Madison Volunteers Begin a New Program at the Dane County Humane Society.

HRS volunteers from Madison have started a Sunday exercise and treat program for the rabbits at the Dane County Humane Society. Each week, a volunteer or two goes to the shelter to give the rabbits some out-of-cage time, fresh greens, and TLC. We have quite a collection of toys there now: mats, tunnels, hay boxes, ramps, and small toss and chew toys. The program has made a great difference in the rabbits, who are now friendlier and more likely to jump up to the cage door when they see a human, instead of sitting huddled, depressed and unresponsive. The rabbits now seem much more adoptable to the public. Often one volunteer cares for up to 10 rabbits and would like assistance, company, or an alternate to come on their scheduled day. If you are in Dane County and would like to help, please contact us.

The Milwaukee County Humane Society has long had a volunteer program headed by HRS Educator, Carolyn Long. If you can help, call Carolyn at 414-228-0530. Please make sure that you can make at least a six-month commitment and will faithfully come on your scheduled day.

Establishing a volunteer program at a shelter in order to help the rabbits can take time. Shelters are naturally wary of volunteers who are enthusiastic one week and disappear soon after. The best way to get the trust of the shelter is to be regular and reliable, help without criticism or demand for change. Remember that the staff has many animals to care for and that change comes slowly, occurring as people see the rabbits in new ways as a result of your work with them. At both the Dane and Milwaukee County Humane Societies, the HRS volunteers took about three years to have a major impact on the policy toward rabbits.

Thus, the first thing to do is to make sure that you are volunteering for the long term. If you can find someone in your area willing to help you, then so much the better. You will then need to find the people at the shelter who are in charge of volunteers and present them with a plan for the activities you wish to perform. These may include giving the rabbits safe fresh-food treats, letting them out for exercise, petting and grooming them, providing safe cage toys, and, very important, making sure that they have hay.

If the shelter is not able or willing to let you do all of these things, then do the ones that are acceptable to them. Sometimes shelters do not have room for exercising the rabbits. This happened at the Dane County Humane Society until we realized that we could go on Sunday, when the shelter was closed, and use one of the conference rooms or a hall.

Expect many frustrations, and approach each one with patience and tact, doing what you can for the moment and keeping your eyes open for ways you might slowly and gently increase your activities. Remember that even if you are going to the shelter on a regular basis only to pet the bunnies in their cages and to take them hay, you are making a difference. You may be giving the rabbit the only kind touch he has ever received, and that is significant. In future months and years you probably will be given increased freedom to give the rabbits more, including making suggestions for adoption policy. But be patient. One day you will look back on the way the rabbits were cared for before you came and realize that your work was very important.

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