Paws Here Small Animal Shelter

Paws Here Jubilee Event!

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:36:28 GMT

We're having a celebration event at the local park on Saturday 2nd of June - and you're invited to join us!

Bring a picnic, bring your family, and have some fun with the rescue bunnies and guinea pigs. We'll be bringing some of the adorable rescue pets to the park to hop around (in safe enclosures) and enjoy the grass and the nice weather. They would love to meet you! They are great with children, and you can help to feed them their special picnic lunch! We'll have stalls, games and all sorts.

Ways you can help:

We're looking for helpers to put posters up in local libraries and supermarkets over this weekend. Can you donate an hour of your time?

We're also desperately looking for people who can lend us tables, or even a gazebo to provide some shade for the animals, on the 2nd of June. If you can lend us either of these things, please get in touch by emailing pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk

And finally, please come along and support us on the day! We are all working really hard to make this event a lot of fun, but we need your help to make it a real success. All money raised will go to help feed and house the rescue pets. We are currently in DESPERATE need of food and bedding. This fundraiser is for essentials, the basic day to day items like pellets, hay and vegetables that our sweet rescue animals can't survive without.

Food, bedding, housing, rent etc. comes to around £200 per week for the shelter, and we receive absolutely no outside funding.

Helping us to help rescue pets is as simple as turning up for a great fun time on Saturday. We hope to see all our supporters there - you folks make it all worthwhile!

Rescue Profile: Micah

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:19:32 GMT

To tell you more about gorgeous rescue bunny Micah, we made this video! Over the next few days we'll be putting up videos of several of our volunteers talking about different pets who they would like to shine a spotlight on and help to find a new home, the ones that have been overlooked or who are difficult to find a home for, the ones that have come to hold a special place in the hearts of our volunteers. I hope you enjoy them, please please share them with your friends both on and offline - the more people who see these videos, the more likely it is that these pets will find their forever families. Thank you!

Rescue Profile: Rosie and Jake

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:27:18 GMT

Where to start with these two treasures. They are some of the most beloved bunnies by our volunteers, everyone knows and remembers Jake and Rosie!

Rosie is one of our special needs rabbits, she is almost entirely blind. Jake is her companion and they are utterly devoted to each other. You will most often find them resting in a big pile in the corner of their cage, just loving on each other.

Jake is a bunny with a whole lot of personality. He is SO incredibly friendly, and will follow his favourite people around the rescue and get sad if they go somewhere without him. He is a super affectionate guy who badly needs more attention than we can give him here. Seriously, if it was up to Jake he would be out of his cage 24/7 just following his favourite volunteers about. He's a sooty fawn dwarf lop and is between 4-5 years of age.

Rosie is a sweetheart too, honestly these are some of the friendliest bunnies we have looking for homes right now. She'll sit happily on your lap once she gets to know you, and loves to be hand fed veggies. Rosie is a fawn and white mini lop/dwarf lop cross, and is about 4 years old.

Because of Rosie's blindness, she has a tendency to miss out on the best food as Jake gets there and finds it first! As such, Jake gets overweight and Rosie underweight very quickly unless we feed them separately twice a day. We do this by letting Jake run around outside their cage while Rosie gets fed lots of pellets and vegetables, it takes 20-30 minutes.

Rosie's condition requires no vet treatment or other special care apart from the separate feeding at this time, and her quality of life and general prognosis is generally excellent. She should continue to do very well.

Jake initially came to us when his owner was tragically diagnosed with terminal cancer and could no longer care for him. He was cared for exceptionally well in his early years, and now his only issue is that he gets sad without regular attention.

Rosie and Jake were adopted last year but, sadly, they were returned to the rescue several months later through no fault of their own. It breaks my heart to think of them having that kind of rejection in their little lives.

If you have room in your heart and home for a bunny, please consider Rosie and Jake. They have so much to give the right forever family.

Hello Dolly!

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:10:06 GMT

Today I'm posting an appeal for a very special rabbit. Her name is Dolly.

Dolly is a German lop, one of the biggest breeds we have currently at the rescue. She is one of our harder to place bunnies, one we're struggling to find a forever home for.

Could you be her forever family?

Dolly, like most rabbits, does not like to be picked up. She becomes very scared and even aggressive if you try to do this. We ALWAYS recommend that people interact with their rabbits on their level, let them hop in and out of the cage themselves, and work on earning their trust rather than forcing them to be picked up in the air - in the wild, only a predator would pick a rabbit up in this way. It is their instinctive reaction to be really frightened of it.

Although Dolly is bigger than most of our other rabbits, she is incredibly timid and shy and gets very scared of other bunnies that she's not used to. At the rescue she is often too frightened to even hop out of her cage to play when given the chance.

Dolly is an incredibly gentle girl who is just waiting for the right person to spend the time needed to get to know her, and to give her the confidence to come out of her shell.

She has been spayed, and we believe could benefit from the company of another, slightly more confident rabbit to lead the way and teach her that humans aren't going to hurt her any more. She would do best with a quiet or perhaps an older bunny, but one who is not as shy as she is.

We also think Dolly could do well in a home environment by herself at first, gaining the friendship and trust of a human companion before being introduced to another bunny friend. Rabbits are social animals who ultimately really need the companionship of their own kind as well as human friends.

The ideal home for Dolly would be:

-with an experienced or well researched owner
-in a calm (not necessarily silent, but not rowdy) environment
-without other big pets such as cats and dogs, at least in the room(s) where she would be staying
-with quiet or older children who know not to try to pick her up
-with room for a large cage and space to exercise, as she is a bigger bunny

The ideal primary owner for Dolly would be:

-very patient
-willing to get down on her level and work to earn her trust
-the special kind of person who is willing to give a chance to a bunny with special behavioural needs
-prepared to NOT pick her up unless absolutely necessary

Dolly responds really well to consistency, and I have spent a lot of time with her recently and she now lets me sit with her in my lap for quite some time, trim her nails, do health checks, and give her panacur (preventative anti parasite medicine that all our shelter bunnies get from time to time). She responds very well to quiet affection - she loves to be stroked, particularly on her ears and back. I have also had luck hand feeding her vegetables.

