# Breeders beware - make sure your rabbitries are safe



## TinysMom (Apr 17, 2008)

Kate is a good friend of mine - and last year we drove to Los Alamos to pick up our rabbits from Nationals since we were unable to make it there. She and her husband are really neat people - we spent a great evening together and then we got our bunnies....and she gifted me with three rabbits from one of my bucks she'd bought the year before....

She posted this on the lionhead list tonight -called "Massacre in our rabbitry"....she has given me permission to post this here in hopes that all breeders will be sure to double check everything to make sure their rabbits are secure.

Have tissues handy....

[line]
Yesterday, we came home to find the most awful, gruesome thing anyone can find.
Our neighbors pulled down their fence to replace with a new one, they figured they could get it done in one day, but apparently didn't forsee the problems that would ensue by not forwarning us and co-ordinating it with us first. They had talked about "maybe" doing this 2 months ago, when we first moved in here; but they never said they were actually going to do this or when, or my rabbits would not have been here. The big shed in our back yard has big swinging doors, which were open to let in the nice Spring air and let the mommas get some fresh air with their babies. Our dogs do not bother our rabbits, they are used to them. The neighbor's dogs have killed most of our beloved rabbits, the death toll at this point is 38, with 17 rabbits at the vet's office or in various stages of repair, one doe has a broken back leg, but the vet thinks she'll still be able to have her kits she's carrying. This may sound cruel to leave her bred and piin her leg, but after having to pick up all of my bunnies broken little bodies off the ground, I don't care if she has the kits live, but being able to splint her leg with that little pin is such a blessing, and the fact that I had to bury both her mother and father yesterday afternoon, makes her all the more special, if she can surviveâ¦.she'll stay inside the house for the remainder of her life and be more than spolied, she'll be on a pedestal. Both of our dogs spent the night at the Vet's, the older one has many stitches, cuts, a shredded ear and a broken tail. Our younger one, has so many deep lacerations and bite wounds, I do not think we'll be able to show her anymore, due to the damage to her nose and earsâ¦I'd like to think their were protecting the rabbits, but I know they were protecting our property, ferociously too. The neighbor dogs were not unharmed by any means, small consolation that it is. We came home to destroyed and scattered cages and the greater percent of our best rabbits which we had brought home from the horse barn to get ready for spring litters and to get ready for upcoming shows and to get out of the barn while we did spring upgrades (ceiling fans, etc.). Some of our most notable and horrifying losses are: Prideland's Lyric and her last 4 kits just born, who also did not make it. Prideland's Cadence, also expecting. Castle Gate's Sabina, expecting. Also our Aslan's Greedo, Aslan's Jabber Jaws (my little JJ, what a sweetie with his toys, always more toys than cage or girls), and DJ's Shiloh Bear (my son's first rabbit and baby). Wetzel's Buzzette and Celine, and 4 of Celine's 7 new kits didn't make it, but it looks like 3 may survive. Bastet's Duchesse and 1 of her just weaned kits, the other 3 are ok and even chipper and wanting Cheerios this afternoon, thank goodness for small miracles, they were hiding in the dog food dispenser and beneath the garden shed. There were so many others and some I have spent the last 24 hours praying for recovery only to say goodbye to them today. We have contacted our attorney to see what we can do, as that is the only thing we can think to come up with, as our neighbors didn't see the loss as anything that traumatic. We had started renovating our barn to upgrade for them this summer, but the rabbits are back out there as of this morning, and our project is on hold to get back to safety and give the buns a safe place to be. It is a small relief, as they are protected not only by the barn they are in; but by several horses and a rather grouchy burro who will kill dogsâ¦.Wish I hadn't brought everyone up by the house...
At least I know they are ok there, and safe now, away from my stupid, careless neighbors. Those few that made it with little or no injuries are: Bastet's Spud, Legendary Onyx, Sahara and Juliet. Pajarito Bogey (those of you that came to our hotel room at Convention know him wellâ¦.), Pajarito Calypso, Pajarito Azure and Titania, Iris and Skye also made it so far. KP's Irish CrÃ¨me, Frostbyte and American Eagle; Mossypossum Blue Hawaaian, Gertrude, Gabor and Gretchen. About half of the kits I had bred this last January and February are ok, with minimal damage if any, although, three juniors look like they will be partially blind (one eye) from their ordeal. Also, most of my Netherlands are fine or just scraped up. Sadly, many of the rabbits that I lost, I also lost their only kits I had kept, so there is nothing to replace them with. We're still checking into all of the babies (thank goodness for tattoos and sharpies) and we're dismanteling the sheds in the back yard to make sure no one is hiding under them, as I'm missing 12 bunnies, juniors and seniorsâ¦I abhor the thought of where they could be. 

