Bunnies Being Cared For

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Created on Friday, 29 March 2013 14:35

Written by Catherine Vitale

NORTHEAST KINGDOM – A Lunenburg animal shelter is taking care of 38 unexpected visitors.

Those visitors are rabbits and bunnies that have just been released by the court.

Riverside Rescue in Lunenburg has been home to many dogs and cats in need. In February, the shelter adjusted their housing situation to accommodate fifteen rabbits and nine bunnies. Following a complaint of rabbits not being properly cared for, Riverside Rescue President Sharon Eaton accompanied Saint Johnsbury Police officers to the home of 65 year old Louise Townsend. Thirteen dead rabbits were taken from the home, and the live rabbits and bunnies were sent to a veterinarian. The veterinarian who tended to the rabbits said they were suffering from lack of water and nutrition. Townsend was cited for Cruelty to Animals and the rabbits were removed.

 “Thirteen of the bunnies were outside in a garage, in some pretty ugly cages, just not in great states,” Eaton remembered, “There was little or no water, and we didn’t see any food. I guess there was food in the cages, I’m not aware of that though.”

Looking at the number of bunnies you might think this was a case of animal hoarding. Eaton explained the situation saying Townsend was not a hoarder, rather a breeder. Eaton also explained that bunnies do not mate in the winter, so there’s usually no profit coming in until springtime. She said that the cost of keeping a bunny can get quite costly and caring for 24 can add up quickly. Unfortunately, Riverside lost four of the baby bunnies, but their number of bunnies actually increased. During their time at Riverside, two rabbits gave birth, and bumped the total number up to 38. 

Vermont’s Animal Cruelty Response System helps police officers and shelter volunteers get pets that are in need of a safe place into shelters like Riverside Rescue and local pounds. Candace Dane is the animal control officer for Burke, Sutton, and Sheffield. Dane says she’s been lucky and hasn’t run into any cases of abuse herself, but knows many who have. She believes in the importance of reporting possible cases of abuse.

“Even if you’re wrong, it’s better to be wrong than to have ignored something for fear of being wrong, and then the animal dies,” Dane said, “I would prefer to go on a call that was unnecessary as opposed to going on a call when it’s too late.”

Eaton explained the correlation between animal abuse and other forms of abuse, saying they commonly go hand in hand. Eaton said that many times when animal abuse is reported other types of abuse are investigated and if necessary, they are reported to the proper authorities.

According to the ASPCA there are many warning signs of possible abuse aside from witnessing physical violence. Some of the physical signs include:

à Collar so tight it has caused neck wounds

 à Open wounds or signs of multiple healed wounds

 à Untreated skin conditions that have caused loss of hair, bumps or rashes

 à Skin infested with fleas, ticks or other parasites

 à Signs of inadequate grooming; matted fur, overgrown nails, dirty coat

 à Weakness, inability to stand or walk normally

 à Extreme Thinness or emaciation

 à Heavy discharge from the nose or eyes

 The ASPCA also gives “environmental” warning signs for abuse when looking at a pet’s living space. These environmental signs include:

 à Being tied up alone for long periods of time with little or no food or water

 à Pets kept outside in inclement weather with no access to shelter

 à Being kept in an area that is littered with feces, garbage, broken glass, or anything that could harm them

 à Animals housed in cages that are too small for them to make normal movements, or housed with too many other animals

For animals that have been abused, Eaton believes shelters are their voice. Pet-Abuse.com shows one hundred fifteen mappable animal abuses cases in Vermont, not even close to a full count of how many animals have been abused statewide. With animals having no voice of their own, it’s up to those who spot signs of abuse to possibly save a life.

“It’s our job to speak for them,” Eaton said, “and the laws are not great regarding the convictions of animal cruelty. It’s very hard to get convictions, it’s hard to get court time and it’s very expensive.”

Eaton has served as a voice for the rabbits and bunnies, calling around to various rabbit rescues and finding families to adopt them. Some of the bunnies have already been spoken for, the others will be sent to rabbit rescues in a further attempt to find them a permanent home.

To report possible signs of abuse, you can visit Report Animal Cruelty’s website.