Dolly is frightened rather than aggressive - in all the time I have spent with her she has never even tried to bite me. She will scrabble and scramble to get away if you try to pick her up, and is obviously very frightened when cornered or in a new environment.

Please consider opening your heart and home to this special girl. She will surprise you. Let her show you what a great pet she can be when given a chance.

A response

Mon, 14 May 2012 21:05:17 GMT

We recently got a comment posted on one of our old youtube videos, and I thought it would be worth posting the response here as well since it contains some valuable information about some subjects I'm very passionate about indeed (as many of you know!) :)

The welfare issues surrounding rabbits as pets are huge and complex, and Paws Here campaigns to close all "rabbit mills" and stop rabbits from being widely sold in pet shops to bring their situation more in line with the current situation for dogs and cats in the UK. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments!

The comment was this: "The cages you keep them in are far too small,even the dog ones the reason you're so full is because no one has the space too keep these outdoor animals in their loud, noisy houses. They love grazing on the grass and relaxing in the sunshine. I 'm not talking about hamsters here or rats but seriously, rabbits and guinea pigs deserve a bigger life to just being kept in small enclosed spaces."

Here is my response:

I'm going to break this down point by point.

First, your contention that rabbits and guinea pigs be kept outside. Did you know that these animals:

-were initially kept outdoors by monks as a food source like cattle, which is why they are kept outdoors today

-will statistically live much shorter lives outdoors than indoors (which of course didn't matter to the monks, who were going to eat them after all)

-are statistically FAR more likely to be neglected outdoors than indoors

-cannot maintain a safe temperature outdoors

-are not safe from predators, who can stress them to illness or death even if they can't physically kill them

-are more likely to get parasites and illnesses outdoors

-are MANY times more likely to end up in rescues from outdoor homes

-are more lonely outdoors

-are less friendly outdoors

-are VERY different from wild rabbits, and even so a garden is nothing at all like the vast, densely populated underground warren a wild rabbit inhabits

You can read more about keeping rabbits and guinea pigs indoors where they are safe, happy, loved and warm in the articles that I've linked to in our video description above (here are the links - http://pawshereedinburgh.co.uk/page_66 and http://www.allearssac.org/indoors.html and http://www.guineapigcages.com/location.htm and http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/outdoor-environments/46491-whats-wrong-ke... and http://rabbitmatch.org/help-advice/why-keep-rabbits-indoors/). Please read them carefully, they contain important and useful information.

Now on to the cages we keep them in being too small. Did you know that our cages:

-are significantly bigger than just about any outdoor hutch

-are SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than they are required to be by law

-are the largest size of dog crate it is possible to buy without going to a specialist

And that our animals get time outside of their cages every day to play, during which they frequently binky to show their happiness, and happily run back into their cages themselves once they are done?

Also, guinea pigs especially are easily overwhelmed by too much open space, as they are prey animals who are naturally crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk when the light is dim to avoid predators) and otherwise like to hide in enclosed spaces.

Our animals are all given daily health and wellness checks, and we adjust their environments to reflect how they're doing physically and mentally.

Now as to the point about not rehoming to outdoor homes being the reason we are full of rescue animals. This is such a gross misunderstanding of the OVERWHELMING welfare issues that we deal with on a daily basis, that I would like to personally invite you to spend time at our rescue, daily, for a couple of weeks. This is a serious, 100% genuine invitation. Because that's the only way I can think of to make you see the true and appalling situation, where EVERY SINGLE RESCUE is full of unwanted rescue rabbits and guinea pigs. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Even the ones who rehome to outdoor homes. Even the ones who ONLY rehome to outdoor homes.

Let me hit you with some facts:

-Over 95% of our rescue rabbits and g.pigs come from outdoor homes

-Outdoor pets are vastly more likely to be neglected

-Our worst rescue rabbit that we have ever seen, who this year won the Burgess Wetnose Rescue Story of the Year Award, was in such a sorry state DUE TO BEING KEPT OUTSIDE

-people don't bond with their outdoor pets, so they are seen as more disposable. After all, would you even make your dog live outdoors all the time in all weather?

-rabbits are one of the most neglected pets in Britain. We believe that is because they are kept in a box at the bottom of the garden and never interacted with.

I will never place one of the precious creatures entrusted to this rescue in a situation where it is almost a statistical CERTAINTY that they will have a sad, short life. But that is NOT why we are full. Almost everyone who approaches us to adopt is approved & wants to keep their pets indoors. It is the sheer number of rabbits "produced" by breeding mills & sold like toys by big pet stores to irresponsible owners that has caused the current national crisis in rabbit welfare.

This is what I live and breathe every day, my work and my calling. This is what I know, what I dedicate my life to.

Please educate yourself, and ask again if you still don't get it.

I'll finish by saying that if you consider your home a "noisy, small, enclosed space" then don't get a rabbit. Period. It's not a god given right - if you can't provide the right safe environment within your home then don't get one. Simple.

A day in the life of a rescue volunteer

Sun, 13 May 2012 18:42:33 GMT

My days at the rescue lately start with the first round of medications. Lucy and Snowy get their eye drops first thing, and sweet Kaya gets her daily antibiotic.

Kaya is a beautiful tortoiseshell lionhead bunny who unfortunately came to us just last week with an untreated genital infection. Along with her friend Sam, she went straight home with one of our volunteers (amazing veterinary nursing student Clare) for a brief foster placement. She's now back in the rescue and settled in well, her infection has just about cleared up and we are simply completing the course of antibiotics. Meanwhile Sam is completing a course of treatment for ear mites.