Please folks, make sure you know what your neighbors are up to, for the benefit of your bunnies. We thought a fence, the shed and their cages; not to mention our dogs protected our yard and house along with them, it just wasn't enoughâ¦.

We are down from over 70 rabbits to just over 30....
Sincerely, [size=Kate Kramer, family and the remaining tough survivors of Pajarito Rabbitry][/size] 

Kate Kramer

















Pajarito Rabbitry 
Los Alamos, NM 
www.PajaritoRabbitry.com


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## JadeIcing (Apr 17, 2008)

Tell her I am so sorry. RIP Bunnies


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## Becca (Apr 17, 2008)

ARGH - They are the sort of people that make me so mad - i mean we are close with our neighbours and they have met our bunnies and everything - why didn't they tell her. Or why didn't they keep their dogs away.

RIP all those little bunnies and I hope the dogs that got attacked are ok.

I just cannot believe it...
:rant:
I am really sad and anoyed now.


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## Bo B Bunny (Apr 17, 2008)

Thanks for the reminder. I need to find better security for Tony before I put him outside . 

RIP little bunnies. I'm so sorry


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## Starlight Rabbitry (Apr 17, 2008)

Wow, how horrible. Tell her I am sorry for all her loss. This really does hit home as I will be replacing my fence this summer. However, my neighbor's dog has been in our backyard before. Even still, I think that I will get some temporary fence and put it around the cages. 

Tell Kate, thanks for allowing you to crosspost. It is a different circumstance for her. I hope she sues them!

Sharon


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## Luvmyzoocrew (Apr 17, 2008)

Oh my gosh i am so sorry for her loss, but this is a real danger to outside rabbits . It is sad that the neightbors with the dogs werent more responsible as to the where abouts of thier dogs. It is scary because if there was a child there or even if the woman and her husband was there they could have been seriously hurt by these dogs.


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## naturestee (Apr 17, 2008)

OMG! What a terrible loss. Are the police involved? If not, they should be. At the very least I hope the family can at least recoup their vet bills and the cost of cages, etc., via lawsuit. But nothing will replace those poor rabbits or heal the buns and dogs with permanent damage.

:sad:

Darn it, I just went and looked at some of the pics on the website. And now so many of those rabbits are gone, I really shouldn't have looked.:tears2:


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## fld20 (Apr 17, 2008)

That is awful . I hope she sues the dogs owners for everything they can. That is just horrible .


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## tonyshuman (Apr 17, 2008)

that is terrible. there is definitely grounds for suing, at least in my opinion. i hate it when people let their dogs run free, no matter where they live. i know some dogs are sweet and nice, but many aren't, and you can't really tell how a dog is going to behave in some situations. what a terrible thing to happen to the owners, and a terrible last moments of life for those poor bunnies.


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## tundrakatiebean (Apr 17, 2008)

If she's going for a lawsuit remind her to take pictures of the injuries.

This is so sad I hope she can find her missing rabbits and all the injured ones heal nicely...


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## Jenson (Apr 17, 2008)

That is terrible. How heart breaking for them. I hope they sue thier neighbours too, they must be pretty cold hearted to think it's not all that traumatic! :grumpy:


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## BlueGiants (Apr 17, 2008)

The whole thought of this happening makes myheart hurt... :sad: My sincere sympathy. I hope all your injured rabbits heal well.


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## polly (Apr 17, 2008)

wow speechless what an absolute sin for them. I hope the attorney can do somethign for them the neighbours need penalised for this in my mind. 

