Busy Bunny Blog

Here is our Busy Bunny Holiday Schedule and shipping deadlines:

1. For east coast and mid west customers, order by 12/14 to get your package by Christmas.

2. For west coast customers, order by 12/18 to be sure your package arrives by Christmas.
3. As always, the Busy Bunny elves work very hard to get all orders out as quick as a bunny!

We will be closed from 12/23 until 1/4 for a Holiday Rest and the Unavoidable, Horrible Inventory Days.

Seasons Greetings!
It’s time for our Post-Thanksgiving Door Thumper sale!

5 Day Sale! 15% discount on everything!

Hello Bunny Friends,

We are having a Holiday Sale for 5 days only here at The Busy Bunny! Orders placed online between now and Tuesday at midnight will automatically get a 15% discount. No minimum purchase required. Stock up on all your favorite toys to keep your bunnies joyful and busy through the holiday season.

Please Note: 15% sale is for retail customers only. Sale ends on 12/1 at midnight PST. Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery during this busy time. If you have placed an order with us that has not yet shipped, we will apply the 15% discount if it qualifies.

Check out these great items!

We have some fun holiday shaped willow baskets such as the Star Basket and the Boot Basket - the Boot is either sold empty or filled with other willow items. We also have our ever-popular Willow Candy Canes and the Hanging Swirly Balls that can be hung in bunny’s cage or play areas. Of course, for that extra special bunny, we have our annual Filled Holiday Basket which includes a $10.00 BunnyBucks Coupon!


Don’t forget bunny related Christmas Cards and 2010 Calendars. These go fast!

We also have the collectible Arthur Court Bunny Ornament - every year Arthur Court creates a new Bunny Ornament.

During this sale is a good time to think about a fresh new cardboard bunny house such as the Magic Dream Cottage.

Thank you all for your business and support through the years. We have been honored to be able to bring a little fun into your pets lives! We wish all a healthy, happy Holiday Season!

Sincerely,
Lisa and Paul Matheson

Willow Star Basket
Boot Basket
Santa Boot with Snowballs and Candy Cane
Hanging Swirly Balls
Willow Candy Canes
Christmas Carolers Boxed Holiday Cards
2010 Rabbit Rescue Calendar
2010 Bunny Close-ups Calendar
2010 Arthur Court ‘Joy’ Ornament

Bam was having problems with loose stools. It was a continuous problem but after finding out a little more about his diet, Kelly and Kevin made some slow changes and now Bam is healthy and back to normal. They made a couple of important changes - more hay in his diet (not alfalfa, but a mixture of timothy hays, grass hays, oat hays etc.) and they slowly switched him to a plain timothy based pellet from a brand that had all those little treats in them like pineapple, seeds, nuts, etc. Although Bam is not really happy with the plain pellets (he misses the sugary, fattening treats), he is eating them and now has firm healthy poops and is back to his normal self. It is good to remember that bunnies should not have too many treats, especially as many as were in Bam’s old pellets. Treats are to be given once or twice a day in small amounts. Of course a bunny is going to want more of them, it’s like a kid that wants to eat candy all day. A little education on bunny health and a little discipline on the part of the bunny’s companions will go a long way in saving on costly vet bills and the emotional trauma of caring for a sick bunny.

Here is a link to other bunny diet suggestions which will help keep your bunny on a path to a long healthy life….

Bam

Lisa has been bugging me to add The Rabbit Haven to our links page for months now. I always have an excuse (I’m busy, I’m tired, I’m asleep, I’m hungry, we are still rethinking the link page paradigm, my toe hurts, etc) as to why I cannot, but once you go to the site you will understand why it needed to be done. Until we finish rethinking the link page paradigm, I decided to post it on our blog and add it to our Blog-roll.
Speaking of blogs and blog-rolls and link pages, we are getting ready to drop an improved site - minor tweaks as opposed to the overhaul we did last year, but exciting none-the-less.
In the meantime, check out The Rabbit Haven’s site…

We recently received these photos of Ruby. Ruby broke her back in February of 2009 and is being fostered while she is receiving on-going care from Dr. Harvey. Apparently she loves our baskets - so much so that her fosterer has to buy them in bulk! Ruby was rescued by the Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary.

