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The Carrot Chronicle is brought to you by the North West Rabbit Welfare Project, who kindy let it feature on Rabbit Rehome. If you have any queries regarding the newsletter, appeals or rabbits in it please contact them directly not Rabbit Rehome.
Issue # 8, October 2003. Dear Friends, It is a sad month this month as Gilly and I turn 30! Yes it is creeping fast but we are coping valiantly! On top of all that we are all recovering from a very eventful September, and the rest of the year isn’t looking too quiet either! We always welcome contributions to Carrot Chronicle so please send anything in via carrot.chronicle@btopenworld.com or to the sanctuary. Best wishes to you all as always, Susie ox.
Loads of the bunnies have been rehomed this month, which is a good job considering how many we have had come in. So let me tell you who has gone where. Bradley did find love and has hopped off to live with his new girlfriend in Warrington. Holly, sister of floppy-leg Snowbell, has met a rather handsome netherland dwarf named Jake who has grey and white markings. Jake was originally being introduced to Lou-Lou but she was having none of it, so after a few days break we tried him with Holly and they hit it off well. Their mum Kate says that things aren’t progressing as fast as they thought they would but the good news is they are now able to spend up to two hours with each other on neutral territory. We are pleased and really hope it works out. Jake was very handsome! Willow & Indigo have gone to live with a lady in Glossop who ahs been looking into having house bunjies for the past year. She finally managed to persuade her landlord to let her keep them inside and so after advice and a homecheck they went to live the life of luxury. Both buns are doing really well and have settled in great. Pandora – yippee! We have finally found a home for the darling Pandora the angora. She has been with us far too long and we were so pleased when a family came along wanting a house bunny and were not in the least deterred by having to groom her daily. ‘Piggy’ is settling in well and we will let you know when we hear more. Damson – has found a new home – check out ‘Movers and Jumpers’ for more info. Mischief – has found herself a boyfriend called Gareth via www.rabbitrehome.org.uk They lady came down to visit and had fallen for Lou-Lou but Gilly felt Mischief was better suited to Gareth and she was absolutely right. Within the first two days of the little lady going home Gilly was inundated with texts letting her know just exactly how well Mischief was settling in. Gareth and Mischief are pampered house rabbits in Heywood! Hopefully their mum Debs will be sending us picture updates very soon. Scoot – pictured above has really landed on all three paws. Jay and John and Ebony Eyes jumped at the chance of taking him in. Gilly was elated as the whole family were smitten by the little guy. Jay and John are such experienced rabbit carers and know all about caring for 3-legged bunjies and the physio they need. So a huge thank you from us all guys – you’re ace! Pip and Mia, the delightful ‘Poms-Poms’ (below left), who have been cared for by Karen, have grown up (below right). They have also turned into ‘The Raptors’ and caused mischief and mayhem in Karen’s house. They have also been adopted, but no prizes for guessing which greedy rabbit lady has kept them all to herself - yeh, Karen! Look how beautiful they are. 
You are just so greedy Karen Scott! I want them! And finally Lou-Lou – see ‘Cyber Bunnies’ for more info.
New Arrivals in September – where do we start!
Captain Bigglesworth is just a big lump of fluff. I do realise this is a rather rude picture but it really does sum up my first few weeks of living with The Captain. Essentially he was an unwanted child’s pet. He had outgrown his hutch, no doubt considerably as he is a BIG boy. He received little attention and was never handled. He was originally named Malteser but my husband was having none of it and thus he was re-named ‘Captain Bigglesworth’, or ‘The Captain’ for short. For the first week of his stay he was just a big friendly teddy bear of a bunny that quickly settled in and adored a fuss at every opportunity! Then a week later and Flower moved into the room next door and awoke his loins. It was ‘hump the toy bunny’ time all the time! He would even carry it to your feet, drop it and hump it right in front of you! His other favourite sport was to drag it around the room in his teeth, which would then leave a trail of moisture behind – yuk! I am happy to report that he has finally lost interest in the ‘hump toy bunny’ game as he has now been castrated – hoorah, no more bunny-boy stink! He is the most wonderful big guy and just loves attention and runs up for it all the time. He is pretty immaculate with his toileting, and just loves to eat hay all day long. We are also really pleased that one of our volunteers has fallen for him and he is hopefully going to be successfully bonded with former resident – the big orange moose – Sally, now known as Bean. Keep your fingers crossed pleased. 
