilla's out to run. Linda says Annabelle is doing well and is on her way out of stasis. I don't understand these little bunny beasts, you don't do a thing to change their diets and BANG! They get gas or go into stasis... I just want to say a little extra "Thank You" to Linda for once again dealing with the stasis, and taking care of Annabelle the beastie bunny girl. We all love her, so thank you Linda. I'm sad to say that Jess reported in that the runt of Trixie's litter passed away today. We kind of figured that he/she would, but it certainly doesn't make it any easier when it happens. You always have this little bit of hope that the mom will take charge - make the baby better... but it doesn't always happen that way, and in the animal kingdom, mom knows what she is doing. Sorry Jess, I know it's been a long week for you. The other 3 babies seem to be striving and healthy, and Jess reports that fur is starting to blossom!
Thank You Brynne for both cleaning yesterday and for transporting Milo the Guinea Pig back to Norwalk where he will go home with Melissa and Derek! Thank you also to Dr. Poster who took a quick peek to make sure Milo was a Milo for us!
Well, I'm going to go and fold more fliers tonight as I sit my butt on the couch and try to take it easy. Have a nice weekend everyone!
OH! We still have 2 dwarf hamsters and 2 gerbils up for adoption and Dr. Poster has someone she is working with that has 26 rats they just rescued that are up for adoption. If you are interested in rat adoption, please contact Dr. Poster at AdoptM@aol.com. Ask her about the rats being spayed as well, as that was mentioned to me.
Brandee

Cinni & Annabelle go to the vet, too tired to think...

Yesterday, 2/20 (Chris's Birthday), was another busy day beginning with Linda and I taking Cinni to an apt. at South Wilton, her seizures getting worse. We figured it might be due to me giving her and Rags an x-pen to live in and taking the Graco play pen out. In the Graco, there is more "mesh" and less for her to see going on outside the pen, so maybe it's less stimulating to the part of the brain causing seizures. So Michele C. had dropped off 4 sheets of the Chloroplast for me and I used 3 to build them a bigger play-yard with the Graco panels last night. Now we need to add more toys!

Our volunteer for cleaning the Hollow yesterday cancelled so Linda and I tag-teamed all the cages again, then she cleaned all hers and I came home and did mine. I went and got hay, picked up newspapers, did my pet sitting responsibilities and came home to find Annabelle in the beginning stages of stasis. After how I lost Arthur, I asked Linda to make her an apt. and then she went down to South Wilton today. Linda picked her up and will be keeping her for a couple of days. Michele C. went to New Jersey and Picked up a Guinea Pig for us that has a new home waiting for him in Norwalk (Thank you Michele!) and Jamie & Jewel got spayed yesterday. I went and picked up more papers today, and more hay. For the past few days I was supposed to go see my sister (her birthday was Monday) and with Cinni being sick Wed, then Annabelle today, I have missed her. I don't think I'll be going tomorrow due to snow, and I love to drive in snow but our Jeep needs new tires and Chris needs the Pathfinder this weekend. I think I'm just going to sit on my butt and try to take it easy this weekend and turn off all the phones, my body is just so tired. I guess I keep forgetting there is a baby in the belly! I just got done folding about 40 flyer's to send out announcing our grand opening and our no charge for bondings for the month of March. Linda is pig-sitting and gerbil-sitting this week. I have Jo-Jo the pug here, and she is going home any time now, her family is on their way back from VT. I keep falling asleep while I'm typing, I need to be careful not to drop the computer off my lap.

Jim worked his butt off this past week updating the web page even more, and it looks great, so make sure you all take a peek at www.hopalonghollow.org and see the new page! Thanks again Jim!

Trixie, the bunny that I picked up a couple of weeks ago at the local Animal Control (thought she might be pregnant and she has a prolapsed Anus) went into foster and Jessica's house and we just got this e-mail from Jess yesterday...

Hey everyone! Well...Trixie had her babies sometime last night/this morning! I don't exactly know when as I didn't notice this morning...woke up with a migraine and kind of just stumbled off to work... I noticed AS I was walking out the door to my grandfather's wake...so what timing! I talked to Linda and Brandee for a "what the heck do I do right now" lesson...lol. Mom and babies are doing well so far...I hope they all make it! There is definitely a runt of the group...he worries me cause he's so much smaller (hard to tell in the pics, but def. true in person). I'll keep you all posted. I've attached some "day 1" pics of mom and babies.

