# Aww jeez... Brownsburg, Indiana



## chay (Jun 13, 2010)

On my way home from work I stopped at a garage sale that had a fairly large cage in the yard- I walked up, and lo and behold there was a large rabbit in it. It's about eighty degrees out right now, and he wasn't in in the shade. There wasn't a water bottle or hay, but he did have some pellets and timothy "cubes". There was a cat litter box in the corner, and it was full of poop and pee. There wasn't any bedding on the bottom of the cage, just plastic, and there were flies and gnats around his hind end ): I reached in to pet him and he didn't flinch, but he was breathing very hard....they're asking 20$ for him and I definitely don't want him left outside anymore. The kids are obviously the caregivers of the bunny. It's obvious that at one point he was little and adorable but now that he's bigger, he isn't fun anymore. 

We're definitely going tomorrow to pick him up and house him temporarily, but we can't have another permanently. Does anyone know of a place outside of a shelter in Indiana that would take him? An actual home would be nice. 

I can give my e-mail or number to anyone that is genuinely interested or knows of a place for him to go.


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## Nancy McClelland (Jun 13, 2010)

thanks for caring and good luck.


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## cheryl (Jun 13, 2010)

Aww poor bunny..i'm glad you are going back to get him..


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## chay (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks Nancy  And Cheryl, I am too. I figured the flies and gnats went along with him being outside, but the cage was all dirty (there was old, hardened dirty bedding all along the sides) and the litter box was full like it hadn't been emptied in days. /sigh/


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## kirbyultra (Jun 13, 2010)

So sorry. I hope someone near you can step up and take care of this poor bun. Thank you for going back to get him.


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## Haley (Jun 13, 2010)

So glad you were able to get him out of there! Have you tried contacting rabbit rescues in Indiana?

http://www.indianahrs.org/

http://rabbit.rescueme.org/Indiana

http://www.earps.org/EARPS,_Inc/Home.html

You might try advertising on craigslist or on bulletin boards at vet's offices. Im sure you know, be very careful if you do it this way (be sure to screen thoroughly).

Good luck!


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## tonyshuman (Jun 14, 2010)

Poor guy. Sounds like he needs a lot of help. Make sure to clean his bum soon--if it's dirty, and has attracted flies, he could have flystrike which is just as awful as it sounds. 

We adopted Benjamin from Heartland Small Animal Rescue in Brisol, IN, and they're great.
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/IN361.html


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## tonyshuman (Jun 14, 2010)

Here's Ben's petfinder page--always makes me smile to look it up. 
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/10716235


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## LV426 (Jun 14, 2010)

You should have called Animal Control or the Humane Society on them instead of buying the rabbit. Make them responsible for the poor animal rather than giving them an easy out and $20. And if he ended up being confiscated then hopefully they would at least be fined for being ridiculously lazy in the care of their animal plus it prevents another such situation from happening with any other animal they might have/get.


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## chay (Jun 14, 2010)

Thanks for all of the links- I'll be checking them out and calling soon.

I hope what was going on isn't "flystrike" or anything terrible like that. They're just kids I've talked to- no parents outside at the garage sale, and the two times I've called I've talked to kids- so I doubt I'll be able to learn much about him. I'm hoping at least for an age, a name, and a breeder/pet store where they got him. 

@LV426- In this area, if there's a claim of animal abuse the animal is typically taken away and the owners don't get more than a slap on the wrist. Most of the rabbits brought to the humane society are put down, and I doubt that animal control can put up flyers and such for him. They'd probably put him down too. I'd rather me take him and find him a good home or rescue than animal control take him and he possibly be put down. They have a very nice house, with several healthy-looking, well-trained dogs and a pair of horses in the back. I don't doubt that the rabbit was the children's responsibility because it was a present of some sort and now they don't want it anymore. In my opinion, it's rather mature of the kids to go ahead and sell him than to keep him and not take care of the poor big guy. /: I don't think they ARE mature, but it's a mature decision.