Flower – has stolen many hearts this month not to mention mine, Gilly’s and Jacqui Woods’. There is just something about dutch bunnies that once you’ve experienced you’ll never forget. Many have such wonderful temperaments, are real explorer bunnies and also delight in attention by the truckload. Flower is in foster care because when she arrived with the local RSPCA Inspector Susie took one look at her and declared, “she’s coming home with me!” It was a good job too as Flower had come from very horrible, neglectful conditions and wasn’t well. She hadn’t been looked after for sometime and was bereft of food, care, exercise and attention. She was duly removed. Upon inspection she was underweight and very boney, full of ‘dandruft’ and scabbiness and had severely visible muscle wastage and she seemed to be ‘packing in’. She had to be force-fed initially and underwent various blood and urine tests and treatment and much to our relief she improved rapidly. It still left the mystery of blood in her urine but upon neutering it was discovered she had endrometritus. Needless to say the little girl is recovering well, she has gained weight and her muscle tone is developing well too. Flower is extraordinary. At first she was very timid and frightened of human contact but soon realised her potential when nightly stints of stretching out on Susie and falling a-kip for hours at a time became her passion. She will come to you when you call her name, will follow you around and go flat for tickles at the first sight of a hand, and on top of all that she is an explorer bunny and loves to nosey around and cause mischief. Much to my dismay she will soon be available for adoption so if you think she sounds like a lady for you then please get in touch! Ginger and her four babies – Paprika, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Chilli came to us from a heavily pregnant woman who just couldn’t cope any more and felt her only other option was to give them all away in Loot for free. So of course we came to the rescue, despite bursting at the seams with buns! Ginger was in need of dental treatment but the babies were only approximately 5weeks old. Thankfully she was still eating well, so we left her a week or two until we were certain the babies were fully weaned. The 4 beautiful bundles are almost harlequin in markings and are being cared for by Helena in foster care, whilst mum has now had a dental and been neutered and being cared for by Gilly at home. She had to be separated from the babies because of the need for her to recuperate from the dental and for us to be able to monitor her eating. Everyone is doing great though. 
Teasle’s story is quite remarkable. He was found in someone’s bedroom! The family think that he must have gained entry to the house via the cat flap. The little furball was a baby agouti bun and approximately 3 to 4 weeks old. He was hand-reared by Gilly and now fully weaned he is being cared for by Karen. We think Teasle may be a wild rabbit so options for homes are currently being explored. A friend of ours who runs a chinchilla rescue in Skelmersdale brought Whisper to our attention. He had been purchased by a family as a Christmas present two years ago but they soon lost interest in him. He had been kept in a room in the house but had very little attention. Over several weeks calls were made for us to take him in but we were just too full at the time. But in the end the people were threatening to kill him if they could not get rid of him! So the chinchilla lady took him in until we had space. Whisper is now in our care and has been neutered and vaccinated and is awaiting a new start in life. He is a delightful little chap and will cheerfully sit on your lap for a tickle. Remarkably for a netherland dwarf, and for the diet he was previously on, his teeth are in great shape. He had only ever been fed dried food, no hay or veg so we are slowly getting him used to the finer things in life! Come and meet this little chap, he is gorgeous. Frosty and Blizzard came along in a storm! Well not quite but you can read more about them in ‘Furry Features’. And finally the ‘Stable buns’ arrived – check out ‘Furry Features’. New arrivals named by Bunny Birthday Club and Sponsored Hutch members
Whisper Was named by Silver Sponsored Hutch participant Jan Brass. We have no story to tell about the background to the name but I’m sure you’ll agree it suits him perfectly! Movers and Jumpers
