Happy Easter

Happy Easter from our Easter Bunnies.   

                                                     Theo checking out the goodies in his basket.

                      Louie and Mo playing with some Easter eggs while their Peter Rabbit supervises.

In Memoriam 

Today we said goodbye to our dear sweet Charlie Brown.  He has been through a lot but his poor 13 year old body could not hold on much longer.  Charlie was a precious boy who loved soaking in the attention of volunteers.  During his months at Harvey's House, he grew to be one of my favorites and I always tried to make an effort to spend some time with him.  Charlie was the first rabbit I featured on this blog as a way to share is story with the world so others could learn about rabbit care through the eyes of a elder bun who has been through and survived a lot in his many years.  I am so glad he was able to make it to his 13th birthday and allowed us to love on him until the very end.

Charlie Brown
2001-2014

Beyond the Rainbow

 As much as I loved the life we had and all the times we played, 

I was so very tired and knew my time on earth would fade. 

I saw a wondrous image then of a place that's trouble free, 

where all of us can meet again to spend eternity. 

I saw the most beautiful rainbow and on the other side 

were meadows rich and beautiful lush and green and wide! 

And running through the meadows as far as the eye could see 

were every sort of animal, as healthy as could be! 

My own tired failing body was fresh and healed and new 

and I wanted to go run with them but I had something left to do. 

I needed to reach out to you to tell you I'm alright, 

that this place is truly wonderful - then a bright glow pierced the night. 

'Twas the glow of many candles shining bright and strong and bold 

and I knew then that it held your love in it's brilliant shades of gold. 

For although we may not be together in the way we used to be 

we are still connected by a cord that no eye can ever see. 

So whenever you need to find me we're never far apart 

if you look beyond the rainbow and listen with your heart.

~ author unknown ~

White Fury Chocolates Easter 2014 Update

4/3/14   EASTER 2014- White Fury Chocolates

Well, we have begun taking and filling orders of chocolate bunnies.  Damon and his mom made TONS of mini bunnies to be bagged and sold at our rabbit-approved vet's office.  I am very pleased with how many friends and family have ordered chocolate bunnies.  We still plan to make several extra large and bags of mini bunnies to be sold next weekend at the Egg hunt fundraiser that our rescue is hosting to raise money for the medical fund.  I am excited to see how well the chocolates sell and hope this continues to be a successful fundraiser for our rescue.

4/7/14- Packaging 

We have begun packaging the orders we received for chocolate bunnies.  These are the bunnies we made to fulfill specific orders.  There are 28 bags of mini bunnies and 42 large single bunnies of various flavors.  We have also molded a ton of minis that were bagged and are being sold at our local veterinarian's office.  This week Damon is going to make additional large and minis in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and cookies n cream for the upcoming egg hunt for our friends at the rescue.

Thank you so much to all of our family, friends and coworkers who have ordered bunnies from us.  Your support will go to help many rescued bunnies.   

Rescue Visit - March 29, 2014 (Guest post by Damon)

Former foster bunny Fluffy came for a visit, and we spent a little time with him. The little fella was fun and playful, but wasn't being a cooperative model for the camera. He just didn't want to pose.

As energetic as those little dwarves are, they eventually wear out. Once back in his cage, Fluffy dozed off......and snored. And snored. And snored.

Gytha came out to play, too. She and her sister, Esme, had to be separated recently, and Esme has since been adopted. Gytha is still uncertain when it comes to interacting with people but we're working with her to gain her trust. She's slowly coming along, but it will take some time before she's begging for pets and kisses.

Charlie's Big Day

Today is a special day for one of my buddy's at the rescue.  Charlie Brown turned 13 today!

Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown!

3-6-14 Theo returns to school

Theodore decided to go with me to school again today.  He played the role of ambassador bunny by showing the kids the work it takes to care for a bunny.  We set up a playpen for him by my desk and the kids were able to observe him throughout the day.

During Daily 5 time, my reading groups enjoyed "reading to him" as his pen was right by our horseshoe table.  I think Theo loved being read to while eating hay or watching the kids from his hidey house.


