Volume 4, Issue 3 - August 2004

News from the Sanctuaries and Satellites

The Welch Sanctuary
We've had a very busy summer. The heated water bowls and heat lamps have finally been put away for another season and the usual summer clean-up and fix-up duties have begun. So far, we've had a pretty mild summer up in the hills, with plenty of rain so the fire danger isn't as bad as it has been the past couple of years.

We're sorry to report that since the last newsletter, we have lost two more of our companions, Mandi and Ginnie. We will miss both of them very much. Also, during this quarter, we rescued two turkeys, Sirus and William. They were found in Longmont near a slaughter facility. Both Sirus and William were over bred production turkeys, and as such, were in very poor health. Sirus died within a week of his arrival, while William graced us with his presence for almost two months. We hope that their short time with us gave them a peaceful send off and they knew that, at least for a short time, they were loved. We miss them, as I am sure the bunns who shared their home with them do too.

On a brighter note, we have taken in four more bunnies from the Colorado HRS foster facility. Zeus and Zoe joined us in early May, and Fannie Mae and Bibs arrived in early June. We are very excited to have these four new faces greet us every morning.

Our newest arrival is a peacock named Gideon. He is currently sharing the bunnies’ protected pen area. For the most part, Gideon ignores the bunnies, but they seem quite impressed with his tail feathers. They will approach Gideon and sniff at his feathers, sometimes walking across his tail like it's a beautiful rug.

We'd like to express our gratitude to Nicki Kravcisin and Nancy LaRoche for coming up in early May and giving all of the bunns their spring tune-up. We'd also like to thank Kim Schulte and Dr. LaBonde for all of their support and the care that they give our ever-growing family.
--Dave Welch and Lynn Halpern

The Ewy Sanctuary
Summer in the sanctuary is the most difficult time of year for us. We must stay on top of the heat and bugs. We are grateful this summer has been cooler than those of the past few years, and as a result, the mister system has not run as much. Stuart added a pressure-reducing valve to the system this year. This helps keep the inside of the sanctuary from getting too wet, and also diverts the water to the trees around the sanctuary. The height of fly and mosquito season seems to be here, so the mosquito magnet is running and all the flycatchers and strips are working.

The folks from the northern satellite came down in April for a "work and get-together" day. All the bunnies received a tune-up. Some much needed maintenance work around the sanctuary was completed as well. Thank you to Christine Haas for organizing it and to all of those who came to help.

Mitten died in early June and the necropsy pointed to an intestinal problem. In mid-July, Checkers became ill so we moved him inside with the oldsters and other special needs bunnies. We are encouraged that he is slowly on the mend.
--Leslie & Stewart

News From the North
Our group of volunteers is moving in a slightly different direction. We have stepped out of the role of adoption counselor and educator at the Larimer Humane Society. Instead, we are only fostering bunnies for them as requested. Our goal is to find a home for the foster bunnies through our contacts and prevent the bunnies from having to return to the animal shelter.

We have also taken on some HRS rescue bunnies until space is available in Broomfield. Our intention is to refer more people to the main facility in Broomfield so that adopters can get the full customer service and knowledgeable care that isn't available elsewhere.

We continue to help Leslie and Stewart at the Longmont Sanctuary. We also do an occasional adoption booth or educational speech.

In the last newsletter, we told you about our "tripod " bunny. We are happy to report that Gail McLain, a longtime HRS volunteer/fosterer from Ft Collins, has adopted her. The bunny is now bonded with a wonderful mate that Gail rescued several years ago from a horribly neglectful situation.

We were also able to place a six-year-old former hutch bunny whose mate recently died from what we suspected was heat stroke. It was extremely satisfying to bring this little guy indoors to a larger, more stimulating environment. That probably saved his life! He has been adopted by Linda Carroll and is sharing their home with a bunny who was adopted from HRS several years ago. A happy ending for all!
-- Christine Haas, Satellite Manager and Educator, Fort Collins, 970-493-6965, bosshaas@msn.com

News From the West
No report at this time.
-- Debby Widolf, Satellite Manager and Educator, Durango, 970-259-5633, rosebud@frontier.net