Who is a Rescuer (part 1)

This is a topic which anyone thinking of starting a new rescue should examine. If a person loves animals and wants to help, they may not be cut out to actually run a rescue or non-profit. Many individuals may have huge hearts and a limited pocketbook when it comes to a desire to help save rescue bunnies. 

My suggestion to start by volunteering.  Volunteer at your local area shelter, foster for a bunny rescue.  You can learn so much even by providing short term fostering, which saves two lives (the life of your foster & the space created for a second bunny).

I also encourage you to diversify when it comes to volunteering.  Don’t put all your eggs into one basket (organization).  Try to find the best fit for you, the needs of the rescue or shelter, your available hours, etc.  There is also sometimes dysfunction between the rescue or shelter’s ability to communicate their needs and a volunteer feeling appreciated.  On the flip side, training new volunteers & fosters is time consuming for the rescue and we have so much turnover of volunteers/attrition. Please remember that while every aspect of volunteering for bunnies is a valuable contribution, it's important to have realistic goals about what your limitations might be.

Keep the commitments you make if you sign up to volunteer, foster or adopt and then your efforts may positively affect the life of one or more rescue bunnies.  You can build on your experience and you may even acquire the skills to become a medical or special needs foster home.

While you are considering starting your own rescue or boarding bunnies (for example) consider your financial status and your long term ability to care for rabbits.  If you want to take in a stray rabbit, vet the bunny and rehome, can you afford the procedures, spay or neuter, vaccinations against RHDV2, etc? Do you have a safe space in your home away from personal bunnies, other pets like cats & dogs to safely house foster rabbits? ?

Vet:  do you have a solid relationship with your vet? If you want to rescue, is your vet willing to work with you and will they provide a rescue discount?  Have you thought about other friends or bunny people you know who might serve as additional fosters? What is your level of ability to care for rabbits who might be ill or injured?  Are you prepared to deal with Craigslist bunnies, individuals wanting to rehome their now unwanted bunnies or do you want to rescue only stray rabbits?  You need to prepare for intake by acquiring new or used (sterillized) gear for the purposes of having a home based or a facility rescue operation.

(this is a long topic, worthy of much discussion so we will continue to provide education and information based on our experience) Please stay tuned.

Rescue needs a lot of materials and space