{"id":2664,"date":"2015-04-24T12:40:58","date_gmt":"2015-04-24T12:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/acs-s-bunny-barn-a-harebrained-project-in-the-best-sense-of-the-word\/"},"modified":"2015-04-24T12:40:58","modified_gmt":"2015-04-24T12:40:58","slug":"acs-s-bunny-barn-a-harebrained-project-in-the-best-sense-of-the-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/acs-s-bunny-barn-a-harebrained-project-in-the-best-sense-of-the-word","title":{"rendered":"ACS\u2019s Bunny Barn: A Harebrained Project in the Best Sense of the Word"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s almost a month after Easter Sunday\u2014the best time to write about rabbits. Every article written by animal advocates about Easter bunnies\u2014my own stuff included<\/a>\u2014attempts to warn readers away from buying rabbits as Easter gifts. But too many people still equate live bunnies with the stuffed pink ones in Easter baskets.<\/p>\n

The problem is what happens when rabbits aren\u2019t brought into the family with education, forethought and preparation. Rabbits that grow up and are no longer adorable in the eyes of the purchaser or else prove to be too much responsibility are often dumped in parks, college campuses or other places you may shudder imagine. (Click here<\/a> for an article about the Rabbit Population Management Task Force that Long Beach Community College employees Donna Prindle and Jacque Olson successfully organized to deal with rabbits run rampant on the campus; it was very successful\u2014hardly any there now!). Domestic rabbits are subject to predators that include wildlife, humans and wild rabbits who\u2019ll thrash the daylights out of the little intruders.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s that thing that rabbits are famous for. Easter comes in spring, spring represents growth and life, the rabbit itself is a symbol of fertility and is a living creature, so there you go. Rabbits multiply like rabbits, so they need to be spayed or neutered, depending on gender, and bunnies bought from breeders or bunny mills (they exist<\/a> and are as insidious as puppy mills). Woe be to the bunnies who are brought in opposite-sex pairs.<\/p>\n

If their rabbits\u2019 feet work for them, though, they\u2019ll get to live at the new Bunny Barn at Long Beach Animal Care Services<\/a> (ACS). The Bunny Barn is a brand-new rustic condo for coneys situated on the shelter grounds. ACS volunteer and lead rescue partner Daniel Marolda pulled the idea out of a hat and used his own carpentry skills in tandem with those of a group of Eagle Scouts to bring it into reality. Jason Barnes from Boy Scout Troop #357 led his troop in building the outside structure, serving as his Eagle Scout project, and Marolda took care of the inside\u2014the flooring, the walls and the cages. Toyota\u2019s volunteers put in the grass lawn during National Public Lands Day\u2014the Bunny Barn turned out to be quite the super-hutch.<\/p>\n

Marolda is particular to rabbits\u2014he has two that he adopted from the shelter\u2014and so his passion went into building the shelter inside the shelter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just an empty shell, and Daniel actually made it a home,\u201d said ACS manager Ted Stevens at the shelter\u2019s open house in January. \u201cNow it\u2019s a Bunny Barn and park. Daniel takes the bunnies out for exercise there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bunny<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

ACS manager Ted Stevens and Fifth District council member Stacy Mungo at ACS’s open house.<\/em><\/p>\n

Before the barn was built, the shelter rabbits were housed in cat cottages and in the hallways. This gave them little to no visibility, and shelter visitors often didn\u2019t know that there were any available. \u201cBunnies don\u2019t have much of a voice,\u201d Marolda quipped. \u201cNow, they do. The Bunny Barn puts more light on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbit intake,as with cats, is seasonal, and although the House Rabbit Society<\/a>, an international nonprofit animal-welfare organization, found that rabbits comprise the third-largest number of animals surrendered to shelter, they also stated that it\u2019s difficult to come up with the percentage of rabbits in shelters because they\u2019re generally classified with \u201cother.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACS\u2019s \u201cother\u201d includes rabbits, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards and once, a horse. In 2014, the shelter\u2019s impound number for rabbits was 118 rabbits out of 1,744. Of the rabbits, 34 were owner surrenders; 72 were strays, which would include dumped animals; three were cruelty confiscations, and nine were transferred in from L.A. County after the Bunny Barn was completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unheard of for us to be able to do something like that!\u201d Stevens said of the county transfer. \u201cIf our numbers remain low, we\u2019ll be open to doing this again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Barn is proving to be worth its weight in rehoming\u2014the enhanced visibility of the rabbits has also enhanced adoptions and rescue pulls. Marolda has received two awards for his accomplishments\u2014he was one of 28 recipients of Mayor Robert Garcia\u2019s Go Long Beach Awards<\/a> on April 12 and was presented with ACS\u2019s Spirit of Dr. Loren Eslinger award (see Kibble, below)\u2014but he\u2019s modest about his role in the success of the Bunny Barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to say that it takes a team to run that village,\u201d he said. \u201cThe rescue partners do so much with their time\u2014so much for so little. It\u2019s so good for the animals. The staff that works here now all have huge hearts. And our medical team is the best. They\u2019re the unsung heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marolda also credits Judy Griffith<\/a>, the \u201crodent whisperer\u201d who assists with rabbits and other small animals at the shelter and supports adoption; pet supply shops like the Paw Shoppe Pet Center<\/a> on Spring Street, which makes room in their store to feature shelter cats and rabbits up for adoption; rescues that pull rabbits from the shelter\u2014Marolda named the Sweetpea Foundation<\/a>, the Bunny Bunch<\/a>, the House Rabbit Society<\/a> in San Diego, the Rabbit Rescue<\/a>, and the Marina Sanctuary<\/a> among others; and the volunteers at the shelter.<\/p>\n