Then each of the rabbits gets a dose of Panacur, an anti-parasite medicine that we periodically treat everyone with to make sure none of them have undiagnosed E. Cuniculi - a tiny parasite that can cause neurological damage in rabbits. Because of the sheer volume of rabbits coming through the shelter, we treat everyone preventatively a couple of times a year. Our current supply of Panacur was donated, and we are always so very grateful for donations like this from friendly veterinary surgeries.

While they are out of their cage we do a brief health check, trim toenails and generally give each of them a bit of a cuddle.

After every cage is cleaned (we clean out every rabbit and guinea pig every day, which is a LOT of cleaning let me tell you!) Lucy and Snowy get their second round of eye drops before bed time.

Extra food is given to our underweight bunnies who have come from unfortunate situations where they were neglected. We always have one or two of these, and spend extra care to get them back up to a healthy weight, as a first step in overcoming the trauma of their past.

It's a long, hard day but so rewarding. If you'd like to be involved in caring for our adorable little friends, please consider volunteering. For a little of your time, you'll find you get so much back.

An update on Snowy and Lucy

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:26:22 GMT

Snowy is out of surgery, back at the rescue and doing well! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far, we have raised £73 so we are so close to our target of £108 to be able to pay for her surgery. The rescue simply cannot meet this cost so if anyone else is able to donate and help us to raise the £35 still needed, please please do so here. Alternatively you can paypal directly to us from your account, our email address is pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk

Here's our little fighter Snowy:

Sadly one of our other special needs rescue bunnies, Lucy, is also unwell just now with an eye infection. She's being treated by our vet with an initial week long course of treatments. Please keep her in your thoughts! This week will be crucial for Lucy!

Special bunnies for special families

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:30:46 GMT

People have been asking for pics of our beloved Snowy, so here's one I took yesterday in the shelter.

She's a cross breed with a lot of English Spot in there, she's small and won't grow any bigger. To the best of our knowledge she's maybe 2-3 years old. She's shy, as I said in my last post, but oh so sweet and not at all aggressive.

Thank you to all the people who have donated so far - we've raised £43 towards the cost of the surgery! We need to raise a further £65 to fully meet the cost and the operation is tomorrow. We're still desperately trying to raise those funds as the shelter is so overstretched right now that we are even struggling to pay our rent. If you can donate at all, no matter how small an amount, please know that it will make a big difference to Snowy. You can donate here.

I know there are people out there who have been touched by Snowy's story and who are moved to offer a home to a special needs bunny. So I'd like to tell you about some of our other wonderful, precious, important special needs rabbits who are looking for forever homes right now. It takes a unique sort of person to step out and open their home to one of these suffering animals whose causes seem so hopeless. If you're one of these people, PLEASE get in touch. You will be changing their lives. I wish I had the words to tell you what it would mean to them.

Lucy is a mini lop rabbit who, like Snowy, has been badly bullied by her previous companion. She has lost a lot of weight due to stress and has suffered some neglect in her previous home which has caused damage to her hocks due to urine scalding. She has some tooth spurs which are not yet serious to warrant surgery or affect her eating, but will need monitoring throughout her life. Lucy would ideally go to a very low-stress home where she can have a lot of quiet attention and build her weight back up. She is a quiet little bunny who is easily overwhelmed. If we could even find a foster home for this girl it would make a big difference to her wellbeing, as she is overwhelmed at the rescue by all the activity and other animals.

Rosie is another mini-lop who lives with her friend Jake. Rosie is partially blind due to cataracts and although she can find her way around her cage, she struggles to find the food before Jake does. Jake dotes on her and they are very happy together, but we have found that unless we separate them at feeding times (they have constant access to hay, but we also feed pellets and veg) then Jake gets almost all of the food and becomes overweight while Rosie loses weight. They need to find a home together with an owner who has the time and patience to feed them separately twice a day (this takes about half an hour) and to monitor their weights regularly. Rosie's blindness requires no medical attention at this point and otherwise they are a very healthy pair and SO friendly, with no behaviour problems whatsoever. Very sadly, these two have already been adopted and then returned to the shelter. It's almost too much to bear. Let's find them a true forever home this time, so they never have to know that kind of rejection and loss again.

Vincent is a bunny who, as things stand, has almost no hope of ever finding a home. He has both a physical deformity (a severed ear) and behaviour problems. Vincent is very cage territorial. Outside of his cage he is a little sweetheart but inside his cage he is aggressive and may bite. It's difficult to even think about what kind of past might have led this sweet boy into being so frightened and fiercely protective of his "safe space" - he is a victim, that's the one thing we know. There's no such thing as a bad rabbit, just innocent rabbits who have had bad things done to them. Vincent is one of these. He needs a home with someone who is prepared to patiently work to earn his trust, to teach him that a hand in his cage doesn't mean fear and pain. It has been many months now and unless someone is prepared to come forward and accept this little guy, damaged as he is, he will likely spend the rest of his life in the shelter. I'm really hoping someone will believe that there is hope for Vincent! He has come on in leaps and bounds since being with us, and will be held and cuddled in the arms of certain volunteers he has built up trust with now! Please give him a chance to surprise you.

I know that there's someone reading this right now who has been moved by one of these bunnies' stories and feels able to give him or her a home. I'm just clinging on to that. If that's you, please email us at pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk or call Rachel on 07982 502972 any time.

And if that's not you but you'd still like to help, there are lots of ways! You can donate to the rescue, you can can come visit the animals, you can volunteer or foster, but the best thing of all you can do is something that costs nothing - please TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THESE BUNNIES. Even if you think you live too far away or no one you know would be able to help. Please pass this message-in-a-bottle on and eventually it will drift to someone who CAN help! Please tweet, blog, facebook - let people know about the forgotten bunnies who supposedly have no hope. Thank you!

