I have some sad news to share.  Buckeye’s sanctuary bunny, Humphrey, passed away on Monday, April 23, 2018.  We knew Humphrey had cancer, but it did not slow him down.  Despite his different aliments, Humphrey was always his normal upbeat, inquisitive, and rascally rabbit self.  Once his appetite was gone and his energy level was not the same, we knew it was time.  Humphrey lived much longer than any of us expected.  He was loved and cherished and will be terribly missed.  His foster mom, dad, and doggie sister loved him so much.  Binky free, Humphrey!  — Stephanie Lodge

Handsome Humphrey was originally taken in by Buckeye House Rabbit Society in August 2016.  Unfortunately, as many people know, certain colors and breeds of animals are not as popular as others, so our handsome boy remained a foster.  It wasn’t until April 2017 that we noticed a lump on Humphrey’s side.  Sadly, the biopsy results came back abnormal and the vet suspected cancer.  It was then that we knew he would become a sanctuary bunny.

Since then, BHRS member Stephanie Ash has cared for Humphrey as her own.  Despite not knowing how long he will be with us, we make every day the best day we can for him with lots of treats, gentle pets, room to play, and fun enrichment activities.  He is happy, and even though his lump continues to grow, he still doesn’t realize anything is wrong with him.

Our sanctuary rabbits require special love and care. Their home is with us at the sanctuary and they are not available for adoption. You can directly support these rabbits by sponsoring them.

Here is his previous Needs-a-Home write-up —

Humphrey is a very busy boy.  He is only about one year old and loves free time away from his pen.  He doesn’t care for being held (because that takes time away from his freedom to explore, you see).  He does love attention and is very people-friendly.  Humphrey loves shredding up newspaper inside of his cardboard box.  Humphrey is a bit of a goof ball and is sure to make you laugh.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of one of Buckeye’s long-term sanctuary residents.  Margery Pontiac was assisted in crossing the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, April 20th, 2018.  Margery had developed a cancerous tumor inside her lung, which was draining into the lung making it difficult for her to breathe.  She saw Dr. Riggs a few times in February and March to have the fluid removed, but it got to the point where we knew a hard decision had to be made.  This medical issue could not be cured, so we chose to say good bye in order to save her from further suffering.  To say she was adored would be a great understatement.  Margery was loved by many people.  She lived with Kristen Doherty for ten years, so she was at least eleven or twelve years old.  Binky free, beautiful girl!  — Stephanie Lodge

Margery Pontiac (named after a Holstein cow) is a beautiful dark brown agouti rabbit with vision problems. Ideally Margery would like us to place hay in her litterbox one strand at a time. This is somehow very reassuring to her, but as you can imagine,becomes highly impractical. If we move at a normal pace, she becomes flustered and overwhelmed and bats the hay right out of our hands.

Margery has developed close ties to only certain humans whom she will let per her, but only if a specific scripted routine is followed. She’s never bitten anyone – ever – but puts on a great and scary display of boxing, batting, grunting, and other intimidating acts.

Our sanctuary rabbits require special love and care. Their home is with us at the sanctuary and they are not available for adoption. You can directly support these rabbits by sponsoring them.

Our beautiful sanctuary bunny, Claire, has passed away.  We were told that she had had advanced uterine cancer when we first took her in.  The vet gave us a grim outlook and we were not expecting her to make it more than one year.  Claire surprised us and lived out her days as a happy normal bunny.  She loved our dogs even more than her humans.  Claire was a joy to have in our lives and we knew that every extra day with her was a gift.  Claire lived for two and half years past her original diagnosis.  We miss our little “Clarisse” but we carry great memories of her in our hearts.  Binky free, little Claire.

Sue and Keith Zimmerman

Sweet little Claire has such a sad story to tell. Claire is around two years old and was surrendered to a shelter by her breeder who no longer wanted her. The shelter had contacted us to see if we could take her. When we had a spot available, we took Claire into our foster home.

Take a look at Portraits of Claire

As usual we scheduled our new foster bunny to be spayed soon after she had arrived in our home. Sadly, cancer was found in Claire’s uterus during her surgery. Our vet was certain that he had removed all of the cancer and that she would have a chance of a good life. A few weeks later Claire’s pathology results were given to us and the prognosis was not good. Cancer cells were found not only inside of the uterus but outside as well; meaning that the cancer has spread inside of her tiny body. The vet was honest with us and said he did not know how long she had.

Right now Claire is showing no signs of illness but we know that can change for her at any moment. We are spoiling her rotten and giving her extra special attention and love. Claire is a lovely, gentle bun. She has big beautiful eyes that will melt your heart every time that you look into them. She loves to be held and cuddled and enjoys free time outside of her pen. She loves being in her cardboard box and her special strawberry hidey hut.

Our sanctuary rabbits require special love and care. Their home is with us at the sanctuary and they are not available for adoption. You can directly support these rabbits by sponsoring them.

Goodbye, sweet Midas.  Your will to live has been an inspiration to everyone who knew you, and you taught us so much.  You were a faithful and loving companion to Gloria E (a generous Buckeye HRS donor) for much of your fourteen-year life.  Then for the last two years, you were a tireless companion and best buddy to Cyrus until Cyrus passed unexpectedly a few weeks ago.

You made us laugh until the very end and we miss you so much.  Keep shakin’ those long gray legs as you make your way past that Rainbow Bridge.  Cyrus will be there waiting for you.

Midas is a sweet old man estimated to be eleven to twelve years old.  He came into foster care as a young man and was then adopted, but sadly, his loving mom recently passed away from Alzheimer’s.  As a result, he has re-entered foster care as a Sanctuary Rabbit.

Midas is extremely friendly and will accept pets from and snuggle with anyone willing to spend time with him.    Since he is older, he has some arthritis so his pen floor is lined with fleece to give him better traction.  Midas also has a serious respiratory/sinus infection that will likely need long-term medical treatment.

Our sanctuary rabbits require special love and care. Their home is with us at the sanctuary and they are not available for adoption. You can directly support these rabbits by sponsoring them.