Friday, September 20, 2013

Bunnies and Celebrations

Tomorrow is International Rabbit Day, a day set aside each September to promote safe, caring, and healthy environments for both pet rabbits and rabbits in the wild. I have never had a rabbit as a pet and I don't have any experience with them but I definitely think they are flat-out adorable! Who doesn't love a bunny?

Source: Wikimedia Commons

So in honor of Rabbit Day I am listing my favorite rabbit rescues for this week's Friday Faves. This gives me the perfect excuse to share cute bunny pics while also promoting great rescues.

1.) Best Friends Animal Society

Writing for Best Friends as a volunteer literally changed my life and I am always eager to tout this amazing organization located in Kanab, Utah. Someday I hope to be able to visit there, and The Bunny House will definitely be on my list of must-sees. Check out the video below for a peek at The Bunny House and Rescue Village.



2.) The Buckeye House Rabbit Society

This is the Ohio chapter of the national House Rabbit Society organization and they do everything from rescuing rabbits to educating on rabbit care to recommending bunny sitters. This is an all-volunteer group and they do amazing work for the bunnies in our state.

This is Rikki, the bunny currently featured on the Buckeye House site. Click his picture or name for more information on this little doll.

Rikki

3.) EARPS - Exotic Animal Rescue and Pet Sanctuary

EARPS is located in Indiana and focuses on the rescue of pocket pets and other nontraditional pets such as birds, reptiles, and, yes, rabbits. EARPS is run entirely by volunteers and they are a selfless group of people.

Casey is one of the little cuties currently waiting for a home with EARPS. Click on his name or picture for more information.

Casey
4.) Pampered Pets Animal Rescue 

Pampered Pets operates around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and is another all-volunteer organization. While they rescue cats and dogs as most rescues do, they also take in rabbits, and even have a special "bunny lady" among their volunteers. PPAR was started by three loving and caring women and they are a wonderful bunch of people.

Lady Di is one of several rabbits currently in their care. Click on her picture or name for additional information.

Lady Di
5.) Stray Animal Adoption Program

The Stray Animal Adoption Program, based in Newport, Kentucky, rescues primarily dogs and cats but they also take in rabbits. This is another dedicated group of volunteers who work tirelessly around the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area to find new homes for pets in need.

Snow White is one of the rabbits currently waiting for her home with SAAP.

Snow White
Do you have or have you ever had a pet rabbit?  Clancy and I love seeing our rabbit neighbors when we walk in the morning. They are very active in the woods near our home and I think they are too cute for words.


I had an experience earlier this week that made it very easy to think of what I'm celebrating this week for Vikki's Celebrate the Small Things weekly hop.

A church in my neighborhood runs a food pantry and I drove past the church earlier this week during one of their distributions. It was very disturbing to see how many people were lined up outside the church waiting for food. The line was out the door and extended into the church yard.

This was a sobering sight, especially as this is a very small pantry that only serves residents in our immediate area. It's upsetting to know that so many in our neighborhoods are in need and at risk of going hungry.

So this week I'm celebrating that I have a job that pays my bills and provides me with health insurance. I'm able to put food on my table and a roof over my head. I've never had to go hungry. I'm extremely grateful to be able to say all of these things.

I hope you've had lot to celebrate this week and have a wonderful weekend ahead.

Please stop by here tomorrow for a guest post from the wonderful S.K. Anthony, whose debut novel Kinetic was released today!! Woo-hoo SK! :)

And finally, thanks to everyone who has already signed up for my The Ghosts of Aquinnah cover reveal! If you would like to help share the pic & blurb any time during the week of 9/30, please sign up below.


35 comments:

  1. Seeing that line at church is a reality check, isn't it? You're right, grateful to have a job and a home and food.
    I didn't realize there were so many rabbit rescues. I wonder how many rabbits they rescue the week after Easter?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never had a pet rabbit but I like when I see them while I'm out riding my bike or taking a walk. :)

    Every time I pay our bills, I'm thankful that we're able to. We also donate to our local food pantry, too - especially in the summer when the kids who would get meals at school, won't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My sister has several animals, and two are rabbits. They're so cute!