Know you can make a difference

Sat, 05 May 2012 11:53:01 GMT

I'm writing this post while sat in the shelter, a bunny happily binkying in a run beside me. For those who don't know, rabbits binky - jump up in the air - when they are at their most happy and playful. They are literally jumping for joy.

We're coming up on the five year anniversary of the founding of Paws Here, and that's five years during which we've all worked so hard to give these forgotten, voiceless animals happiness and joy again. A new start, a new home, a saved life. All of us, our volunteers, supporters, foster carers, adopters, visitors - every single one of you has helped to do an incredible thing in the lives of these abandoned pets. It might not seem like much, but I know with everything in me that if we could ask them - the frightened, abused, lonely animals whose lives we turn around even if only for a few measly hours of happiness, even if it's only someone to hold them just once with love and gentleness so that they're not afraid at the end - I know that they would be able to express better than I can how important the work we do for them is, how much it's helped and changed and saved them.

I know they would want to thank you. Every one of you.

Unfortunately now I'm coming to you once again with a plea for help, for a very dear little rabbit called Snowy.

Let me tell you her story.

Snowy came to us last year with her friend Nancy for a holiday. They were never collected, and all attempts to contact their owners were rebuffed. It seems hard to believe, but this happens more often than you would think. After waiting month after long month, the decision was taken to rehome them.

Unfortunately, poor Snowy was being quite badly bullied at this point by Nancy, and it reached the point where we had to separate them. Nancy was easily paired up with another bunny and rehomed, however Snowy has been left affected by her negative experience. Frightened of other animals and people, withdrawing into herself, she's been left alone.

We're working hard to help Snowy overcome her fears, and two of our volunteers clubbed together to pay for her spaying a few months ago so that she has a better chance than ever of finding a companion and a forever home. Despite everything she's been through, we have high hopes for this little rabbit. One day she'll be binkying like the other rabbits, joyful at last.

However, in order for that to happen, Snowy needs potentially life saving surgery.

Just yesterday, volunteer Clare noticed that Snowy's eyes were watering. We rushed her in to the vet where she was diagnosed with tooth spurs - a painful, irritating and potentially life threatening problem that can only be fixed with surgery. Snowy will need a special diet and a special home to make sure the spurs don't reoccur, and to have them monitored and treated if they do.

I'm going to say this right now: I believe we can save her life. And I believe her life is worth saving.

Snowy has been booked in for surgery next Wednesday, and so the first thing we need to do is raise £108 to pay for this procedure. If anyone can donate anything at all, please do. No matter how small you think your contribution is, it makes a big big difference to Snowy. You can donate here.

The second thing we need to do feels, unbelievably, even more impossible. We need to find Snowy a forever home where she can get the quiet, no-pressure, stress free attention, love and care that she deserves. We need to find her a family that is prepared to take on a special needs rabbit with potential teeth problems. A "damaged" rabbit, physically and psychologically affected by the things which have happened to her. We need a family for Snowy that is prepared to work hard to find her an ideal bunny companion, because Snowy doesn't always get on with other rabbits.

It seems so hopeless, when we have healthy, friendly, bouncy bunnies who have been waiting for homes for weeks and weeks, months, years even in some cases. How will Snowy ever find her family?

There's a family out there for her. That's another thing I know. Somewhere out there is someone with a heart big enough to take on this special girl. We just need to get her to them.

How can you help?

By spreading the word! Please please repost this, blog this, tell your friends on facebook and twitter and livejournal, tell the whole world. If we tell enough people, I know for sure that one of them will step forward to adopt our precious Snowy.

That's all. That's all I'm asking. Talk about her, be a voice for the voiceless.

I know you can do it.

At The Hop!

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:06:43 GMT

Easter Bunny Weekend!

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:45:16 GMT

We have exciting plans for Paws Here this Easter - a whole weekend of fun and fundraising! Our goal is to get all our bunnies vaccinated against the lethal diseases myxomatosis and VHD, and we'll be keeping track of how many bunnies we've raised enough to vaccinate throughout the weekend and offering regular updates on our website.

Our Easter Bunny Weekend will feature activities and games, stalls, face painting, a tombola, crafts, and possibly a bunny walk to take some of our bunnies to the local park for a play. And of course, there will be lots of bunnies for kids of all ages to meet and interact with. Entry is FREE, and there will be a special bunny care and handling class on each day at 3 PM.

Myxomatosis and VHD are two lethal and incurable diseases. Myxomatosis can be stopped once a rabbit has it, but the damage it causes is permanent, which often has tragic consequences. There have been reported cases of both myxomatosis and VHD in and around this part of Scotland in the last few months. The bunnies we manage to vaccinate as a result of this fundraising will be protected from these deadly diseases for a whole year, which for most of them will be long enough to see them into their forever homes.

So do come along to Paws Here at 135 Comiston Road, Edinburgh this Easter weekend, Saturday April 7th and Sunday April 8th from 11 AM to 4 PM! Check out our website for updates, pictures and more.

Christmas Fayre

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:15:36 GMT

I have absolutely no words, but a picture is worth a thousand so I'll let the photos of today tell the story.

I woke up this morning and saw the snow, and my heart sank as I worried that it would put people off coming. But the atmosphere among the volunteer team setting up at the shelter was bouncy with excitement, and the snow just seemed to add to the Christmassy feel! We were happy and nervous, worried that not many people would show up... we needn't have worried!

Our supporters were out in force, at times the shelter was so packed it was hard to move! We had hand knitted and crocheted items for sale, cakes and cookies, beautiful hand made jewelry, and some gorgeous art pieces donated by local gallery shop Beautiful Things. We had a tombola, guess-the-lion's-birthday, a champagne raffle, and of course lots of lovely pets to feed and cuddle and snuggle.

