downtownbuns
Not knowing Leaf's details she asked us to see what could be arranged with Catnap until we have a huge public adoption here on the 28th...
This is great! As the Admin here and the instigator of the cross-posting campaign to help BlueFrog save the poor Chicago Ridge bunnies, this is a best case scenario.
I had been asking about the Chicago HRS stepping in, but judging from the response, it didn't look like too likely. And I know our co-Admin, Haley, had been in touch with the MO HRS so I assumed they were aware of the situation. (I believe she had spoken to her vouching for Leaf before).
The HRS is, as you say, has legal status, organizational skills, financial resources, rabbit specialist vets, etc.. They really are the best people to have involved.
I know it's out of state, but if there is anything more you can do to keep the Chicago Ridge situation from happening again, even better. I had suggested a 'Friends of Chicago Ridge Rabbits' group to give them a proper advocacy to make sure no more rabbits are lost, or at least encourage and help them set up proper fostering and adoption programs, Petfinder listings, etc.
Seeing as these current rabbits did have somewhere else to go it's a moot point, but as far as any 'politics' go, I know how cautious HRS and even Bunderground people are about 'hoarders' because of their experience, but I will guess that Leaf has had equal experiences having been employed as an Animal Control Officer.
(Did you read the post about her latest life-saving rescue, btw?)
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=39376&forum_id=16
But still, it IS a term that is being used a little too freely by people quick to raise suspicions when some simple research outside the organization will save a lot of people a lot of pain.
This is the second time there has been this kind of suspicion raised about one of our Moderators, but please be very sure we do a lot of deep vetting before handing over the keys and trust of our substantial membership.
In Leaf's case, I think the poor girl first signed on just to research her first two shelter bunnies, and once we realized she had the smarts, the compassion and the resources, we totally sucked her in to continuing to rescue, even making her a rescue Mod.
(Okay, she was a willing vict...er... member).
It's honestly pretty easy to research somebody on here -- I'm not sure why the MOHRS person didn't believe Haley or do any follow-up, but I guess although we are a large board, we do tend to stay under the radar. Still, searching one's posts and references to their situation can tell the whole story. Leaf has posted updates about how she did rehome most of the last batch of bunnies.
I will add that some of our rescue work doesn't fit the HRS criteria, otherwise I'm sure we'd seek an affiliation or at least a 'steady' relationship. We support outdoor sanctuaries when necessary (as long as we're not rehoming house bunnies outside, the rabbits need to take a step up in care, not down); we welcome responsible breeder resources to help with temp housing and transport; we have a sizable rural membership so a lot of the rescues we get involved in are death row meat rabbits, outdoor abuse cases, etc.
But we certainly don't want to be at odds with anybody. We don't want to be excluded from helping, nor exclude anyone from helping us. We are truly 'drama-free' --no politics, no dissension, not at all combative. We are concerned solely with the bunnies. We have a lot of members on this board and thus a lot of 'people' resources, and we do what we can to encourage them all to step up to the plate to help when needed. So far, this has been greatly beneficial to the rabbits!
We'd like to keep that the bottom line. It honestly doesn't matter how these rabbits got to where they are, who did what or why. They are safe and will be happily rehomed and that is all that matters!
Thank you guys for all you do! You are both truly amazing!
sas :bunnydance:
