RABBIT OWNERS: PLEASE BE AWARE OF RHDV2 - A FATAL VIRUS TO RABBITS THAT IS GETTING CLOSER TO LOUISIANA
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We need our fans on Facebook and Instagram to help us out! If every one of our followers that regularly sees and interacts with our content donates $1 a month, we'll be able to better cover monthly bunny and piggy expenses and be able to put some aside for unexpected/emergency veterinary care!
Click the donate button, then choose your dollar amount and be sure to select "Make this a monthly donation" before finalizing.
As of 5/4/2021 we are at $274 of our $500 monthly donor goal
We know that budgets have been tight due to COVID, we generally don't have to ask for donations regularly since we have been blessed the past 16 years with generous donors whenever we have fundraised. Unfortunately due to COVID, our biggest fundraiser and multiple smaller ones had to be cancelled.
We have had an uptick in medical cases since summer 2020, with the 2021 Easter season 'over' and puberty/teenage phase starting with those bunnies, we are seeing a higher than usual number of post-easter requests already as of May. Within 3 days after Easter we took in 2 rabbits that a family had already 'grown tired of.' A week later we took in our first injured Easter age bunny. Starting from the 2nd week post-Easter, we have already gotten several Easter-age rabbit surrender requests, both strays and owner surrenders.
We would love to keep on helping bunnies as we have, but our board members have come to the realization that we need a better long-term solution to help us ensure we consistently have the funding we need every month.
Monthly food/hay costs for both rabbits and guinea pigs averages around $1000 a month. We have averaged about 10 rabbit intakes a month (which is close to $350 to pay for spays/neuters, but doesn't cover any additional medical which there usually is) and 17 guinea pig intakes a month (neuter cost varies depending on the number of males we take in).
Medical cases can cost us anywhere from $100 to $1000 depending on the care needed. We typically prioritize rabbits and guinea pigs with medical issues, and we generally post fundraisers when we do, but we would like to be able to more comfortably cover that without having to rely on emergency fundraising.
If we are able to achieve close to 2,500 $1 donors a month, we'll be able to cover monthly costs, and the hope is we'll be able to put some aside for medical cases and the occasional community outreach case like we used to do much more often in previous years.
Every penny donated goes towards the pets in our program. We are a non-profit, 501c3 organization. We are 100% volunteer run, which means that our volunteers/board members are not paid.
Magic Happens Rescue was established in 2004 and veterinary medicine has advanced significantly (and costs have increased) even in just those 16 years! By helping us be able to count on a set amount in our account each month, that will help us be able to take better advantage of this technology.
The following are cases from 2020 alone, nearly every month we have had a significant medical case, sometimes two or three! These are bunnies that we are either currently treating or successfully treated earlier in the year. These are not all of our major medical cases, but they are a good majority. Click on the picture to enlarge.
Jess (special needs foster) was found as a stray in Baton Rouge in January of 2020. She had an upper respiratory infection, sore hocks, eye ulcer (blind in one eye), urine staining, and we discovered that she has pretty severe arthritis, to the point our vet did NOT recommend having her spayed. Because of this, she has mobility issues and she requires a special set up in her area to prevent her from getting urine stained. Her sore hocks are now much better, and she is on pain medicine and joint support supplements for the remainder of her life. Because of her multiple health issues, we have changed her status to being one of our special needs/sanctuary bunnies.
Sally was found as a stray in Amite with several healing bite/puncture wounds all over her face and shoulders, she was estimated to be around 8-12 weeks old. She healed up well and was adopted in January 2021!
Precious came to us after being given to a good samaritan who realized she/he needed veterinary care and contacted us. Precious we estimate to be very young, only about 4-5 weeks old, and they had a large abscess from a cat attacking them. The abscess was cleaned out, and then removed once he was old enough to be neutered. He was adopted in December 2020 with a bunny friend!
Sherlock came to us early October from St. Tammany Parish Animal Shelter. Due to the snot/scabbing/infection near his nose and genitals we are suspecting he may have syphilis so he is currently undergoing treatment at the vet and being quarantined for that. He also had a mild case of ear mites which has since cleared.
Mycroft also came to us early October from St. Tammany Parish Animal Shelter, he had severely overgrown/misaligned incisors and peg teeth that we had removed whenever he underwent his neuter. He is feeling much better and able to enjoy food much more easily now! (Adopted)
Will arrived underweight, with a matted bottom, and also had very overgrown incisors. He had his incisors removed when he underwent his neuter. He recovered quickly and was adopted about a month later by one of our volunteers!
Sonic came to us in June, she had been a stray in Lafreniere Park in New Orleans. The finder realized that she had a major infection/growth on her genitals which ended up being vaginal hyperplasia. What that is, is essentially too much tissue, the cells over-proliferated and can be the first stage of a tumor. Our vet was able to reduce it and spayed her. The hope is that because she was spayed, this will reduce hormones and prevent it from growing in size again. She also had ear mites as well as hookworms. Since the growth didn't return she was cleared for adoption about a month later and was adopted in September!
Harvey was a severely underweight, lethargic stray that came to us in April. His former owner released him and a friend in their neighborhood. Harvey's friend unfortunately didn't make it, and a good samaritan contacted us about Harvey. He had parasites which were part of the reason for his being underweight, we're also not sure how long he was surviving in the neighborhood before he came to us. He fortunately recovered in about 2 months and was adopted in July!
Cody was one of eight rabbits that we took in from Tangi Humane Society in February. He was the worst off of the bunch, besides ear mites he also had major urine scalding/staining, underweight, and runny eyes. The rest of his friends, who apparently weren't there as long as he was, had ear mites, were underweight, and some had bite wounds from being housed together. Cody, after various antibiotic drops and xrays, it was determined that he did have elongated toothroots that cause his eyes to run occasionally. His eye runny-ness has dramatically decreased since his arrival and he went out for an adoption 'trial run' in October which has been going well so far!
Obi Bun Kenobi was one of our first medical cases of 2020. He was found as a stray in January, emaciated, urine stained/matted, holding his leg oddly, and he also had a severe case of ear mites. Fortunately he did not have any broken limbs but he did have parasites. It took him about 2 months to recover to the point that he was healthy enough for us to neuter, and he was then adopted later in the summer!
Browse our Chewy wishlist and donate an item or two for the bunnies!
Browse our Amazon wishlist and donate an item or two. While we accept food donations, we don't ask for them regularly as we are able to purchase hay & foods in bulk directly from Oxbow through their Rescue Rewards program for a much cheaper rate than it can be purchased by the public. We'd rather see your donations go further!
Select "Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue" to be your charity when you shop with smile.amazon.com and we'll receive a donation from Amazon!
All rabbits are spayed or neutered prior to adoption. Guinea pig boys have a better chance at getting adopted out with a friend if they are neutered. Sponsoring a spay or neuter helps adopting families by keeping adoption fees low, and it helps the rescue by increasing adoptions as well! By keeping adoption fees low, it also makes it more attractive for new pet owners to adopt a mature spayed/neutered rabbit or guinea pig rather than buying a baby and possibly not getting it altered later, or worse, surrendering it after puberty. Click here to learn more.
A donation to charity is a wonderful gift to give or receive. It's the perfect gift for the person who has everything! Click here to donate.