It felt like a real celebration - of Christmas, of Paws Here, of our volunteers and foster homes and helpers, of the work we do and the things we stand for. What hit me most was how much our work affects so many people, as well as so many homeless animals.

The day was made extra special by the adoption of Charlie, our very oldest resident bunny. Charlie is such a sweet, gentle soul and we will all miss him so much, and at the same time be so happy for him that he's finally found the forever family that he deserves. Good boy, Charlie. You deserve this happiness.

I hope everyone who came had a fantastic time, and appreciated how special they are and how much they've helped the rescue animals this Christmas. You're all more wonderful than I can express, and there were tears in my eyes by the time I got home this evening. I'm in awe of your generosity. Thank you.

And in the end, when all was counted up, we raised £442.45 today. Incredible!

This means we have smashed our target. Today was the day that we saved the shelter.

But what does that mean? The work that we all do, the effort we put in, the tireless, thankless hours we work and worry and hope - what's the true value of it all?

The real value of our work goes beyond pennies raised or words on a blog.

Their lives are in our hands and, with your help, we won't let them down.

Thank you!

An update

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:10:41 GMT

Thanks to all the hard work and generosity of our wonderful supporters, we have now raised £650 towards our target of £900 by the end of the week. Incredible!

Special thanks go to supporter Louise who held a bake sale to raise £189 for the shelter - a fantastic amount, thank you so much.

We're now just £250 short of the target.

This is an amazing result and a testament to the great work that Paws Here does in helping sick, abandoned and mistreated pets, and to the kindness of our friends and supporters.

Thank you thank you thank you all!

Just one last push and I'm sure we can reach our target and save the shelter!

Ways to help:

-please follow us on twitter (yes, something this simple really can help!)

-if you're a knitter or crocheter, check out our raffle on ravelry where you can win scrumptious yarny prizes

-come along to the Christmas Fayre this Saturday 10th December, at the shelter from 12-4pm! Entry is free, and the more people who come the better the event will be. Please please attend - I promise it will be a lot of fun!

-order a Paws Here 2012 calendar or other winter gift here

-tell everyone you know about Paws Here's situation and the work that we do - and the ways they can help!

Thank you all again, so very much! I know that they would want to say thank you too, if they could.

How can I help?

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:43:32 GMT

Thanks to everyone who donated we have now raised just over £300 towards our target of £900! This is a huge feat and I want to say thank you so very, very much. Your help could prove pivotal in the fight to save Paws Here.

We are still struggling, however, to find the £600 still left to raise. We have until this coming weekend. It's a terrifying feeling - like falling without a net to catch you. The future of the shelter hangs in the balance. We need your help!

Paws Here is a small animal rescue that strives to find new homes for rabbits and rodents who have been abandoned, abused and mistreated. We receive no government funding and rely on donations to survive. We are strictly a no-kill shelter and we go above and beyond to give sick and injured animals a fighting chance, and it is this policy which has led to our current situation. Please help us to continue giving them a second chance at a happy life and a forever family.

How can you help?

-by blogging about the shelter's situation, or linking to this or our previous post.

-by coming to our Christmas Fayre next Saturday at the shelter from 12-4pm and bringing your friends and family along with you!

-by shopping at Paws Here for your pet products

-by ordering a calendar or other winter gift

-by making a donation

-by following us on twitter @Paws_Here and encouraging others to do the same

Please help us to continue to help them!

Thank you.

Good news, and a plea for help

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:02:48 GMT

Hey folks, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the start of the holiday season!

Here at Paws Here we've had some wonderful news - Paws Here bunny Basil has won the Burgess Wetnose Rescue Story of the Year Award! It's a huge recognition of the work we do to turn around the most hopeless-seeming cases of neglect and abuse, and a testament to how hard we work to never put an animal down if there's an option to give them a fighting chance.

However, right now the shelter is struggling. This season is always difficult for us, but this year we are stretched almost to breaking point. Due to the staggering costs of vet treatment, coupled with the demands placed on us of being beyond maximum capacity thanks to several recent emergency cases, we have reached a point where the future has become uncertain.

In recent weeks we have had emergency surrenders brought in where the owners have refused to pay our rehoming fee, which they had previously agreed to donate, meaning that the cost of feeding, housing, vet checking, vaccinating, neutering etc has had to be entirely met by the shelter. These people have no problem with deceiving and depriving of money a struggling animal rescue at Christmas. At times like this it feels like it would be easy to give up, to lose faith in humanity all together. But I know that there are good people out there! I know that we can continue to make a difference!

We now need to raise around £900 or Paws Here will be unable to continue. This feels like a truly staggering figure, however if every one of our supporters contributed £10 we would be there!

I know this is a difficult time for everyone, but if any of you can spare anything, even a pound, it will massively help the shelter to stay alive.

We want to continue with the good work we're doing. We ourselves are putting everything we have into making this work.

Please help us.

You can make a donation to the rescue here.

Thank you.

The good, the bad, and the fun

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:33:09 GMT

I'd like to start off with some good news - Bella the rescue rabbit who recently needed surgery to remove a mammary tumour is finally recovering and doing well.

Bella has had us worried, as an allergic reaction meant her stitches and staples holding the wound from her operation together came away, and the wound opened up and became infected. It's taken a lot of nursing, a lot of care and love, and a lot of vet treatment, but after some very precarious days Bella is finally on the mend. We hope she'll make a full recovery and find a wonderful forever home.

More good news is that Basil continues to improve!

Not so long ago Basil had major surgery to remove a sizeable section of his jaw where the bone had become infected. We weren't sure if he would be able to eat on his own, however within hours of the surgery he was trying to nibble on his veg, and after many gruelling weeks of syringe feeding and pain management he is now eating well on his own. This boy has a spirit that won't be kept down!