We recently received a message from an Irish writer, John Fitzgerald, who has written a book called Bad Hare Days. In this book, Mr. Fitzgerald chronicles his and others efforts to ban live Hare coursing. Lisa and I were not familiar with the ’sport’ of coursing until we heard about it from a dachshund owner who participated in coursing events - this person claims that the rabbits are not abused or injured, but having read up on this activity I am not convinced. The dogs are now muzzled so that the rabbit or hare is not torn apart but the animals are in a state of terror before course and if caught (and they usually are) they are mauled, injured, and all but killed. After a quick bit of searching I found this quote from Henry S. Salt:

But even so stupid a pastime as this has its charms for many people, when to the zest of seeing a timid animal’s life at stake there is added the more modern excitement of betting on the prowess of the dogs. Of the cruelty of coursing, as practised in the chief contests, from the Waterloo Cup down, there can be no question. “What more aggravated form of torture is to be found,” says Lady Florence Dixie, “than coursing with greyhounds—the awful terror of the hare depicting itself in the laid-back ears, convulsive doubles, and wild starting eyes which seem almost to burst from their sockets in the agony of tension which that piteous struggle for life entails?”

To me, the saddest part of this quote is that it came from a book called Killing for Sport that was published in 1914.

The fight to ban coursing is on-going, not just in Ireland.

The book can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk here.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Here is the text of the message we received from Mr. Fitzgerald:

Re. Bad Hare Days

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to tell you about a book I have written and had published on the controversial subject of live hare coursing in Ireland and the campaign to protect the Irish Hare. It’s called Bad Hare Days (published by Olympia Publishers of London) and in it I recount the ups and downs of campaigning on the issue over three decades.

In addition to exploring the nature of hare coursing from my own perspective as an animal protection campaigner, I also describe the social and psychological impact on campaigners of engaging in a difficult and tension-wrought campaign aimed at changing public opinion on this and other animal protection issues.

As I lack the resources to mount a huge promotional drive of the kind one associates with celebrity authors, I am doing what I can to “spread the word” about the book.

I’m not sure if it would be possible for you to mention the book on your website or in a newsletter. If not, I’d appreciate if perhaps you might tell someone about it. The “Bush Telegraph” can be most effective too!

If interested, you might like to read a review of the book and some further details at the following link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Hare-Days-John-Fitzgerald/dp/1905513674

Reproduced below is what the publisher’s promotional piece has to say about the book:

Bad Hare Days by John Fitzgerald

In Ireland the ‘humble hare’ has been the subject of great controversy. After years of an abusive sport, which resulted in its child-like death screams being heard regularly throughout Ireland, a result was achieved.

For those few dedicated people trying desperately to save the gentle creature from the horrors of the cruel sport of hare coursing, the struggle was painful and fought against great odds. The author writes about one of the ‘world’s most barbaric blood sports’ continuing during a deadly period for the hares, the 1980s.

His own peaceful and non-violent action and that of, initially, a few others’ did arouse the public and achieve what at first appeared to be a hard-won benefit to the hare. But the hare’s troubles were - and are - far from over. Though it can no longer be torn apart by greyhounds, now muzzled, it can still be mauled, injured, and tossed about like a rag doll on the coursing field.

In addition to highlighting the hare’s sad plight, this is also a campaigner’s story. The author recounts vividly the ups and downs of his own fight against cruelty. He paid a major price in suffering as a result of being persecuted for his beliefs. The gentle hare, apart from its use and abuse in coursing, has now become an endangered species in Ireland, and this book reinforces its right to be protected.

About the Author:

John Fitzgerald is a free-lance journalist and writer living in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Before taking up these twin pursuits, he had worked for almost a decade in a farmers’ co-operative, during which time he wrote hundreds of letters to newspapers exposing cruelty to animals in general, but hare coursing in particular, as part of a national campaign against blood sports in Ireland. He has been involved for almost three decades in Ireland’s anti-hare coursing movement and the present book focuses on a tumultuous phase in the campaign that had a devastating immediate and long-term impact on his life. John Fitzgerald has contributed articles to a number of national and provincial Irish newspapers and to the popular Ireland’s Own magazine. He is also the author of four previous books, all dealing with aspects of his native county’s heritage, history, and folklore.

