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Hare in Every Home
The Mission of the Missouri House Rabbit Society |
Since the establishment of the Missouri chapter of the House Rabbit Society in 1987, we have saved over 1,500 rabbits in the Kansas City Metropolitan area.
The Mission that began over 15 years ago is still continuing to this day. Our call is to save as many rabbits as we can and adopt them out as indoor pet companions. We also strive to educate the public on the proper care, needs and expectations they should have of a pet rabbit, and what the pet rabbit's requirements are of his or her parents. When many people see a rabbit, they think of a cage with a rabbit sitting inside or a rabbit in a backyard hutch. We want our community to think outside the cage. Domestic rabbit's are social and thrive in an indoor environment where they are loved, cared for, and where their minds are stimulated daily.
Unfortunately, there are times when the rabbits we rescue are unable to be adopted, due to health or behavioral reasons. These special rabbits are considered 'sanctuary rabbits' and they will live out the rest of their life with a Missouri House Rabbit Society member. Currently, the Missouri House Rabbit Society is providing sanctuary for 40 rabbits. We can have anywhere between 12 to 30 rabbits in foster care at any given time.
Donations we receive help cover medical costs for both sanctuary rabbits as well as our foster rabbits, as well as providing quality food, hay, fresh vegetables and salads. Donations also help to purchase toys for our rabbits, which are essential in providing mental stimulation.
As you can well imagine, the cost for caring for so many rabbits can add up quickly...and often exceeds our resources. That is why we need your help. With your tax deductible donation, you CAN make a difference. Your donation WILL make a difference. The Missouri House Rabbit Society offers different ways you can help:
| Sponsor a Foster Rabbit | Sponsor a Sanctuary Rabbit | Become a Foster Parent | Volunteer at Events |
| Volunteer at Foster Families Homes | General Donations |
If you are interested in volunteering options, we encourage you to contact us at: hrsmissouri@aol.com
If you are interested in helping with a donation, we now offer paypal. Please click on the link below and Make payment to:
hrsmissouri@aol.com
In the Subject line please enter "Donation"
In the Notes line please enter if you want your donation to be applied to foster rabbits or sanctuary rabbits.
On behalf of all the volunteers of the Missouri House Rabbit Society, thank you for your donation.
Maya right after her surgery, May 2002 |
Maya was rescued by The Missouri House Rabbit Society on Saturday, April 27, 2002. Maya was dumped at the front door of a veterinarian's office in the middle of the night in a very, very small wire cage. She barely had room to move around in the cage. When she was picked up by our volunteer, it was quickly observed that this little girl was in trouble. She was infested with fleas so badly, that when you looked at her you could see the fleas crawling all over her. She also had a terrible infection from ear mites. And she had a very bad upper respiratory infection. But the most shocking discovery was that growing on the left side of this little bunny was a tumor the size of walnut. Maya was immediately taken to a Missouri House Rabbit Society veterinarian for examination. It was decided that Maya had to have surgery very quickly to remove the tumor. After she was treated for the fleas and ear mites, surgery to have her spayed and the tumor removed was scheduled. On Wednesday May 1st, Maya was taken to the veterinarian to be spayed and have the tumor removed. Our Veterinarian successfully removed the tumor. However, We do not know if the tumor will return, or if it originated from somewhere else on her body and had spread.
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Maya today, a happy and beautiful little girl |
For the first few days in
foster care, Maya would not come out of her house because she was in so
much pain from the parasite infestation and the tumor. However, four
days after her surgery Maya began to run around her foster family's
living room, and on the furniture. She made fast friends with the
resident pooch of the house, and now where one is, the other is sure to
be nearby.