I had a pet rabbit attacked in my back garden when we had a fence being put up the rabbit survived though was epileptic but th epeopel who owned the dog payed all the vet bills for my rabbit which was just over Â£100 (around $200)



Send them my hugs I hope the buns are ok and pull through


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## lilangelhotots (Apr 17, 2008)

That is horrible! I'm so sorry she is having to go through this.Please let her know that my thoughts and prayers are with her and that the others have a full recovery. I'm so sorry!:bigtears:


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## gentle giants (Apr 17, 2008)

I don't think there are any words for how sad this is... Many prayers for Kate and her family. This is every breeder/pet owner's worst nightmare come true. 

ray: :bigtears::rip:


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## BSAR (Apr 17, 2008)

That is so sad! I would shoot those dogs if they come onto her property again. And sue their owners!

:rip:All you buns! Loves, Amanda.


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## trailsend (Apr 17, 2008)

This is completely devestating, I would be beside myself as I am sure she is. I would absolutely sue - there is no way this should have happened. We live way out in the bush but had people living on a farm about 6 miles from us with a bunch of dogs that they allowed to run loose - they killed eight of a local farmers sheep and ripped the tails and rear ends out of another farmers old pet cows. We saw one of the dogs here one day checking our sheep fence, our three sheep are hand raise, disabled, and much beloved pets. I couldn't catch the dog - we told the owners, next time we will have to get rid of the dog. That's all it took - never seen a dog here again. My dogs don't bother our animals, but I would never even think of letting them near anyone elses, because, simply put, dogs are dogs and they have instincts. It's completely the owners at fault here.

This is just a nightmare and I feel so sorry for this woman and all those bunnies. I'm so sorry.


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Apr 17, 2008)

That is really horrible. I am soo sorry for all their losses and I can just imagine the heartbreak they're going through.  

If I ever came home to that I would probably die right there. My neighbors don't even know about my bunnies. Only one family does, and they might haven't forgotten, not sure. They have the types of dogs though, that would attack our rabbits I'm sure. 

I would definitley tell her she DOES have legal action in this matter. She can sue them, and the dogs could face the death penalty, or whatever. She should look up the laws regarding livestock (rabbits are livestock, right?) and animals being attacked within her county/state, etc.  

What makes me even more angry is that the neighbours didn't think of her loss as traumatic! That's horrible! That's just soo sad they have no feelings (well i'm sure they have a few) for the massacre their own dogs caused! If I were Kate, I'd probably go off rant to her neighbours about them thinking it wasn't traumatic - it wouldn't be something pretty too see. 

Tell Kate I am very very sorry for her loss. :hug2:

:rip:Rest In Peace those bunnies who were lost. :rainbow:Binky free at the Rainbow Bridge. Your mommy and daddy loved you guys soo much :inlove:

Emily


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## superchar42 (Apr 17, 2008)

That's one of the saddest things I have heard in a very long time.


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## MsBinky (Apr 17, 2008)

*superchar42 wrote: *


> That's one of the saddest things I have heard in a very long time.


Ditto :cry1:


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## AngelnSnuffy (Apr 18, 2008)

That is very sad and upsetting. Wonder if there is a "leash law" there? There is here. If a dog or cat is found by authorities or a civilian calls it in and they are picked up, the ownershave a hefty fine to pay to get them back. If the dogs weren't in a completely secured, fenced yard, they should be on leashes, tied down. That is the law here. Could have prevented this horrible tragedy.

RIP to all the sweet, innocent buns


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## RAL Rabbitry (Apr 18, 2008)

My condolences to them.

An animal attack is one of my biggest fear for my rabbits. My rabbitry has

a chain link fence around it and a heavy door with dog proof and people proof

locks on it. The windows have heavy wire and insect screens across them.

Roger


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## SnowyShiloh (Apr 18, 2008)

Oh, gosh, that is terrible! All those poor darling bunnies! I don't even want to think what their last few minutes must have been like. Poor bunnies. And poor Kate and her husband, I can hardly imagine anything worse happening to their rabbits... How did the dogs' owners not know what their dogs were up to? I would imagine your dogs and their dogs would have made quite a bit of noise, not to mention the sound of them knocking over rabbit cages. Thank goodness some of them were able to hide, what lucky little babies hiding in the dog food dispenser. Poor little ones.