Thanking you for your kind attention,

Sincerely,

John Fitzgerald

Wow. Is it May already?!

We recently received more
Papaya Plus tablets. We have a new pet bed that is shaped like a giant’s shoe - the Sasquatch. We added two wood chew toys that are flavored and dyed with fruit juice; Fruity Balsa Mini Chews and Fruity Balsa Kabobs. Finally, we added this unique two-sided picture frame and these windchimes for potted palnts. Check them out!

In March we ran a 3 day special and donated the proceeds to The Burrow Inn. We are happy to report that we raised $337.79 for the bunnies at The Burrow Inn. Thank you to all who participated.

Papaya Fruit Plus Tablets are back!

Check out our newest item - the Sasquatch Pet Bed! Suitable for bunnies as well as dogs, cats and other pets.

Our friends at Friends of Rabbits in Virginia sent us these links.
On a recent episode of Martha Stewart’s show, Martha talked to Marc Morrone about pet rabbits. In their interview, they mention the House Rabbit Society and encourage people not to put bunnies in Easter baskets. At the end of the show she gives chocolate bunnies to everyone in the audience (I’m sorry if I spoiled the ending) ala Make Mine Chocolate.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Happy Spring!

Free Chocolate Bunny Socks with $100 in merchandise*! 10% Donated to the Burrow Inn! Three Days Only!

In the spirit of Make Mine Chocolate, we are having a Three Day Special - order $100.00 or more in merchandise and receive a FREE pair of women’s Chocolate Bunny Socks*, AND, to top it off we will give 10% of the proceeds of the merchandise total from all retail orders to our local rabbit rescue, The Burrow Inn. To make things really easy for you, we will add the socks and calculate the donation - all you have to do is shop!

We have some whimsical and fun-filled Easter Baskets this year for those lucky buns out there. Each basket includes a $5.00 BunnyBucks coupon.
Tulips and Bulbs Easter Basket Daisies in Garden Boot Easter Basket

We also have some new springtime gift items for those lucky humans out there such as kitchen towels:
Aqua Bunny Jacquard Dishtowel

Towel/potholder gift set:
Bunny in Daisies Towel and Potholder Set

and new coir doormats:
Coir Fiber Doormat

We also have some new salt and pepper shakers:
Sitting Bunny Salt & Pepper Shakers

and a new mug:
Bunny in Daisies Ceramic Mug.

You can find more new springtime items in the Seasonal Category.

Don’t forget our Sale category where items are discounted 10-50% (while supplies last).

This special ends Wednesday March 25 at midnight PST.

*Just a reminder that in order to get the free socks your merchandise total, before tax and shipping charges, must be $100.00 or more. If you placed an order with us that has not yet shipped and which qualifies for the free gift, we will include it in your order.

We encourage you to help or donate to your local or favorite rabbit rescue group. We have a listing of links to many of these wonderful groups on this page.

Sincerely,
Lisa and Paul Matheson

Happy New Year! Happy Ground Hog Day! Happy Valentines Day! Happy Spring Cleaning!

4 Day Sale! Making Space in Our Warehouse! 20% discount on our most popular items!

To celebrate these holidays and spring cleaning, we are offering a 20% discount on many of our willow products and grass mats. This is a good time to stock up on the favorite toys and chews of your bunnies and other critters. Sale ends Thursday February 5th at midnight!

Please Note: If you have a current order that has not shipped we will apply the sale price as applicable.

To make things easy for you, we have created an entire category called Warehouse Sale that has all of these sale items. You will see the biggest sellers like our:
Willow Cubes
Willow Bowls
Unpeeled Round Tunnels
Willow Balls
Sea Grass Mats
and many more.

Don’t forget our Sale category where items are discounted 10-50% (while supplies last).

Thank you all for your business and support through the years. We have been honored to be able to bring a little fun into your pets lives!

Sincerely,
Lisa and Paul Matheson