The more difficult news to go along with this is that the vet bills for these two rabbits have reached well over £800, and are still rising. We have been fundraising to pay these off, but as it stands we are still £646 short. If anyone feels able to make a donation, however small, it will be a great help in raising the money to pay these vet bills. You can donate here, and currently all donations are being used exclusively for vet treatment unless you specify otherwise.

Another way you can help is by ordering one of our Paws Here 2012 calendars. These are due to be posted out soon, so hurry to be sure you get yours!

And yet another way you can help is by supporting our next fundraiser event - the Christmas Fayre. The Fayre will be held at the shelter on Saturday 10th December from 12-4pm. There will be stalls, games and of course the chance to meet all the rescue pets! If anyone has anything that they can donate for the Fayre, such as tombola prizes, hand made goods from jam to knitted scarves to baked goods, or if anyone can help out by spending some time helping us put up posters, please get in touch either by email at pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk or by phone on 07982 502972.

Thanks in advance and we look forward to seeing you all there!

Catching up with Paws Here news and events

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:31:57 GMT

Greetings All! Some Paws Here news:

We have a St. Andrew's Day Ceilidh Celebration coming up in a couple of weeks.

Date: Friday 4th November

Place: Liberton Kirk Halls

Time: 7pm

Tickets: £5, to include a Scottish supper

Hop along to our St. Andrew's Day celebration in support of Paws Here Animal Shelter, where you can bounce along to live folk music, highland entertainment, ceilidh dancing, a Scottish supper, and much more!

All proceeds go towards paying vet bills for rescue bunnies Eliot, Thyme, Basil and Bella. Eliot, our beloved wee white rabbit, had his leg amputated in a desperate attempt to halt the spread of a deadly infection. Thyme came to us with a badly infected jaw which required removal of much of the bone. Basil has such a long medical history that it would be impossible to relate it all here, but his latest surgery was for an abscess in his chin. And Bella is currently undergoing surgery for a suspected tumour in her abdomen.

At Paws Here we are a no-kill shelter and we never put an animal to sleep if our vets believe they can give them a fighting chance. Please
help us to meet the costs that this incurs by coming along to our St. Andrew's Day Event and celebrating the work we do to save the lives of homeless animals.

To book tickets or for more info contact Marie MacGill on 0131 2589052/07595 973367 or email marie@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you there!

Also, our Paws Here 2012 Calendars are now available to pre-order. Please note that, after difficulties with the UK post last year due to the weather and the Christmas rush, calendars can be pre-ordered any time from now through October and November and will be posted out on November 30th to allow plenty of time for delivery. Orders placed after this time will be rushed to you as quickly as we can, but there will be no guarantee that you'll receive your calendar by Christmas.

Recent Events and the Upcoming Picnic!

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:45:21 GMT

Well folks, there's been some good news and some sad news lately.

The sad news is that one of our bunnies, Beauty, has died. She developed a lump on her jaw which, when x-rayed, turned out to be an infection in the bone that couldn't be cured without removing too much of her jaw to allow her to be able to eat afterwards.

Beauty came to us as an emotionally damaged bunny who would cower and bite at anyone who approached her. With a lot of patience and work on behalf of our volunteers she gradually learnt to trust people again, accepting food and gentle strokes from her favourite people while remaining shy of strangers. She was always so friendly with other bunnies, and we were in the process of trying to match her up with a friend just before she died. Although she never found her forever home, I am happy that Beauty overcame her difficult start and enjoyed those final months of friendship and trust here at the shelter. We will remember her.

We have also been desperately worried about Eliot - many of you will remember our gorgeous wee white bunny Eliot, who badly broke his pelvis several months ago. Eliot had been recovering well, but was still under weight and still could not use one of his legs. This leg eventually became infected because he just couldn't keep it from dragging along the ground. We took him in to the small animal hospital, where we were told that the prognosis was bleak. Eliot was so skinny still that surgery would be very dangerous, and yet he was unlikely to gain weight without surgery to remove the infection. We were told to prepare for the worst. I spent a devastating night agonising over what to do - whether we had indeed reached the end of the line for Eliot. For me, personally, it was awful to have to make this decision, having spent so many months working round the clock to save his life while he stayed with me at home.

But the morning came and we had a call from Jo, the vet looking after him, to let us know that Eliot was doing a little better and she felt that it would be worth risking surgery. We agreed, and that same day Eliot's infected leg was amputated.

He is a fighter. He never stops fighting. Within hours of the surgery he was eating and moving about. Within 48 hours he was at home. Within a week, he was running around the place and actually binkying. He continues to fight and to do well - the wound is healing and he is bouncing around on 3 legs freely. Please, please keep him in your thoughts as we continue to nurse him.

And, as sad as I am to have to ask it, his surgery and hospital stay cost the shelter just over £770. If anyone can donate to help us meet that cost, please do so here http://pawshereedinburgh.co.uk/page_27 . Even a small amount will help us. Thank you!

Now for some really good news! Lots of people know Jonah, he's an English Spot/Lionhead cross that's been with us for over a year now. Jonah has recently been adopted! He has gone to live with a female bunny called Amber. Well done, Jonah! Finally you've found your forever home.

Also, we have an exciting fundraising event happening next Saturday (the 13th August) - the Paws Here Picnic in the Park.

On Saturday 13th August we will be meeting at the shelter and walking down the road to nearby Braidburn Valley Park with some of our rescue pets for fun and games in the park. Bring a packed lunch and help us to feed the animals their lunch too! There will be opportunities to learn about pet care and about rabbits and guinea pigs specifically, and lots of chances to cuddle and play with the animals.