\"Judy<\/p>\n

Rodent whisperer Judy Griffith is delighted both with the new Bunny Barn and the gentleness of a child.<\/em><\/p>\n

Besides his own responsibilities as a rescue lead at the shelter, Marolda spends nine hours every day he\u2019s at the shelter. He maintains the Barn and plays with and exercises the happy, hopping habitants. He\u2019s there on weekends and holidays, and was there on Easter, too. Which brings us back to the Easter bunnies\u2014they\u2019re about to come hopping down the bunny trail to the Barn. Marolda said that between springtime and its fancies of bunny love and the post-Pascal surrenders, he\u2019s busy making time and space for the surge of rabbits that soon will enter the shelter. If you\u2019re rabbit ready, willing and able, the barn door is open. Heh.<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Daniel Marolda (left) and a happy bunny pose for adoring fans. Photo by Jim Nista.<\/em><\/p>\n

Volunteers and donations are always needed and welcome, as budgetary resources don\u2019t always fit supply and demand. To volunteer as a rescue partner for our shelter, specifically the Bunny Barn, click this link<\/a><\/strong>. Donations can be made here<\/a><\/strong>. Daniel Marolda also invites in-kind donations such as wooden chew toys available at pet stores and the inner rolls from paper towels and toilet paper (rabbits love to chew on them).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it were not for the animals, we might never know that unconditional love exists.\u201d ~ Daniel Marolda<\/i><\/p>\n

Virtually Pets<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are a couple of Bunny Barn babies adoptable from our shelter at 7700 E. Spring St., near Eldorado Park.<\/p>\n

\"Nasha\"<\/p>\n

Five-month-old Nasha<\/strong>\u2019s head is marked with a star. Added to four rabbit\u2019s feet, it should make her even luckier! Answer Nasha\u2019s wish by asking for ID#A544459.<\/p>\n

\"Luna\"<\/p>\n

First a star, and now the moon. Luna<\/strong>, like Nasha, is an American rabbit (breed, not nationality, although she\u2019s that as well). She\u2019s a little over a year old. Ask for ID#A544745.<\/p>\n

Kibble<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ribbon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel Marolda and Ted Stevens before ribbon cutting. Photo by Jim Nista.<\/em><\/p>\n

In addition to Daniel Marolda\u2019s Spirit of Dr. Loren Eslinger award for conceiving and organizing the construction of the Bunny Barn, there were three other honorees at ACS\u2019s January open house. Eagle Scout Jason Barnes received the shelter\u2019s Volunteer of the Year Award for his work on the Bunny Barn. The facility itself was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony after Ted Stevens\u2019 presentation.<\/p>\n

Claudia Hoffmann and Patricia Williams received the One Too Many Award for the work that their organization, Fix Long Beach, does in providing free spay and neuter services for low-income families and thus reducing the euthanasia rate and shelter intake. The statistics that Ted Stevens provided during his presentation included a notable drop in euthanasia rates; the decline has continued through March, with a decrease of 30 percent for dogs and 43 percent for cats. Stevens attributes this to Fix Long Beach\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

\"Patty<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Patty Williams receives the One Too Many award for the work that she, Claudia Hoffmann and the Fix Long Beach volunteers have done to provide free spay\/neuter procedures to Long Beach pets.<\/em><\/p>\n

Friends of Long Beach Animals<\/a> (FOLBA), the city\u2019s longest-standing animal advocacy group, was honored with the Community Partners Award. FOLBA dedicates itself to ending euthanasia through spaying and neutering and supports the shelter financially and in kind. FOLBA has supplied low-cost vouchers for spaying and neutering, helped with medical conditions of shelter pets, and last year formed a partnership with the Paw Shoppe Pet Center so that adoptable shelter animals may be displayed in their store. Their current project involves the construction of a veterinary clinic on the shelter grounds. The staff presently works in close, crowded quarters, and this will be a welcome addition. The clinic will also be used two days a week by FOLBA for low-cost spay and neuter.<\/p>\n

\"Shirley\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

FOLBA president Shirley Vaughan.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried to make a list of what FOLBA does for us, but we ran out of paper,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n

FOLBA president Shirley Vaughan praised the partnership with spcaLA and the P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village and Education Center, which replaced the old facility\u2014the dungeon, as she called it\u2014in 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was getting pretty pathetic,\u201d Vaughan said. \u201cThe doors were like bedroom doors\u2014I went to open one, and the doorknob came off. [P.D. Pitchford] gives the animals a nice place to be\u2014it doesn\u2019t scare people off. I\u2019m very proud of us having 25 years with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaughan said that the shelter\u2019s mission is to show that animal control officers aren\u2019t \u201cdog catchers\u201d and that animals at the shelter aren\u2019t throwaways.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease adopt from the shelters,\u201d she encouraged the audience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ACS\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Now<\/em><\/p>\n

Pet Projects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friends of Long Beach Animals Humane Education Program, Free, Ongoing until July<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reserve a date for this necessary program now, as it will go on hiatus in mid-June. Friends of Long Beach Animals (FOL http:\/\/www.folba.org<\/a> stands by its word when it says it actively supports teaching children kindness to and respect for animals. FOLBA has provided several copies of humane books to all of the libraries in the Long Beach Unified School District, all the Public Libraries in Long Beach and Signal Hill, as well as to Raising-a-Reader and to Mary Bethune Transitional Center (assisting homeless children who need reading improvement so they can attend regular LBUSD classes). This interactive humane education program is free to all schools in the Long Beach Unified School District, Girl and Boy Scout Troops, Long Beach Parks and Libraries and Community Groups. Basic elements of the program are as follows:<\/p>\n