Many of our members are not sure exactly what they can do to help. Your donations and dues are a big help to our cause, but there are other ways. It’s amazing how a little bit here and there becomes a big helping hand for the bunnies.

The easiest and most important way to help us is to spread the word. Talk about the House Rabbit Society with your friends, co-workers, and the people who are intrigued about that novel pet snoozing on your living room sofa. Do you have pictures of your bunnies in your wallet? Ask us for a business card or two to place under the picture. Write our phone number (608-232-7044) and web address (www.rabbit.org) on the back of the photo, or on a slip of paper behind it. And the next time you show pictures of your favorite pets, you’ll have our number ready to give to an interested individual. Having that number right there sends a big message. It tells people how important your rabbit is to you, and it tells them that rabbits have an advocacy group right here in Wisconsin. It sends the message that rabbits are a mainstream pet.

This method also works in pet stores or your vet’s office. It can be a bit intimidating to talk with total strangers, but to date I’ve had nothing but polite “thank you’s” and “no thank you’s” for the information. The key is to be polite and to not bother people who not interested. For example, if someone is buying hay or pellets I will ask, “Do you have a bunny? Aren’t they great pets?” This will either prompt an excited “Yes! They’re great!” If they’re busy and won’t answer, you’ve lost nothing. If all of us reach out to new people, we spread the word. Word of mouth is our best advertisement, and it’s one of the most powerful endorsements there is.

Another way to help is to participate in one of our many publicity, rescue, and fund-raising activities. We know that socialized rabbits are adopted faster than shy rabbits. Thus, HRS runs socialization programs for the rabbits at the Dane County Humane Society in Madison and at the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee. Both programs always need additional volunteers.

What about helping HRS at one of our publicity events? We hold our Easter program at Mounds in late March and early April. It takes a lot of volunteers to run programs in three or four stores over three Saturdays, but the effort makes a big impression on the public. We’ve adopted dozens of rabbits to people who met HRS at a Mounds event. We have educated many more, some of whom realized that rabbits were not the kind of pet for them. This education is just as important as an adoption because it means one less surrender a few months later.

Other education programs that need volunteers include Bunny Day in October (our big fundraiser), the Milwaukee Pet fair booth in October, and our Humane Society programs in Dane County and downtown Milwaukee. We’ve started new programs in Minneapolis, and hope to have a new Pet Fair booth in the Oshkosh area this year. These events are great fun! You get to meet other rabbit lovers, and you help spread the word that bunnies, under the right conditions, make great pets.

The next level of involvement is working with your local shelter. This is a big step up in commitment and effort. A shelter can be a hard place to volunteer at for many people, but think how much harder it is for the animals there. You can make a difference. Many shelters are well meaning but may not be up-to-date with rabbits. Many want to do more but are frustrated by a lack of resources. We have learned that good shelter advocacy actually stimulates adoptions. But advocacy is hard. It means education and commitment to the shelter’s needs. HRS advocates work to improve the physical and mental health of the bunnies. This includes affecting the perceptions of the shelter staff when necessary. Some shelters seem to be unaware that they have rabbits; you may find a lonely rabbit sitting amidst the cat cages. HRS’s goal is for shelters to announce “The dogs are there and the cats are around back; we also have some beautiful rabbits and some very nice hamsters.” Making these changes requires earning the shelter’s trust, and this takes time and effort. Be patient; in this race it is the tortoise who catches the hare. Remember that shelters are understaffed and under funded. They have little time for the volunteer who expects a two-week miracle. You will have more credibility with a shelter by listening to their needs, and by taking the time to be there when they need help, rather than when you happen to have the time. Talk with us for help in working with shelters. It is an incredibly rewarding experience!

To the HRS the biggest leap is fostering. Why? Because fosterers make a commitment to providing a temporary home for an otherwise homeless rabbit. Most of the rabbits we rescue from shelters are shocked by the sudden changes in their lives. They need a fosterer who shows them that humans can be loving people. They may need reminding about litter box habits. We particularly need “bunny whisperers,” people who can house a disadvantaged rabbit and get her accustomed to good people. Unsocialized rabbits are difficult to adopt, and our larger foster homes don’t have the time necessary to help our special cases. We need volunteers who can give that extra bit of socializing that makes “unadoptable” rabbits adoptable. Being a fosterer takes flexibility, perseverance, compassion, and love. Is it hard to let a rabbit go? Of course it is. There will be tears in your eyes as that little guy enters his new adoptive home. But they are tears of joy, because you’re thinking ahead to the next bunny at the shelter who now needs your help much more than the little (or big) guy that just got adopted.

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