LATEST NEWS IN THE NORTHWEST!

5/2/2007
Northwestern Colorado Satellite Moves to Grand Junction!


Grand County Satellite becomes Northwestern Colorado Satellite
By Sandy McFall, Satellite Manager
May 1, 2007

Moving the Northwestern Colorado Satellite headquarters from Grand County to Grand Junction has been a very good move for the rescue effort. In December I moved into a nice house with my 10 rabbits and Cocker Spaniel Samantha, and set up our new headquarters. I had hardwood flooring installed in about half the house, had three 9-foot rolling bunny runs built by a cabinet maker, and promptly installed 8 of the 10 bunnies in my dining room! It is a lovely setup. Dominic and BeBe, the two bigger bunnies, have a larger run to themselves in the office a few feet away.

I was worried the bunnies would not be as happy because they have less room. On the contrary, we are all together as a family, in one place. The bunnies have been absolute angels and seem quite content being able to see their neighbors but having their own space to themselves. Even the herd, four bunnies in one run, are doing quite well. Everyone gets outside every day, I see more of everyone, and every bunny gets handled daily. It has been absolutely wonderful. And I have easy access to snuggles at night!

The rolling runs make cleanup a breeze. The runs move on the floor for easy sweeping and vacuuming, the linoleum floors in the runs make a great surface for fluffy rugs. I reach in from the top and everyone is in petting reach! Hay is easily refilled and treats are easily administered. There is room to hop and jump and stretch out and cuddle.

This setup has served several purposes:
• We are all together as a family
• Cleanup is a breeze
• The bunnies are right in the center of the “action”
• It gives people new ideas for bunny living spaces
• We have easy access to the rabbits for interaction
• Bunny personalities are readily observed

Since getting established in Grand Junction, we have had several marketing coups:
• Tabatha Savage has distributed adorable refrigerator magnet business cards in veterinary offices and pet stores, and we keep replacing them with more!
• An ongoing ad in The Nickel has brought in several wonderful volunteers
• I had a live 15-minute interview on the local public radio station talking about our bunny rescue, right before Easter
• We had a FABULOUS 1 ½ page article on the front page of the Westlife Section of the Daily Sentinel on Easter Sunday (you can read the copy at http://www.gjsentinel.com/featr/content/features/index.html, go to the local features section, and hit the "cuddly bunnies" article. Note, you may need to sign in first)
• Tabatha, Debby, Sierra, Linda, and Karlee did a 3-day Best Friends Adopt-A-Thon at PetSmart
• And, we had our second bunny tune-up class with several new members

We have also taken in 5 new bunnies, giving us 6 adoptable rabbits in inventory. They have just been spayed and neutered at the new low-cost spay and neuter clinic in Grand Junction, and everyone is recuperating in foster homes. This new clinic relationship will save us and our bunny families a lot of money.

Supply sales continue to increase, and more rabbits in Grand Junction are getting good food and treats!

None of this would have been possible without the tireless assistance of my partner Tabatha Savage. Tabatha, daughter Sierra, new volunteers Debbie Hughes and daughter Karlee, along with longstanding volunteers Linda McCulley and Jennifer Halbach have all worked hard to increase the visibility of our bunny rescue and education effort. We think it is working! The proof will be in getting the adoptable rabbits into new and loving homes.

Sandy McFall and Tabatha Savage operate the Northwest Colorado Satellite of the Colorado House Rabbit Society located in Grand Junction. They can be reached at 970-263-7775, 970-263-8525, nwco-hrs@msn.com, or on the website, www.coloradohrs.com/northwest.


10/29/2006
News from the Northwest Satellite


We’ve had a lot of action in our satellite in the last quarter. Grand Junction volunteers Tabatha Savage and Judith Hopper are going gangbusters in getting rabbits out of Mesa County Animal Services. Lilly, a Sable mix, Poptart, a lop mix, Bee Bee, a Californian Mix, and Mr. Shivers, an angora, are now in foster care recovering from spay and neuter surgeries. Charmin, a beautiful 4 year-old lop rescued from a backyard neglect situation, is mending nicely from ovarian cancer surgery, and bonding with foster mom Linda Rotert.

Our foster moms Jennifer Halbeck in Montrose, along with Kathryn Fortier, Linda Rotert, and Tabatha Savage in Grand Junction are providing the invaluable service of caring for these five bunnies until they are ready to be adopted into loving homes. Kathryn Fortier also adopted an additional rabbit from the MCAS, saving us from having to take it in!

We have been funding spay and neuter surgeries out of an initial private donation. We are now setting up our own checking account and have begun fundraising efforts. Because we pay more for surgery on the western slope, our adoption fees do not always cover the cost we incur with the bunnies. Tabatha and Judith helped with a booth at the Grand Junction Farmers Market for much of the summer, providing exposure for the concept of house rabbits, and making valuable connections with other rescue groups in the area. We had a successful tune-up class in September, resulting in two more memberships for CO-HRS and a nice donation for the NWCO satellite.

You can now view all our foster bunnies available for adoption on the NWCO Satellite web page by clicking on the “Satellites” link at the top of the CO-HRS website, and hitting the Northwest link. Rebecca Donnelly and Mary-Kaye Buchtel have worked tirelessly to get the satellite web pages up and running. Western slope adopters will be able to e-mail adoption applications to me, and western slope rabbits will be finding homes on the western slope!

And speaking of homes on the western slope, I saved the best news for last. Robyn and Ronnie, 3-year residents of Broomfield, came to “Summer Camp” with me in Hot Sulphur Springs when the Broomfield remodel started. I was taken with how entertaining and special these guys were, and when we had an inquiry from a family in Glenwood Springs, I was able to advocate for R & R as true “fun bunns”. The Kontours of Glenwood Springs now count Robyn and Ronnie as family members, and these two former shelter dwellers are LIVIN’ LARGE. It’s these “happily ever after” stories that keep us doing what we do at CO-HRS!

10/23/2006
Northwestern Satellite Goes Live!


This has been a long time coming, but is a dream come true.