-Jess

One more thing then I really must go to bed, there is a video on You-Tube that is a hilarious Microsoft/House Rabbit Video that you must see! Bunny related! Too cute for words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vC9taroEsI

Humane Society, Bella Update, Angela, Shadow, Cinni, NY Times

Hey! What a busy, busy day. I got up, vacuumed downstairs, took care of the dogs, birds, bunnies, and myself. Gail, a free-lance writer for NY Times Sunday's CT section, came by and interviewed me today, and spoke with Linda on the phone as well. I was incredibly impressed with the questions she asked and she was very nice. She has a few other animal rescues to interview (I gave her a few names like the Chin Depot, Critter Connection & New York Hamster House) to get a better grasp on what goes on in the small animal rescue world, then we should see something in article form in Mid-March. It's exciting!
I then went to my bosses house, took care of the cats, and picked up the little Pug Jo-Jo that I watch from time to time.
I went to the Hollow to help Linda with cleaning duties, and one of the newer volunteers, Carl, came in today and helped us with all the cages (Thank you Carl!). Linda packed up a big box of ink cartridges for me (Thank you Linda) and I dropped them at UPS.
I spoke with Allyson at the Humane Society today, I really liked her a lot. We are going to see what we can do to start doing adoption events with them to help increase rabbit adoptions for both the H.S. and the Hollow. She seems like someone we can really work with and a person to get things done, so cross your fingers for us!
Cinni is going in to see Dr. Fahey tomorrow morning, she had 3 or 4 seizures in a row yesterday, bum-rushing the cage. It's a new type of situation for her and we need to see if we can get it under control.
I have tried to bond Angela with Hoppy, Moody, Clover, Heather (for 2 seconds!), and Charlie. Nothing so far... She is sitting in the same cage with Shadow right now, she has tried to nip at him a couple of times, but I call her name and she settles down. It's the longest she has been with somebun, so who knows!? They just ate some salad together, nose to nose, and they are now grooming themselves.
Well, I'm watching Will & Grace with Chris as we also listen to Major (our Shepard) and Jo-Jo playing. Major lays down and Jo-Jo attacks his neck, she's such a tiny thing next to him.

Flyers will be going out this week announcing our upcoming events, our wish-list, and our grand-opening. Check your mail!

UPDATE ON BELLA:
Hi Linda and Brandee, Can't believe it's been so long already. Bella is the most wonderful little (or should I say big) bunny ever. I love her dearly. She was a bit shy at first though quite territorial for being fixed. (I'm sure she smelled the other bunnies.) We tease her as being a street gang girl from Danbury. Bella hops, actually jumps quite high, on to the bed every morning at 6:30 for cuddles and every night no matter how late I go to bed. She's taken to licking my face totally...never had a bunny give that many kisses. She loves breakfast in bed...greens and a couple of pieces of carrots. (She gets big veggie dinners later.) She's a good eater not picky at all even eats stems and loves eating hay (other bunnies will eat hay if there is nothing else in sight for hours). She does love to bunch the bed covers. I've had to get plenty of fleece throws to put on the bed. She used to pee, but that finally stopped. Any suggestions for bunching? Will it go away or do just have to get use to it? Started covering the bed with toys and boxes which distracts her at least while I'm not in the bedroom! Anyway, if you have any ideas, let me know. And please keep me on your email list of activities. Gratefully, Dorothy

HOLY BUNS ON THE MOVE!!

This has just been a wonderful week - Linda and I can not keep track of the bunnies going back and forth between the Hollow and my house. I have at my house tonight Tinkerbell and Butterscotch - still working on their bond. I have Toby and Bonnie here bonding, and so far, so good! I'm working on Angela with both boys and girls. She is difficult, but I am hoping to break her will.

NEWS FLASH....... Margie and Cory, two of our "Hollow Angels" that are total sweet-hearts and have adopted 3 bunnies from us thus far, including the late Buttercup who was a special needs little girl, came by to drop donations today. I was happy to be there to see them again. They were there thru an adoption and Margie is in love with a bunny that has been at the Hollow for 2 years. They discussed that they are a 2 bunny home, and we said our good-byes. I packed up buns and set off on my way home. As I got home and pulled into the driveway, Linda called me practically in tears to tell me that they turned around and went back to the Hollow and adopted PENNY!!! I cried, I called Ali who has been in love with Penny since she came in, and Ali cried. We are so happy for Penny, and the best thing is that we all love Margie and Cory and we know that Penny just went to a wonderful home and I hope that they can get her to get a long with Linus and Cocoa.

Also in the Hollow News....... Jackson & Randy were adopted this week, and Matilda went to her new home today! It has been a great couple of weeks, thankfully for both the bunnies and the Hollow. The next adoptions we need to really push are Hoppy as a single bunny, and 3 of our bonded pairs, Adam & Eve, Shaylah & Steve, and Bonnie & Clyde.

