Year of the Rabbit

Did you know that 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit? The Rabbit is the fourth sign in the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animals signs. Rabbits are private individuals and a bit introverted. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are friendly individuals who enjoy the company of good friends. They are good teachers, counselors and communicators, but also need their own space.

According to Chinese tradition, the Rabbit brings a year in which you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. It is a time for negotiation. Don't try to force issues because if you do you will ultimately fail. To gain the greatest benefit from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children. Make it a goal to create a safe and peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problems that may arise.

And while you're contemplating that, take a look a this handsome guy! Tim is the bunny of the week at Western PA Humane Society in Pittsburgh. He is a 6 year-old American rabbit who was surrendered because the woman of the home was allergic to him and the man did not have time to care for him. Tim is a sweet, friendly guy ready to find his forever home. He is a relaxed bunny who would do well with adults and respectful children.

If you have room in your heart and your home for a bunny, please consider this little sweetie! For more information on Tim and other adoptable rabbits, please visit the WPHS website or Petfinder.com.

Be The Change For Animals Year End Wrap Up

I know I've said it before, but I have met so many fabulous people in 2010, including Be the Change for Animals co-founders Kim Clune and Amy Burkert!

The Be the Change challenge originated in Columbus, OH in April 2010 at BlogPaws - the first ever gathering of pet bloggers. Word spread to more than 50 bloggers, each inspiring their audience to take action to help animals in need.

Inspired by the strength and support of this group, Kim Clune of  This One Wild Life wanted a way to expand beyond Blog the Change days. When Kim met Amy and Rod Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com, she shared her thoughts, and BtC4animals.com was born!

While Kim focused on creating a community connection, Amy brought Cause of the Week to the table. Kim and Amy have since been joined by additional contributors - Maggie Marton, Vicki Cook, Shauna Stewart and Mary Haight.

Since BtC4animals.com was founded, it has proudly promoted 22 terrific causes, many of which are ongoing.  Please revisit them at the BtC archive when you have a moment. BtC4animals never asks you to spend a cent, just a few minutes of your time!
 
Since its inception, the BtC4animals community has grown steadily to nearly 1,200 fans on facebook and over 1,500 followers on twitter. Growth is good, so please continue to spread the word about BtC4animals.com!

Congratulations to the fabulous people behind these causes and to you for your support. All your hard work on behalf of the animals this year truly has made a difference!

Help NipClub Close 2010 In Style

One thing that can be said for the twitter anipals is they are extraordinarily generous in supporting animal-related charities all over the world! Whether it is the monthly Pawpawty, weekly Nipclub, a mini-pawty to celebrate a birthday or wedding, a memorial service for a recently departed friend, the Santa Paws Drive, or the Shibbering Cheetos world tour,  the anipals help support animals in need while having a great time. In fact, the anipals have raised over $30,000 through various events to support dozens of different charities in 2010!

Join us on twitter this Thursday for the final Nipclub of the year. The theme is New Year's Eve and all proceeds will support Frugal Dougal's Pawpawty charity. Let's send 2010 out with a bang!

Top Ten Posts of 2010

This Friday marks one year since launching Bunny's Blog, and I would like to thank you all for your support! It has been a great learning experience, and I've met so many wonderful people both on-line and in real life. I wasn't sure where this adventure would take me when I started; but as they say, "life is a journey, not a destination." I hope you'll come along for the ride in Year Two!

So without further ado, the Top 10 Posts for 2010 were:

1)   Ban Crush Videos
2)   Change The World
3)   International Rabbit Day
4)   Fans for Food
5)   Princess Buttercup
6)   Wabbit Wednesday
7)   Free Tony the Tiger
8)   Tell TIME to Remove Vick from Comeback List
9)   Barkworld Video

10) Justice for Oscar Fletcha

Mele Kalikimaka

 

 

I will be gone for a few days to celebrate the holiday - so here's a little something for you to enjoy whether your Christmas is green or white. Mele Kalikimaka to all and to all a good night!

A Christmas Carol

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

 Five brown Breckins,

 Four zaftig Zeldas,

Three crazy KCs,

Two baby Boyzies,

And a Bunny in a box!