Bella, aka Ivor, has been renamed Ivobell after she had to be separated from her sister Izzy, aka Damien, as she was being bullied. For those of you who don’t know Ivobell is one of the babies Gilly hand-reared earlier in the year. She has grown into a big and beautiful bunny-girl and is back in the barn looking for a new home. Izzy however has found herself a new friend in the form of Damson, one of 3 bunnies rescued from appalling conditions in summer. They are both rather timid but so far things are going well with the bonding. Update on Mary’s babiesBorn 19th June the sad day came for us to separate the babies from their mum Mary, and we gave them all unisex names to be on the safe side. The babies don’t seem to have a care in the world and certainly not noticed the absence of mum and are just as happy as ever binkying around and piling in a heap with one another. It is such an absolute delight to watch them all getting their veggies as it turns into a feeding frenzy! Once sexed and old enough the two boys were castrated and the girlies will be spayed shortly, their names are: Marmite - boy, black/brown, Magnum - black and a boy, Minx who is a pretty little girl who is white/albino, and finally Muffin who is also a girl and black/brown in colouring. They certainly have ‘rex’ in them as their whiskers are all curly and their fur is like velvet – lovely! Appeals and IdeasSociety for Abandoned Animals CHRISTMAS FAIR Saturday 29th NovemberWe have set the date for our annual Christmas Fair and are once again calling upon your support. We were unable to hire the same venue as last year but after a long and wide search for available venues we have secured the Trinity Methodist Church Hall in Sale Moor. The fair will not be on quite the same scale as last year as alas there isn’t the space to invite other animal charities but that isn’t to say it won’t be a great afternoon for all to enjoy – there will be pets presents galore, tombola, raffle, home produce/crafts, bric-a-brac, books/vids/cds, and of course lots of fun and games. If you would like to volunteer to man a stall or you would like to donate some home produce, handicrafts, tombola or raffle prizes then please get in touch with Susie either at the sanctuary on 0161 9735318 or via email at carrot.chronicle@btopenworld.com FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE MEETING 1st Monday of every month!The first meeting of the fundraising committee (as featured last month) has taken place, so why not join us next time and share some fab ideas? Absolutely anyone is welcome to come along and get involved. If you’d like to join in let us know by emailing Helena at manager@sfaa.fslife.co.uk or telephoning the sanctuary on 0161 9735318. SPONSORED DOG WALK 26th OCTOBER 2003On Sunday 26th October we will be holding our annual Sponsored Dog Walk at Sale Water Park. It is approximately a 5mile course and there is a choice of a morning or afternoon time slot. Sponsor forms and further details are available from reception or alternatively you can telephone Gilly on 0161 9735318. You’ll find Gilly on the walk in the morning and Susie moaning in the afternoon, well walking that distance isn’t natural! If you have a dog or have friends with doggies then why not come and enjoy the lovely venue and raise some cash at the same time? Peggy Henderson’s 90th Birthday Party
On September 5th the founder of the Society for Abandoned Animals was 90 years old. On Saturday the 6th we held a party at the sanctuary for Peggy - it was certainly one to remember. The event was kindly paid for by the Society’s trustees and all volunteers were invited to attend. The turn out was great as more than 50 people came along to enjoy the fab food and fine entertainment! 
Peggy had a wonderful time and was bowled over by the celebrations. (Peggy pictured left blowing out the candle – well 90 of them would be a bit mean!) Long-serving rabbit volunteer Clare Canty (pictured below right), a professional musician by trade and no stranger to Top of the Pops, kindly gathered together fellow musicians and entertained us with a great set. 
A special thank you to Clare and her friends for making the evening so successful and for truly enhancing the proceedings. A big thank you is also due to Rachel (Hagen’s mum and rabbit volunteer) for doing more than her fair share helping me serve drinks, sell raffle tickets (we raised £37.50) and flog Peggy’s biography – you can see her in action below whilst I’m of skiving. Thank you Rachel, good job you were there to keep me in line! Peggy’s biography has been written by a friend of hers and all proceeds will go to the sanctuary. It has the potential to raise the Society £9,000. It is a fascinating read and available from reception at £4.50 a copy. If you are interested in social history – this one’s for you!