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## TinysMom (Jun 14, 2010)

I edited the title to add your location that way folks can see it if the thread is showing on the front page without having to open the thread to find out the location.

(Hard to explain).

Good luck!


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## chay (Jun 14, 2010)

Oh, thanks! xD

As an update- we have HER now; her cage was a stinky mess and so is she ): Her claws are so long they're curling back and she does have mats around her bottom, but besides that she looks healthy. She's BIG with long floppy ears. The kids said "she doesn't like being outside her cage" which makes me think she hasn't been out of it in a long time...but she ran around the yard like crazing while we sprayed the inside of her cage down. We cleaned it and wiped it, and put fresh bedding in. We had to clean out her litter box with the hose it was so dirty, and we bought "litter training pearls" to go back in it because I wanted to distinguish it from the rest of the bedding and because I didn't want to pour any actual litter in. 

She didn't have a water bottle; the family had drilled holes in the side of the cage to put the little mini dog bowls in place. There was only enough water in it to cover the bottom, and it was brown and dirty and stunk. Needless to say we went ahead and bought her a big water bottle and a new food bowl, and gave her hay.

We're worried because she isn't drinking or eating, but she is stretching out and sleeping a lot. We made an appointment with an exotic vet for tomorrow morning to get her examined and groomed. Yay bunny!

They told us they think she's about five years old, and her name is "Sirabi but you can change it". We're calling her Stella  It fits better. Hopefully I can put up pictures soon.


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## crystal (Jun 14, 2010)

Bless you for taking Stella out of a bad situation. 

Unfortunately, I'm in a different continent. I hope she can get a great new home where she is given what she needs.

Thank you :goodjob:innocent


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## chay (Jun 14, 2010)

I hope so too! Despite seeming a bit "off", it's obvious she's really affectionate. She doesn't like being picked up, but I scratched her dewlap and she made a funny wuffle sort of noise and started licking my wrist. Then she settled her head onto my palm and stretched out like that...and when she decided to finally come out of her cage, she ran weird, almost figure-8 like patterns around and between my feet and followed us everywhere.

She's bigger than my cat- a runtish Russian blue-and he isn't quite sure what to make of her. It's quite sad, because she has NO clue what to do with the hay and it takes her several tries to get a piece into her mouth- she just bumps her face against it and noses at it. She did eat an entire bowl of pellets in about an hour, though. 

She's litter pan trained in the cage, but once she came out she started pooping everywhere. xD Silly girl.


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## cheryl (Jun 15, 2010)

Stella sounds like a sweet girl..and she's probably so thankful that you got her out of that enviroment....doing figure 8's i'm sure = happy girl.

Looking forward to seeing those pictures of her.


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## chay (Jun 15, 2010)

EDIT: Once again, photobucket is being rude. The pictures should be showing up at a medium size, not stretching your page or screen ): I'm sorry if they are!




























Isn't she a pretty girl?


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## cheryl (Jun 15, 2010)

Oh my gosh..just look at that pretty little girl...she is absolutely adorable!..i'm just so glad she's a happy lil bunny now


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## chay (Jun 15, 2010)

We made flyers today and took them to all of the vet offices and pet stores we could think of. We also posted a Craiglist listing- and have gotten three hits! One person in particular is sticking out to us  Progress!

We also took her to vet today- they clipped her nails, shaved a patch on her belly so she wouldn't get dirty, and gave her an exam. The vet really wants to spay her, but also wants to do an extremely expensive surgery to cut away some of the skin of her eyelids AND to cut away part of her dewlap and her "skirt", which made us go "huh??".


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## NorthernAutumn (Jun 16, 2010)

I'm confused.... why on earth would they be cutting off pieces of her skin??? I've never ever heard of that. 
Is this a vet with rabbit experience?
I'm really leery of this practice for even mentioning such a thing...

On another note, sometimes teasing a bunny with hay can get them to snap at it, and begin eating the hay. Maybe not something you want to do in this stage of the game, but would be something to try.