We will be meeting at 12pm and returning to the shelter at 3pm. The cost is £10 per family and places are limited so please do book in advance by emailing us at pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk

This would be a great way to help us fundraise for Eliot's recent surgery. Please tell all your friends, anyone who you think might like to come along!

And if you can put up any posters or give out any flyers then please email at the address above and let us know.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Upcoming Events and Activities

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:46:42 GMT

Thank you all for your support and your generous response to my previous post - we have today booked Thyme in for the surgery she so desperately needs! We are not out of the woods yet and your continued support is much needed http://paws-here.livejournal.com/27972.html

We have some great things coming up over the next few months at Paws Here organised by our wonderful volunteers - please come along and help us to make them a success!

The first is this coming Saturday 2nd July - The Paws Here Pocket Pet Show!

Is your hamster the cutest? Your guinea pig the fluffiest? Your gerbil the friendliest? Bring them along to the Paws Here Pocket Pet Show and see if they win! There will be fun and games, as well as the chance to see all of the adorable pets in the show and meet the rescue animals.

Please bring your pet along either in its cage or in a suitable escape-proof travel container, with food and either water, or vegetable such as cucumber to provide moisture.
This is a competition for only small “pocket” pets, no bigger than a rabbit. So no cats and dogs please, as they might scare the other contestants!

Do come along even if you don't have a pet to enter - you can cheer on the contestants and take part in the rest of the fun!

Date: Saturday 2nd July
Time: 1pm-4pm
Place: Paws Here Animal Shelter, 135 Comiston Road
Cost: £1 per pet – all proceeds go to support the rescue

Animal Experience Day Courses

Paws Here Small Animal Shelter will be running day courses for young people, the perfect thing if you’re considering a career involving animals or if you’re just an animal lover! The course will be run by one of our experienced volunteers and during the course you will be taught many important things about animal care and handling and have the opportunity to handle many of our animals. The courses will run from 11-5 and there will be courses on Monday 4th July, Monday 11th July and Tuesday 12th July.

They will take place in the shelter which is at 135 Comiston Road. The cost of the course is £10. The courses are open to anyone over the age of 12.

Places are very limited. For more information or to book call 0131 4477 464 or email pawsherebooking@gmail.com .

A message from Rachel:

As many will know already, I've been away on maternity leave since my daughter, Audrey Beatrix, was born on the 13th April. I'm starting to ease back into working one day a week for now, but please bear with us while we ease back into things. Audrey and I will both be at the shelter on Saturday for the pet show, and I can't wait to catch up with all our fantastic supporters and introduce her to you. I've missed you guys! - Rachel x

Help Thyme Before Time Runs Out

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:12:24 GMT

A little while ago a new bunny was brought in to the shelter. As with so many bunnies, she was a once-loved family pet who was now sadly being largely ignored in a hutch in the garden. Fortunately for Thyme, the grown up daughter of her owner noticed the rabbit languishing under a lack of attention and brought her in to Paws Here, where she is now in one of our special long term foster homes.

Thyme is so very lucky. Unbeknownst to the woman who brought her to us, a vet check revealed that Thyme has a large tumour which has ulcerated and is potentially cancerous.

We can only hope that we’ve caught it in time.

If the tumour is cancerous then it may already be too late to do anything except make Thyme more comfortable for the months she has left. However we are hopeful that we have caught it in time for her to make a good recovery.

But we need to act quickly now. The shelter has been bogged down by a massive influx of rescue rabbits and vet bills. We are down to our last resources, and so we are faced with an awful choice. Thyme’s life saving operation costs £200. An order of fresh supplies, hay and food for the rescue animals at the shelter, costs £200. We cannot afford both. We have fundraising events coming, but not in time.

Do we save Thyme’s life or do we feed 20 other rabbits in desperate need? What would you choose?

It is clear that we need to do the impossible. We need to choose both. There is no other option.

We need your help.

If everyone reading this donated even a small amount, I am sure we would be able to fund Thyme’s operation and feed our homeless pets. Please, please consider donating anything you can. Donations can be made here.

We also welcome donations of small animal food and bedding, and hay, which can be brought in to the shelter during opening hours.

Thank you.

Display Board and Volunteering

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:15:37 GMT

Young volunteer Alice is organising and running a stall at her school fair this weekend to support Paws Here. She would like to display information about the shelter and wonders if anyone has a display board which she could borrow?

Also, due to illness and exams, we are very much understaffed at the moment and in desperate need of more volunteers. If anyone reading this can help out, even for a few hours, or knows someone who might be interested, we would all be so grateful. You can contact us by email at pets@pawshereedinburgh.co.uk or by calling Rachel on 07982 502972.

Thank you!

Spring Fun Day!

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:51:49 GMT

Hello folks, it's that time of year again - the daffodils are out and the sun is just about starting to shine, when it's not still snowing, and Paws Here is having a Spring Fun Day!

Next Sunday (27th March) the rescue will be open from 11am-4pm for you to come and meet the animals. There will be crafts, games and stalls, not to mention lots of adorable bunnies to play with and feed.

People of all ages are welcome, and there will be things to do all day - face painting, Easter activities, grooming and feeding the pets and much more! We will also have talks on pet care, health and welfare and opportunities for people of all levels of experience to learn and ask questions about their pets.

We would really love to celebrate the new season with all of our wonderful friends and supporters, so if anyone can pop along to visit then please do.

The Spring Fun Day is next Sunday the 27th of March from 11am-4pm at Paws Here Animal Shelter, 135 Comiston Road.

Please tell all your friends and help us to make the day a success!

Rabbit Raffle!

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:08:01 GMT

To raise funds and awareness over the Easter holidays about the plight of the rescue rabbits, the shelter is going to be running a Rabbit Raffle with awesome bunny-themed prizes.