BUNNIES IN BOTHER - SAA to the rescue!The largest ever rabbit intake at the sanctuary has already become a familiar tale with many, but here we tell you more about the story of 110 rabbits that were cruelly neglected. Thursday 25th September was just another typical Thursday at the sanctuary, which means it was awful! It has become our ‘comedy’ day as something eventful inevitably happens on a Thursday – usually dire emergencies of animals needing our care or newborn baby mice being discovered somewhere or on one occasions the birth of Mary’s babies or just overwhelming quantities of calls to take in animals in need. Rarely a Thursday goes by without some kind of an event and they cause considerable groaning from us all! We thought 25/09 special event was getting an urgent call from the local RSPCA Inspector to take in two albino bunny boys, who had been removed with consent from a couple who ‘could no longer cope’. They had bought two males at different times from Pet Smart, housed them in a ‘starter’ hutch and harnessed and tied them daily to their wheelie bin as a means of exercise. Of course they had to come in even though we had no space. It transpired that one was a fully-grown adult – ‘Blizzard’, and the other approximately 4 months old – ‘Frosty’ and was being bullied rotten by the big guy, and no, they were not neutered. So we went into action getting ready for their arrival and were delighted to meet the two gorgeous hunks when they were delivered. But then we received a call…… A couple had a van full of 20 male rabbits that they had driven from Wales with to be housed at another animal sanctuary in Manchester. Upon their arrival they were none too keen with the services on offer and felt they couldn’t leave the guys there. So they set off in search of alternative accommodation and telephoned us. They were advised to come along and we’d take on the ones in greatest need by placing them in foster care. Thus the story unfolds….. A team of volunteers (not related to the sanctuary) had learned about an elderly gentleman in Wales who had been breeding rabbits for some years and things had got out of control and beyond his ability to cope. He willingly accepted their help and they had already removed 30 females and taken them to a sanctuary down South. Up to 20 rabbits were being housed in one dog cage at a time. They were being fed cut grass (please never feed your rabbit cut grass as it ferments quickly and can cause dreadful stomach upsets). Inevitably many of the rabbits were injured through fighting wounds, abscesses and were in a neglectful state. Many under weight, many horrendously matted (all the long haired buns had to be shaved) and so many of them were terrified of their own shadows. Upon their arrival we were greeted by the sight of carriers, hutches and boxes all piled on top of one another and not a single one had any provision for food or water. We set about the mammoth task of health checking each one, prioritising their medical needs, housing them and of course naming them. It was like a scene of devastation as one after another had bite marks, terrible matting, nasty wounds and some horrible abscesses. One of the worst was undoubtedly Winky pictured below. His eye was so badly infected and covered in puss that you couldn’t even see he had an eyeball. The trauma to his eye was so great that it couldn’t even be cleaned up. As the infection began to subside with treatment his eyeball was revealed and it was opaque white and significantly misshapen. Now, nearly two weeks on, he is making a remarkable recovery, as you can see from the picture on the right. Although corrective surgery to his eyelids is looking impossible he is managing well and improving daily. He is very timid but gradually getting braver, exploring his foster home and approaching his carer. 
So as you probably have gathered we chose to take them all in. There simply wasn’t a single rabbit we could turn away, and a temporary unit was established in one of the stables – see below. 
Although not an ideal set up the rabbits have daily exercise, wonderful care and somewhere safe and warm to live. We managed to place a few in foster care and have been very lucky in being offered homes for two of the buns with awful abscesses. 
Above left and right is Orbit. One week after their arrival I crept into the stable to see how they all were, to find Orbit rolled out on his side having a snooze – he looked so content that it made my heart smile to see what we had achieved by helping these rabbits. He shortly after woke up and came for a nosey to see what I was doing. Below is Sandy. He had a really horrible wound to one of his testicles. It looked like the sack had been ripped open (presumably by a bite mark) and had subsequently become infected and swollen. Here he is having a ‘ball’ (!) chinning the run during playtime. He is a gorgeous chap and stunningly handsome. He has had his testicle removed and is currently recovering in foster care. 