 In writer's workshop, we have been learning about informative writing and it's different forms.  Theodore's visit allowed the students an opportunity to experience informative writing in a new way.   Their assignment was to write an observational journal entry about Theodore and what he was doing.  I allowed the kids to sit on the carpet with Theo in the middle.  Once they were supposed to begin writing, a few students were able to persuade me (with evidence of course ;) ) to let them write a fictional narrative about Theodore the Superhero bunny instead.  I will post some of their writing below.  Theo hopped around the carpet, sniffed the kids, jumped in/out of the litter box and climbed in my lap several times.  He even showed them that he can pretend to be a meerkat (stand on back feet and look around).  Theo definitely gave them plenty to write about during our 30 minute writing block.  Once workshop was over and it was time to line up for lunch, I had to put our guest back in his desk area.  He was none to happy with me and was sure to let me know with lots of sad stares while I ate my lunch.  Though, he had the attention of many teachers during our lunch break and even got a snuggle from one of them. ;)

After lunch, was a chance for a brain break where the students sang and danced for Theo.  Then our reading clinic time began.  During this time, small groups ( 4 kids) would come to the horseshoe table to read together.  This was naptime for Theo as he settled into his box for the stories and a snooze.  He stayed in his hidey box for almost the whole hour of clinic.  

Not too long into math, foster dad came and took the boy home.  You would think after such a long day (about 6 hours) surrounded by first graders, this little man would be exhausted.  NOPE! He was still full of energy at his regular nightly "play time".  He did ask for a little more snuggles than usual but they never lasted long.  

The kids informational and narrative writing 

Informational writing
Translation (as written by child except I cleaned up the spelling)-
 Theodore hopped to me (pedidme 2 tioshim ?) He is eating hay.  He is sitting in his pen. He is licking himself.  There are 3 kids petting him. I think he is staring at Mrs. Atherton. There are a teacher. He is staring at a kid. There is 1 kid petting him. Theodore looks like he Theodore is smelling his mom. He is sitting. He hopped out of his cage (no cage in room not sure what child was talking about). There he got put it up.

Narrative writing
Translation (as written by child except I cleaned up the spelling)-
Once upon a time there was one guy named Batman and Ironbun.  We were looking for criminals then one day we saw 10 bad guys rob a jewelry store. So me and Ironbun, me and him, flew down and beat them up but but then we were wrong. Me and Ironbun did not know what to do. We tried to think then we thought of a plan I jumped and he bust him then we won.

Narrative writing
Translation (as written by child except I cleaned up the spelling)-
Theo is superhero. Theo is super cute. I am going to write a story of him.  The super bunny named Theo. The super hero saves people and bunnies that are in trouble and are about to get ran over by a train or something else like a reindeer or Santa and sometimes we call him Ironbun and he saves a lot of people.

Informational writing
Translation (as written by child except I cleaned up the spelling)-
Theo is getting close to Logan and now he is eating. Now he got close up to Chase and he's eating again. Now, he got close to Josh and Terra and Caden petted him and he's just sitting there.  And now, he was next to Nathen and now he came near me and Daniel and Terra is petting Theo again. He's eating hay and he's still eating. He's not getting out and I want to pet him again. And Hailey said he was asleep. Daniel petted him again and now he's standing on his two feet and now he's staring at me. And Mrs. Baldini is petting him. Three kids were petting him and he jumped. Theo must like Nathen really bad. And Mrs. Atherton moved him and I petted him again. And 3 people petting him and they're still petting him. And a bunch of people were talking about poop and Mrs. Atherton might have to put him up at lunchtime. And I thought she's gonna put him back. He's sniffing his toy box and he got out of his litter box.  It's time to put him back now.

Damon's rescue visit (3/1/14)

Damon here, writing a guest post. April wasn't able to visit the rescue with me, so I took my Mom, who hadn't been in some time. Mom spent time with Charlie Brown, playing Scrabble and loving on him. Charlie enjoyed soaking up the attention as he always does. While Mom was keeping Charlie company, I had to spend a little time with my girl, Malani. Malani, despite her limitations and past health issues, hopped around the pen and investigated every corner. She would snuggle against my arm for a bit before making a few more laps around the pen. The main reason for the visit was so I could take portraits of the yard rabbits. The yard rabbits came to the rescue after a confiscation from a local meat breeder. Prior to the confiscation, they were found in deplorable living conditions - a muddy, fenced-in yard with no vegetation, minimal shelter and little to no food or water. 16 of these poor bunnies were brought to our rescue, and six of them are still in foster care - Vilthuril, Hawkbit, Acorn, Dandelion, Buckthorn and Rigel. These six bunnies were not very cooperative models! Once we got each of them out and ready for photos, they all just wanted to get away and go back "home" to their cages. I did manage to get some good photos of each of them. Hawkbit, Dandelion and Buckthorn seemed to be a little curious about the bright flash of light. Each time I'd snap a picture of one of them, they seemed to look at the light as if to say "Hey, what's this thing?" While each of the yard rabbits were not very playful and just wanted to get back "home," I enjoyed taking their pictures and getting to spend a little time with some different bunnies.

   

Dandelion                                  Hawkbit        

* Interesting Factoid- The "Yard Rabbits" are named after characters from the book, Watership Down.*