The raffle will be held both in person at the shelter and in the local community, and online via websites such as rabbit rehome. Our aim is to reach out to the rabbit (and other fibrevores such as guinea pigs and chinchillas!) community!

We’ve had a couple of lovely, generous offers of prizes from rabbit food/toy/supplies companies and I’m still waiting to hear back from several others, but in the mean time I was wondering if any of our supporters have any items they could donate as prizes for the raffle? Prizes should be rabbit themed, such as rabbit foods, treats, toys etc, or could be rabbit themed in a different way such as a toy rabbit or a tshirt with a bunny on, or a rabbit-themed craft kit!

I will be putting together some prizes myself which I think will be a lot of fun. Donations may be sent or brought in to the shelter, or you can hold on to them and send them directly to the winner when the winners are drawn. Whatever is the easiest option for you.

Thanks! And wish us luck!

Eliot and Frodo

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:42:46 GMT

Our current good news is that Eliot is doing LOTS better! After a week of TLC and some quite intense therapy, he is starting to move around like a rabbit again and his pressure sore is healing well. He is eating plenty (as usual!) and generally seems to be a much happier bunny. He is by no means out of the woods, as his pelvis is still quite obviously not right. It may never be right - it may be that his mobility is always limited. But he is improving day by day and is starting to regain something of his normal quality of life, and we are no longer quite so scared for him.

Go Eliot! I am charging up my camera tonight and will take some pics of the little guy tomorrow.

Personally I want to say that I have really appreciated all of the support we've received since Eliot's injury. I myself have been rather sick this past week with a chest infection which involved a trip to the hospital (late pregnancy + fevers don't mix!) and I would have found it impossible to cope with it all, and Eliot's intense nursing as well, if it wasn't for you folks. When things felt too difficult it was wonderful to think of all of the people out there cheering us on and wishing Eliot well again.

In sadder news Frodo, one of our rescue bunnies who lives in a foster home, has fallen sick today. He is being cared for by Cleone, who many of you will know from her volunteer work at the shelter. He has quite suddenly stopped eating and drinking - a very serious thing for rabbits - and currently we have no idea why. He is being treated with a pain killer, in case there is some unknown pain causing him to go off his food, and a gut motility agent, and is being syringe fed overnight.

The vet bills are becoming insurmountable, so if anyone can donate in Frodo's name to help us meet this new veterinary cost then please please do so. I will update tomorrow once we know roughly how much his treatment is likely to be. Any amount helps, no matter how small.

We are so very worried, Cleone especially, as gut problems such as these can kill rabbits very quickly indeed. Once again we would appreciate your moral support - please keep Frodo in your thoughts tonight!

Update on Eliot

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:40:33 GMT

I want to say a big thank you to all our wonderful supporters and friends for your kind words, your donations and your good wishes for our little man Eliot.

Eliot is still in a very precarious situation just now. He is currently being fostered here at home with me, and I have just got back from a vet visit to see how he is doing (big thank you to Marie and Andy for driving us there and being moral support!).

Things are not looking good for our boy. He has developed a nasty bedsore on his rear end from being unable to use his back legs properly – meaning he is putting too much pressure on the sensitive skin behind them. His legs are improving, but very slowly. And in the mean time he has lost a little weight and has some urine scalding from being unable to move around properly when he goes to the toilet.

His care is taking up a very great deal of my time, and since I am currently nearly 8 months pregnant it is also taking up most of my remaining energy. I will be at the shelter less and less over the next few days/weeks, and while there will be volunteers there covering, many of them are new to supervisor-level responsibilities. Please bear with us during this difficult time.

I am really hoping that Eliot will make great improvements over this coming week and that his condition will move from “critical” to “stable” by his next check up. Please please send all your good thoughts our way this week.

For those who are interested, here is Eliot's current daily schedule of care:

Hydrotherapy twice daily

Pain meds (buprenorphen and metacam) twice daily

Antibiotic (septrin) twice daily

Physiotherapy every two hours

Position/wound check every hour by day and two hours by night

Cage clean/bathing twice daily

The physiotherapy involves a mix of activities, manipulation and massage designed to get him to use his back legs and keep them in a good position so that further sores do not develop and the muscle does not waste too much while he is healing. The legs and hips are massaged, and the legs are moved and stretched gently in different ways to encourage Eliot to work them properly. His legs have shown some improvement this past week, which is great. Also as part of the physiotherapy we are encouraging him to step over a small rolled up towel. This forces him to use his back legs instead of dragging them. We have today been shown how to use a rolled up towel to suspend Eliot so that his back legs can be exercised without putting too much pressure on the sore pelvic area, and intend to incorporate this into the physio routine.

The hydrotherapy involves suspending Eliot's back legs in a bath full of warm water, enabling him to move them without pain/discomfort. Eliot seems to find this very relaxing and comforting time, and really just chills out in the water. He spends a lot of time grooming me! Again, I move and massage his legs while in the water. Afterwards Eliot has a good half hour at least of lap time, where he lies down in my lap, again just relaxing and grooming himself, and I dry him with a hairdryer on a cool setting. After this, and after any time he is bathed to help him keep clean, I apply sudocreme to his skin and to the sore area.

When Eliot is in his cage he needs to be checked as often as possible to make sure he is sitting in a good position and not putting pressure on the sore area. At these times I also like to offer him a drink and something nice to eat.

As you can see, Eliot is getting a lot of care right now. The most reassuring thing to come out of today's appointment at the vet hospital is that Eliot's vet does not believe he is in pain, as he is showing no signs of discomfort. On the contrary, he is moving and eating, alert and as active as he can be at this point. He has been incredibly easy to handle and treat, takes his medicines without a fuss, and seems to actively enjoy a lot of the physiotherapy. Yesterday he ate a whole head of brocoli! He is definitely still fighting. He's not given up. And I'm not ready to give up on him yet.