    You remind us all how lucky we are, just to have the basics. Thank you Julie.

    Shah X

    http://bit.ly/19jStif

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, they're so cute! When I was a kid my grandpa built me a rabbit hut and gave me two lop-eared rabbits. They were sweet, wonderful pets. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's always wise to appreciate our circumstances, while we try to help the less fortunate. It's very sad that so many are struggling.
    The bunnies are adorable. We had bunnies on our farm for a while, but they liked to escape to our neighbors yard, and the people weren't happy to see them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. aww super cute! I's totally want want but I think between my cat and three dogs it might not survive. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. My sister used to have some lop-eared rabbits. They were really cute but messy.

    And it is sad to see so many people in need. So often they are families with young children too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the bunnies! We are lucky to have two wild bunnies that call our backyard home.

    Great cause for celebration! I was thinking of that earlier, how lucky we truly are, and how seldom we acknowledge that fact. And yet we have a Congress determined to take away from the most needy, while they belittle the size of their paychecks, and the Fed helps to make the rich richer, and all on the backs of the poor! Sorry, didn't mean to get on my soap box.

    Happy Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aww the bunnies! Adorable ;)

    It's so disheartening to see how many people are truly in need of help. Celebrating having a job is a great idea.

    Thank you for the shout out! Looking forward to tomorrow's post <3

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Alex, oh, I bet they have to rescue a ton. So sad that so many people still think it's cute to get a bunny for Easter without ever thinking about if they can actually take care of it.

    @Madeline, I didn't even think about the kids and school meals but that's a good point and something to remember! So terrible to think of children anywhere going hungry.

    @Shah, aww I bet they are! Thanks so much to you for reading.

    @Rachel, aww! I love just the word lop-eared, it sounds so cute!

    @Deanie, it sure is. Oh, that's too bad your bunnies would escape. I can imagine that could be a problem.

    @Summer, yeah, I feel the same about my dog and cat. They are all I can handle LOL.

    @LG, aww, I bet they were cute. <3

    @Yolanda, no problem, sometimes you need to get on that soap box!

    @SK, I'm looking forward to it too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are; we need reminding sometimes, especially when we've had a bad day.
    Aww those bunnies are super cute!

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Laura, agreed, this was a good reminder for me!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful bunny pics!!! I LOVE rabbits and even heavily featured one in my first novel...

    Yes, that is a wonderful thing to celebrate, Julie. It saddens me to hear that so many Americans go hungry every day... We are the wealthiest country in the world, there is NO REASON for this to continue...

    Thank God for those who donate to help others. We should all do our share to keep these facilities stocked with food. No one should go hungry.

    Looking forward to your REVEAL!!!! CONGRATS on your newest novel, Julie... I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh bun-buns are so cute! But they do need a lot of care.

    And yes, when I'm tempted to whine and feel sorry for me, for whatever reasons, I remember how fortunate I am to have my needs (and then some) taken care of.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had no idea rabbits had their own day! Adorable, aren't they?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Rabbits are great … almost as good as cats!! MOL We have loads of wild ones around here, but they don't like me for some reason?? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Cute!
    I've never had a bunny, but I had a guinea pig that would sit on my shoulder and watch TV with me. Does that count? :P

    Agree. Lots of people in dire straits these days. I grumble, but really, I have a lot to be thankful for.

    ReplyDelete
  18. PS - I did something one Halloween that went over well. I posted flyers on doors in our neighborhood about a week before, explaining it, then collected canned goods and non-perishables when we went door-to-door to trick-or-treat with the kids. We took the food to the local food pantry the next day.

    ReplyDelete
  19. @Michael, oh thanks so much about my book and for all your wonderful work on the cover!

    @Julie, that's what I've heard about rabbits but they sure are adorable.