3rd Annual National Children's Pet Poetry Contest

This week's Be the Change for Animals cause is the Third Annual National Children's Pet Poetry Contest, sponsored by the American Pet Products Association as part of the Pets Add Life  (PAL) campaign. The PAL campaign is designed to demonstrate the joys and benefits of pet ownership, thus driving increased adoptions and responsible ownership of pets.

The contest is open to third, fourth and fifth grade students nationwide. Two students from each grade level will win a $250 gift certificate for pet products and a by-line in a nationally circulated publication. In addition, the six winning students’ classrooms will each receive a $1,000 scholarship to spend on pet-related education.  

Entries can be submitted online or mailed to Pets Add Life, 45 Winter Street, Reno, NV  89503. Deadline for submissions is January 31, 2011 at 5:00 pm EST. Please visit the Pets Add Life website for the complete contest rules.

You can help by encouraging the little pet owners you know to participate and by sharing this link on facebook and twitter. What a great way to encourage a positive relationship between children and their pets!

Surfin Santa Paws

Christmas is this week, but it's not too late to help Surf Dog Ricochet with the Surfin' Santa Paws toy drive.  This year Ricochet is helping both kids & kritters!  The kid toys will benefit Rady Children's Hospital, and the kritter toys will benefit Helen Woodward Animal Center.  You can help make the holidays brighter for hospitalized kids and homeless animals by pawing it forward and donating a toy! 

From now until December 21st, you can make a tax deductible donation of a toy for a kid, a toy for a kritter... or both!  All donors will be listed on the web site, and you can even donate a toy on behalf of someone or as a gift.  Visit the Surfin' Santa Paws web page to make a donation, and while you're there, check out the fun video!

Merry Kissmas

I love dis picture of my friend d'Artagnan Rumblepurr made by Mr. Breeze. Rumbles was looking for his mistletoe hat so he could get kisses from all da pretty ladies. I think dey will be lining up - don't you?

Tell Time To Remove Vick From Comeback List

Via Maggie Marton at Change.org - Last week, TIME magazine released their Top 10 Everything of 2010. Coming in at number nine on their list of comebacks of the year? Michael Vick. So it seems that as long as Vick plays well on the field, his dog-fighting days will be forgotten.

While it's true that Vick's high-profile bust brought national attention to the horrors and prevalence of dog fighting, his immediate forgiveness and return to star-athlete status sets a terrible example. The result? Incidents of dog fighting are on the rise in cities like Philadelphia, and young children are becoming involved.

TIME's article is irresponsible. Naming Vick as one of the best comebacks of 2010 sends the message that success on the football field trumps the crimes he committed or the dogs' lives he took. Tell TIME magazine to remove Michael Vick from the list of top comebacks by signing this petition.

Image: stephskardal

Deck the Halls

Here's an adorable video of the animals of YouTube singing Deck the Halls - because you just can't get enough cute animal videos!

Foreclosure Pets

This week's Be the Change for Animals cause is ForeclosurePets.org. Their mission is to provide U.S. homeowners facing foreclosure assistance in finding a new home and/or temporary adoption for their pets until they can get back on their feet.

Currently there are over 1.6 million foreclosures, and with the current economy, there will be more in the near future. Sadly, pets are being left behind to fend for themselves, and in many cases, this results in starvation and death. These animals cannot survive on their own and simply do not deserve this treatment.

The goal of ForeclosurePets.org is to provide a free service where homeowners can establish an account to post their pet’s information, including photos, description, and contact information in order to find them a temporary home or a new family. Rescue groups, non-profits and even agents can also post animals they have or may find in foreclosure homes on this site.

Here's how you can help: 1) If someone you know is in danger of losing their home, please have them visit ForeclosurePets.org to give their pet a chance to find a loving home. 2) Become a fan on facebook. 3) Spread the word about this invaluable resource. You may save an animal’s life!