Without quick medical treatment and the loving environment that Missouri House Rabbit Society provides to our rescued rabbits, Maya's future could have been very short. After consultation with Maya's doctor and other members of the Missouri House Rabbit Society, Maya has been removed from our adoptables page. She is now a 'sanctuary bunny' and will live out her life with her foster family knowing that she will always be safe from harm and loved as a family member. Maya will always need to be checked on a regular basis by her doctor to insure that no further tumors have appeared. |
Butterscotch & Sable enjoying an afternoon of cuddling |
Sable & Butterscotch were
surrendered by their previous owners at a local shelter. Sable (right)
had already been neutered, but when his mate Bee was spayed, she
unexpectedly had a blood clot form in her brain, and was left with head
tilt and some equilibrium problems. Thanks to excellent medical care,
Bee has made an almost complete recovery. However, she still has a
slight head tilt and wobbles slightly when she hops. She also has
trouble using her right front foot and back right foot. Due to this she
requires regular ear drops and ear cleanings since she cannot clean out
her right ear on her own. Her mate Sable developed glaucoma in both
eyes while in foster care. While Sable's current prognosis is good, he
requires three different eye medication administered three times a day.
Sable also needs to see his eye doctor on a regular basis. Sable also
has been known to become quite grumpy, which we feel is due to the
possibly that he was abused. Upon talking with his veterinarian, it was
decided that both Sable and Bee should be sanctuary bunnies.
Update: June 2002 Sable's glaucoma has begun to advance close to the danger zone. Additional eye medications have been prescribedand we hope that the addition of these new medications will help to control the deterioration of his eye sight and help with the pain that is caused by the eye pressure. We are discussing our options with Sable's doctors in the hope that surgery to remove the eyes will not be necessary. Your donations WILL make a difference. |
Stormee enjoying his willow tunnel
Stormee and Sabrina at dinner time |
Sabrina was rescued from a
local shelter in 1998 where she and 2 other angora rabbits had been
taken after being seized by animal control because they were being
neglected and abused. Before Missouri House Rabbit Society volunteers
could pick up Sabrina, her two companions were adopted out. When we got
Sabrina, she was horribly frightened of humans and cowered as far way
from us as she could get. Even slow hand movements near her sent her
into a panic, and when her litter box was picked up to be changed, she
would run to the back of her pen as if she thought we were going to
throw it at her. If we tried to pet her, she would shiver and shake.
This behavior continued after she was spayed, and we were told that she
had probably been hit, picked up by her ears, kicked, and had things
thrown at her prior to animal control's stepping in.
After 6 months in foster care, Sabrina developed a very serious infection in the outer part of her ear, probably due to some of the physical abuse she sustained. Surgery was scheduled to get the infection under control, and was successul. Then after one year in foster care, Sabrina was bonded with a darling little dwarf named Stormee. Stormee had been taken to a vet in Florida to be put to sleep because he had head tilt from an inner ear infection. The vet refused to euthanize him when he could be treated and cured. So the people released Stormee into the vet's care. After his hear infection was treated and he was neutered, he had residual head tilt (his head was at a 90 degree angle when he first come to Kansas City). A volunteer was visiting a friend in Florida when she was introduced to Stormee. The vet had tried to find a home for him, but no one wanted him because his head was still tilted. This volunteer brought him back to Kansas City where Stormee was given daily acupressure messages. In only a few weeks his head was nearly straight, and he was introduced to Sabrina. It was love at first sight. They have been together ever since, and now enjoy the comfort of their own bedroom. Sabrina is still skittish sometimes, but when spoken to very softly, she will "present" to be petted. A couple of years ago, Sabrina didn't come running for her nightly salad. She was examined by her human caretaker who determined she was in pain and could not get up. She was taken to the vet immediately and radiographs were taken of her spine. What was revealed was totally shocking. She had been stepped on prior to her rescue, and her spine was quite curved just able the shoulders. Although she did not suffer from a completely broken back, she definitely needed extra care. She did receive several acupuncture treatments which helped immensely, and now doing much better. If someone would agree to sponsor her, it would help the Missouri House Rabbit Society to continue to provide her with periodic acupuncture treatments to help her remain pain-free. Your donations WILL make a difference. |