    @Lee, I didn't either, just discovered it recently and thought it was cute. :)

    @Austin, I can imagine that you are not the rabbits' best pal. :D

    @Melissa, that guinea pig sounds so cute!! How precious. I've never had a guinea pig either. And what a creative way to collect food. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  20. We love bunnies in this house. We had 2 and then baby bunnies. They make nice pets.

    It is sad to see many people in food lines. And I'm also thankful and blessed to be well fed.

    Looking forward to your cover reveal, Julie.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Julie, I'll leave out some extra lettuce tomorrow for the wild rabbits; they already ate all my hostas, so I am sure they are hungry again!

    Signed up for your happy cover reveal on my "serious" blog, but hope you'll walk me through it.

    Congrats on another novel finished.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Those bunnies are adorable. Celebrating having a job and being able to buy food is a fantastic celebration. It's a daily prayer of thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Never having to go hungry is definitely worth celebrating.

    I love a bunny! I had one when I was little and my cousin let it go :(

    ReplyDelete
  24. I had a bunny when I was young - a Netherlands Dwarf Lop-Eared one (or those words in a different order). So cute, but sickly and only lived a couple of years.

    Food banks are becoming more and more necessary in the UK too. It's quite scary, really.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love bunny's, I used to have quite a lot of them when I was younger. Now, I just have a guinea pig, called pig wig. But I will always have a soft spot for bunny rabbits. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I had no idea there was such a thing as International Rabbit Day.

    I had a pet rabbit a few years ago. My mother-in-law got him for me because I had said in passing that I had never had a pet rabbit before. He was a very sweet bunny named Guinevere because we thought he was a girl at first.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh what cute bunnies! I am pleased to hear there are rescue places for them. I had a couple of rabbits as a child one of them was an escape artist and ended up with our neighbours chickens on more than one occasion! Our children had guinea pigs when they were younger.

    ReplyDelete
  28. It is sobering when you see how many people are in need these days. We've had churches and food banks in the area run out of food, unable to feed everyone who needs it. We're lucky we are comfortable.

    Cute bunnies! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I admire the great work done by these rescue centres. We adopted a rescue dog a few months ago and it's hard to imagine being without her now!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Rabbits are such cute creatures! Who would want to neglect or harm them? Sounds crazy...
    I really admire people who give of their time and know how to care for animals!

    ReplyDelete
  31. @Cathy, oh, I'm not surprised you had bunnies! I know what animal lovers you guys are. :)

    @Inge, thank you so much, I really appreciate it! And I hope the rabbits enjoyed their extra lettuce. :)

    @Nana, definitely.

    @Vikki, aww, that's too bad you lost your bunny as a kid.

    @Annalisa, it seems it is happening everywhere and it really is scary. :(

    @joss, pig wig is a really cute name!

    @MJ, LOL, we had a cat when I was a kid who we thought was a girl initially. It can be hard to tell when they're babies LOL.

    @Suzanne, it seems like lots of rabbits are escape artists. Cute to think of yours hanging out with the chickens. :D

    @Christine, that's happened here too, some of the agencies are just overwhelmed. :(

    @Nick, aww, I bet your dog is a doll!

    @Michelle, I know, I can't imagine it. :(

    ReplyDelete
  32. Aw, so cute! I'm definitely a bunny fan. My sister owned a rabbit once, but she got rid of it 'cause she didn't like it. :/

    ReplyDelete
  33. I had pet bunnies as a kid and they will always hold a special place in my heart! I'm so glad there are organizations like these helping our big-eared fluffy friends out!
    And what a humbling experience- I always find that I have absolutely nothing to complain about when faced with the harsh realities of those struggling. My co-workers and i often make jokes when complaining about our "first-world problems". It's great to be reminded of how much we have to be grateful for.

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Beverly, aww, I bet your bunnies were adorable. <3 And you are so right about the "first world" problems, it's easy to forget that sometimes.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.