 Teddy is Susie and Helena’s favourite. He is so placid and eager for attention and never seems to complain. He just seems very happy to be safe. He is supposed to be an angora, but with such solid matts, he had to be completely shaved and he is in an indoor cage in our ‘isolation’ unit so he can keep nice and warm. We love Ted, he has such a wonderful nature. The people who brought us the bunnies told us of a further 60 rabbits yet to be ‘liberated’. We hope it is not too long before they find peace too. So here is a run down of whose-who, and amongst the pack of boys we actually discovered two females – unbeknown to their ‘liberators’. They were neutered soon after their arrival as they had been transported with males – all of whom were unneutered. Archie - white albino upeared Ben – agouti angora upeared Bill - agouti angora upeared Bungle – agouti upeared paired with chinchilla-grey upeared – Ivor – the boys love each other dearly Bumble - agouti angora upeared (and Gilly’s favourite) Jester – black with white spot on nose, upeared Lego – grey and white upeared Ollie – chocolate coloured upeared – he had dreadful eye infections Orbit – white albino upeared as featured above Teddy – white albino angora upeared, as featured above Chesney – female chesnut coloured angora upeared, in foster care with Karen Scott Harpo – black and white ‘English’ breed, upeared, in foster care with Jacqui Woods Jarvis – black and white ‘English’ breed, upeared, in foster care with Kate Asterix – black and grey angora upeared in foster care with Debs Gunton Winky - agouti upeared in foster care with Susie Hughes Sandy – fawn upeared as featured previously and in foster care with Gilly Poppy – female white upeared – she had a huge abscess on the bridge of her nose that was just a solid mass that exploded all over Helena the day after their arrival. Poppy has been very lucky to be given a home by a long-standing rabbit rescuer in London called Wendy Douglas. Wendy is well known to many of us for her work with rabbits and is exceptionally experienced with abscesses. Thank you so much Wendy. George - agouti angora upeared – he had nasty bite wounds and a large abscess on his side. He has been given a marvellous home with Jay and John at Ebony Eyes. As soon as he arrived he seemed content and settled. Thank you guys so much for taking in George, we all send our love. 
So in total there were actually 19 rabbits, and we now have the task of not only finding homes for our original 25 or so bunnies - we now need to find homes for approximately 40 rabbits! Many of our supporters and volunteers have really rallied around to help us out as the next few months are going to be tough. As the cost and time to care for all the bunnies is going to be significant, we have so far received donations in excess of £100, lots of toys and treats, and several sacks of dried food. In addition staff from The Animal Medical Centre in Chorlton have dematted the rabbits for free and have vaccinated all the bunnies against myxomatosis at cost price and so far castrated 6 boys for just the cost of the anaesthetic and sutures – and they’ve offered to do more! The Animal Medical Centre is a specialist – referral only – hospital and recently had their own fly-on-the-wall documentary series on ITV. So without a doubt we are overwhelmed and delighted with the response of help we have received and would like to thank you all – THANK YOU! But at the risk of sounding greedy we really do need your help for a long while yet and if anyone can help with cleaning them out once in a while, we would be exceptionally grateful. Please email Helena at manager@sfaa.fslife.co.uk to let us know if you are available anytime. Similarly the cost of buying veggies for these guys and all the other residents is immense, so if you could send in supermarket vouchers we would be eternally grateful! Our address is: Society for Abandoned Animals, Peggy Henderson Animals Sanctuary, Mosely Acre Farm, Barfoot Bridge, Stretford, Manchester, M32 9UP. Many thanks to all of you for your dedication and continued support for the sanctuary. And look! We appeared in the Manchester Evening News, or at least Malindi did, looking rather foxy!
www.rodneyrabbit.co.uk
I am sure many of you have read all about Rodney rabbit in the papers during summer. To my knowledge he feature in The Metro News, Daily Mail and Manchester Evening News. So why are we telling you about him now? Because he has found a girlfriend at the sanctuary, who in turn will undoubtedly become a superstar too. It is no other than Lou-Lou! This is how they were fairing prior to Clare taking Lou-Lou home….looks like love is in the air! For those of you who didn’t get to read about Rodney, below is one of the articles that can be found on www.manchesteronline.co.uk 
Rabbit has 61,000 web admirers
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