Blog Entry 1: Only you can Prevent Reproduction

Several times I have paid to spay and neuter rabbits out of my own pocket so that they might be adopted. I strongly believe in the benefits of sterilization for rabbits and other domesticated animals as an improvement to their quality of life.  Working at a shelter that is responsible for housing all of the homeless animals in the entire county, I have witnessed the effects of pet overpopulation first hand.  In the case of rabbits, over population happens fast and is very hard to contain.  Rabbits do not have a resting period between pregnancies.  A female may give birth and become impregnated within the same hour; rabbits are able to have babies every 30 days with up to 8 in each litter.  On average, the Ventura County Animal Shelter is home to at least 45 rabbits and at the time of this blog entry, the shelter is currently over capacity, with 62 rabbits in total.  That number wouldn’t be nearly as large if their previous owners had realized the need to take their rabbits to be fixed.
I had been a volunteer for about two months when I first witnessed the consequences of not spaying or neutering a rabbit.  I received a phone call as I drove up Pacific Coast Highway: the shelter had received fifteen Californian rabbits and needed extra help.  I reset my course for the shelter, and indeed fifteen brown nosed, red eyed bunnies were anxiously tripping about their cages. Apparently, someone from the Ventura County Fair had bought two rabbits and, about two months later, found themselves with thirteen more.  There was one rabbit who stood out among that particular crowd.
Brutus was a mess when I first saw him.  He was the biggest of all his kin and was soaked in urine because he had been brought in with another male, Nico, who instigated violent fights. Hormones are strong in unfixed rabbits and can lead to copious behavioral issues, many of which sterilization can circumvent.  I separated the two, but Brutus was already badly scarred across his nose. When I took Brutus out of the cage and began to brush his matted, urine stained fur, I fell in love.  He was such a gentle giant who never complained and seemed content just being close to me.  I decided to pay the $50 required as a deposit for neutering.  As a result of being neutered, he was adopted by a lovely family in whose household he would be the only rabbit—plus a dog and cat companion!  These knowledgeable adopters specifically asked for a neutered rabbit.  They knew, as do I, the benefits to spaying and neutering animal companions.