Kudos to you for taking this little one in... she deserves a good home :hug:


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## chay (Jun 16, 2010)

I was as confused as you are. She said that she has eye problems, and that she's squinting and causing the skin of her eyes to fold in and cause irritation, but she could have a surgery to remove a bit of it...and then she said they'd actually do surgeries that sounded like a forehead lift, basically. The dewlap thing...she said it was really big and they could cut it back? I didn't get it. I thought the bigger rabbits were supposed to have them.


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## tonyshuman (Jun 16, 2010)

It sounds like there might be an eyelid deformity that's causing irritation. Sometimes the eyelids can be too loose and turn the wrong way, scratching on the eyes and causing ulcers and watering. I did notice her eyes look really watery, is that the case? And she doesn't open them all the way? It might be something to look into, if the vet is good and rabbit savvy, and maybe you'd like a second opinion--you could also tell the future owner it would be a good idea (again, if that truly is the case).

Sometimes they will cut down dewlaps that are TOO big--so big they can't clean their hindquarters. We had a bunny on the forum a while ago that had to get "dewlap reduction surgery". It doesn't look too excessive from the pics, though, so that might not be needed. 

She is really beautiful :inlove


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## SnowyShiloh (Jun 16, 2010)

What a sweet baby girl! I'm so glad you saved her. Wish I could help but I'm too far away  I hope you find a good home for her soon and she gets whatever surgeries she needs!


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## luvthempigs (Jun 16, 2010)

Oh my goodness, She is adorable :inlove:

Bless you for getting her out of a bad situation :thanks:

From the pictures she doesn't look very big.


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## chay (Jun 17, 2010)

I learned that she's "medium"-sized...but she's the biggest rabbit I've personally ever seen! xD She's bigger than my cat, at least.  The vet said she was a mini-lop, and I was like "A MINI lop?! This is a MINI?!"


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## Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears (Jun 17, 2010)

The word Mini is misleading lol


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## AngelnSnuffy (Jul 22, 2010)

Haha, Becca!

She is just precious! Thank you so much for caring.:hug2:


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## JadeIcing (Jul 22, 2010)

Aww she looks like my moms Rocky!


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## fuzz16 (Jul 23, 2010)

o she is so skinny. good for you for takin her in!


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## TreasuredFriend (Jul 27, 2010)

*fuzz16 wrote: *


> o she is so skinny. good for you for takin her in!


Ditto on everyone's comments.

Did the vet mention what the black spot was by Stella's eye, in the 4th photograph?

Did the rabbit-savvy vet clear her of warbles? Don't hesitate to get a 2nd opinion from another rabbit-savvy veterinarian. That skirt removal stuff sounds unusual however I'm aware of a friend who's New Zealand white had a butt lift from the amount of overlapping skin by her derriere. It interfered with cleanliness and hygience concerns. 

Echoing the referrals that Haley posted in Indiana, and to screen carefully. Be cautious, sounds like you're already being cautious with the "huh" remark.

Thank Heavens you took Stella out of the cage in the yard.


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## ambernd (Aug 13, 2010)

*chay wrote: *


> We made flyers today and took them to all of the vet offices and pet stores we could think of. We also posted a Craiglist listing- and have gotten three hits! One person in particular is sticking out to us  Progress!


You can find her an awsome home really fast on craigslist! I use it to sell and buy all sorts of things! I almost always sell stuff within a few day of the ad being posted. I live in Indiana also. I would take the pretty lil gal but no room =[ Thanks for taking her in though =]


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## luvthempigs (Aug 13, 2010)

Craigslist can be a good tool but you have to be very careful. Lot's of weirdo's out there. Not to mention people looking for animals who don't have good intentions.


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## ambernd (Aug 13, 2010)

*luvthempigs wrote: *


> Craigslist can be a good tool but you have to be very careful. Lot's of weirdo's out there. Not to mention people looking for animals who don't have good intentions.


Yes very true. I would take her to them and check out their place.


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