We are mailing out flyers for our "March Madness" and upcoming fundraising events, so watch for it in the mail! Jim is working on the web-site tonight and we are eager to see the changes - check it out this week. More soon, check back! Brandee

NY Times, Angela & Moody, Tinkerbelle, Ringo & Spice, March is Bonding Month!

Angela, Moody & Hoppy

Hey! What a wonderful week! First off, Ringo is ADOPTED!!!! He is related to Biscuit, they are both a little messed in the head - I'm thinking too much closely related blood- and were both pretty agressive. Biscuit is now a very happy bunny and bonded to Mary Jane! Ringo came here and hit it off right away with Michelle Baskay's little lion head girl Spice. I am thrilled for them all. I'm working on seeing if I can bond Moody and Angela right now, we'll see how the girls do. OK, ADOPTIONS! Charlie leaves Saturday, Lila may be going out this weekend as well. Jake just left yesterday, Ringo today, and I know I'm forgetting a name or two. Thank goodness adoptions are picking up again, I still have 10 rabbits to move down to the Hollow before I can't bend over to easily anymore (Oh! Did I mention I'm having a girl?).

March is going to be BONDING MONTH! We are going to send out a newsletter letting all those with single buns know that we are doing bondings for the month of March and waving the $25 bonding fee. I am going to be a Bonding Machine! I have to say, it has been such a joy to see buns brought together. We have seen a total turn-around in Ringo, Biscuit, Lucky and Mr. Uggs since they got bonded. Another bun to speak with is just a wonderful thing for a rabbit. It's an endearing thing to see them groom each other and stretch out next to each other.

IN THE NEWS... A woman contacted me from the NY Times and will be coming down on Tuesday morning for an interview and to meet some of the bunnies here. It's awesome and in perfect time for Easter! We also have another paper, and possibly the News coming to our Petco Grand-Opening on March 15th. I'm hoping for a wonderful turn out that day - balloons and volunteers galore! We are also doing a bake-sale, nail clipping, and pet-photo's. I need to get back in touch with Paws and the CT HS to see if we can pay them a visit as well prior to Easter.

My Day... Got up, cleaned the buns, Tinkerbelle got dropped off, went and picked up Michelle L. we went to the Hollow to do a large bunny swap, took my dogs to friend Terry's. Terry, Michelle and I went to lunch, then I dropped Michelle at home, came and did some leaf-work in the front yard and stuffed some paper tubes to go to the Hollow for tomorrow. I am watching Will & Grace with Husband Chris, and getting ready for bed.

On a sad note, I wish to say that we are sorry to hear of Claudie's hamster Peaches going to the Rainbow Bridge today.

Espresso, Dylan, Biscuit, MJ, Petco Foundation

Scout, Alex & Flash

Stratford, Connecticut

I'm at work eating a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich. It is so good! I say this because I can't believe how good everything tastes when you are pregnant! I've had a pretty busy week with the buns and life and trying to register baby stuff online, but am happy as can be right now! Only one thing would make me over the edge happy, and that is if Linda's cat Mau-Mau would come home. He's been missing for 1 week today. She has been on the hunt hanging flyers and going through garages like you just wouldn't believe.

I spoke to Hank down at Petco yesterday, we have a couple of people looking to adopt Guinea Pigs and I was checking to see what Petco had available. They don't have any right now so I sent the people to Critter Connection (CT's largest GP rescue). I got some wonderful news from Hank though, and that is that we should be receiving a check from the Petco Foundation for a little over $800 soon! I was estatic, as that will cover the cost of 4 spays! We are so short on funding once again. It will pick up a little more around Easter, then we kind of lull through the summer, with the exception of our annual Garden Party and Tag Sale.

Love wasn't in the cards for Espresso and Biscuit, so I now have Espresso in a pretty completed bond with Dylan, and Biscuit and Mary Jane seem to be off to a good start, they stayed together last night and they are staying with me in Fairfield overnight tonight. I'm going to be trying Bugsy with someone soon too, I don't want him to be alone, he's over 7 years old now!

You guys have to check out this video that Ali got of Flash playing peek-a-boo! It's at:
http://i75.photobucket.com/player.swf?refURL=/&file=http://vid75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/TrueBlue2282/Flash.flv

He is too cute! My spell check isn't working today, so don't hold it against me!

Also, we are in CT Pet Projects this month at: http://www.ctpetprojects.org/home.php