365 Days of Animal Advocacy

My friends at I Love Rescue Animals are going to do a great project in 2011called 365 Days of Animal Advocacy. The idea is to wear a t-shirt for a different animal shelter/rescue/cause each day of the year. Every day they will post a different picture - promoting hundreds of different animal-related organizations and increasing awareness regarding animal welfare throughout the year! But they need lots of help to pull this off, and that's where you come in. Please share this post with everyone you know - blog about it, tweet it, and post it to your facebook profile. The more people who know about this project the better. Help make 2011 the year for animals!

December Pawpawty

The December pawpawty is this weekend, and the theme is - you guessed it - Christmas!   So get your favorite holiday costume ready, and join us for some reindeer games. Instead of helping just one shelter this month, we will be helping six shelters who are all part of the Santa Paws Drive. Our goal is to send $800 to each shelter, plus loads of toys and treats. There will be terrific pawpawty prizes available, and you can also take a chance on winning one of the great raffle prizes from the Santa Paws Drive. So join us this weekend and help make Christmas a very special holiday for our shelter friends! You can RSVP using twtvite.

Wabbit Wednesday - Meet Sienna

Sienna is a 3 pound Netherland Dwarf available for adoption at the House Rabbit Network in Woburn, MA. Born in July, Sienna is a very smart and sweet young girl. She enjoys playing with her toys and with the two cats in her foster home.

Sienna doesn't mind staying in her cage when no one is around to supervise her, but she loves to spend as much time as possible exploring. Outside of the cage she enjoys running and hopping around the room as fast as possible and napping next to the heater.

Sienna also enjoys spending time reading and watching TV with her foster parents. Although she is not a snuggler, she loves a good pet and lots of attention. She has great litter box habits both in and outside of her cage.

If you're looking for that special bunny, this little girl could be the right one for you! For more information on Sienna and other adoptable rabbits, please visit the House Rabbit Network website or Petfinder.com.

Santa Paws Challenge

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and the Santa Paws Drive is in full swing! Now in its second year, the mission of Santa Paws Drive is to bring holiday cheer to shelter animals around the world. These furry friends are often overlooked during the holidays, and the goal of this program is to make sure they get the love, attention, and gifts they deserve.

Donations will go to three U.S. shelters, and one each in the U.K., Canada and the African Coast. Each of these shelters is a non-profit, no-kill organization that relies solely on donations to survive.  You can  donate cash or gifts, and the Santa Paws elves will divide up the goodies and send them off to each of the shelters!

You can also help spread the word by joining the Santa Paws Challenge - write a blog post, tweet it, and post it to your Facebook profile. Be sure to link back to the Challenge blog post so we can see the results of our collective effort. Help spread the word about the Santa Paws Drive, and make this holiday season a happy one for shelter animals!



 

Bags for Buns

Congrats to the folks at Bunspace on another successful Bags for Buns Fundraiser. Over the last two years they have delivered bags to rabbits in the SF Bay Area. This year they extended the event to 17 shelters and rescues all over the US and Canada!  The Bunspace admin family and some wonderful friends recently joined together to make special bags filled with toys and treats. A few weeks before Christmas those bags will be sent to the shelters to surprise their rabbits. Last year Bunspace members raised 828 bags - this year they raised a total of 1074 bags! Plus $1 of each donated bag will go to the HRS Emergency Rescue Fund. Click here to see some happy bunny faces.

Wabbit Wednesday - Meet Bailey

Bailey is a Flemish Giant Mix available for adoption at Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue in Baton Rouge, LA.  Bailey is a big ham - he is a very laid back guy, but also enjoys his playtime and toss toys. He likes snuggling on the couch and being petted, but like most rabbits, he doesn't really care to be held. 

Bailey is 1 1/2 years old and litterbox trained. His favorite treats are celery, carrots and especially craisins. This big sweetie will need a lot of room, but there are many habitat options available, including exercise pens and grid-made cages. 

Bailey is a former lab bunny. He hasn't been exposed to things such as viruses and parasites that many rabbits normally carry. Because of this, he shouldn't be kept outside, and any introduction to other rabbits should be done very slowly. He has been around cats and is slowly being introduced to other rabbits.

For more information on Bailey and other adoptable rabbits, please visit the MHRR website or Petfinder.com.