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## jil101ca (Apr 18, 2008)

How devasting to come to that.I would be so upest and angry. the dog owners need to be held responsible for the actions of their dogs. It won't help ease the pain but will help rebuilding the herd not to mention I am sure some of the cage were distroyed as well. What an awful thing ot happen to your rabbits. Please tell her how sorry I am for her loss.


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## TinysMom (Apr 20, 2008)

I thought y'all might want to see the update from Kate...

[line]
All,

This is the first day tha ti've fumbled through all the various responses and emails and read everyone of them.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful, sweet offers.... and the super kind words about our loss.

Unfortunately, we los tour Ivory, who was our NALRC auction donation, we are saddened by the loss of this young, promising rabbit. 

I am not mad at the dogs, as they were only being dogs, and bless my dogs for defending their space, even to get hurt....

I am thanksful that our neighbors busted their tails however to get the fence up completely by Friday. My family and I put up a 6 foot wire fence 4 feet inside the existing fences all the way around, so in case something like this ever happens again, we have a second line of defense against outside animals and people.

To explain our barns a bit better. We live 20 miles away from where our horse barns are, as there isn't much land for farms in our neck of the woods, so the county set aside land for approxiamtely 200 horse enthusiasts in our county. it is a localized area, taking up approximately 60 acres on top of a mesa (small flat topped mountain). Each family is allowed ot have up to 2 lots, each approximately 200'l x 60'w....we are lucky to have 2, so our horses have space and we have space to have the rabbits, goats, whatever we prefer.....up to 6 large animals per lot....We built a bunny barn last summer and due to someone stealing some babies and wanting to make upgrades with heaters/ac or fans, we had brought all the rabbits but a very few already nursing mommas down to our house to our backyard. We live in a normal subdivision, with approximately a 50' x 50' back yard that is fenced in 6 foot 35 year old cedar slats.......our neighbors had graciously introduced themsleves after we moved in about the beginning of February, and we had talked about getting together to replace the fence. 

What they did, they thought it would be nice of them to replace the fence...but they didn't count on their son (who is a college kid) to come home and let out their dogs, and the poor guys working on the fence were helpless, as they were unsure of being able to handle the dogs...the son apparently didn't think it was a big deal, but his mother is horrified and his father is angry....they have said they will help, but thus far, their has been no offer to help take broken cages to the dump, there was no offer of help to bury all my beloved little rabbits and they have been scarce to find...

I personally am not ready to talk to them at this point, all this is through my husband and son.......

However, we are moving on, and I am reluctantly making the effort to catalog who all is gone so that I have a list of everyone so that I can make an effort and regrouping.

I appreciate everyone's support, gifts and offers to replace the stock we have lost, this is so sweet and very generous. 

Unlike those who have lost their rabbits to fire's, we are lucky enough to have some of our precious stock to continue with.(thanks Dawn, for the kick in the pants to realize that).....and I've got some beautiful young kits that were just not old enough to donate to the auction or to show this year at Nationals, but they are some of the best we have ever produced and may just be great breedeing animals if they heal from the injuries they have, which tells me we were building in the right direction....

At this point, I want to rebuild broken cages and repair those that can be fixed and try to muddle through the losses just enough to be able to evaluate what we've got already...to see what we may need down the road to fit into the puzzle.

We will not be coming to Nationals this year, both because we were haivng a hard time getting there due to vehicle troubles before this happened and now mainly because we have too many babies, adults and juniors to help recouperate from their trauma, it's not fair to ask my family to try and do this while I'd be gone....they just cannot.

On the wonderful side of life, we just had a little momma have her first litter this morning, two little black kits....both fat and doing well.....this is where I need to go from here, with those two little kits, thriving and squirming....although maybe not eating so much as they do.

Thanks again for all the support.

Best regards,

Kate


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## Pandaboy (Apr 22, 2008)




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## tamsin (Apr 24, 2008)

I'm speechless, what a terrible thing to happen.

I don't know what the laws are over there but here it's the owners responsibility to ensure their property is securely enclosed if they have a dog lose. I would think you had a reasonable claim for the cost of all your vets bills for both rabbits and dogs, the repair/replacement of cages and (although I know you can't value them in monitary terms) the cost of the bunnies you lost.

Tamsin


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