celebrating the resurrection of Christ with a season of suffering

Many thanks to Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation ~ Glorifying the Creator for shining a light on the unintended consequences many of our common Easter pets experience:

The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:9, NIV, emphasis added)

The meaning of Easter has been mostly lost in our culture, dissolved into a flurry of fluffy yellow candy, hunts for plastic eggs and the ever famous four-legged, long-eared emblem of the season.

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we should all show kindness to God's creatures

Joe Bowyer of Logansport, Indiana's Pharos-Tribune wrote a beautiful and compassionate column this past May, titled "We Should All Show Kindness to God's Creatures."  It was prompted by the sad death of one of the orphaned wild bunnies he was caring for, which he discovered while mowing grass at a local factory.  He writes of taking them in:

Don't let anyone tell you a little bunny isn't worth caring about.  All of God's creatures have worth.  We only have to look for it to see it.

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recess monitor hens

It's your typical scene: two rabbits are mixing it up when two motherly hens come along and break up the melee.  As my wife suggested, it's hard to avoid the sensation that you're watching recess monitors break up a schoolyard fight between a couple of scrappy boys, with a dose of muted threat directed at each of the boys before the monitors indignantly walk away:

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new limbs (and a brace) for pets

As promised, following up on Stephanie's post from a couple of days ago on amazing animal prosthetics, here are a few more stories of pets who were given a new lease on life through incredibly inventive and compassionate technology ...

The first was shared by an old seminary friend, Adam Short.  I was floored when I took in the report of Oscar the cat who lost his back feet in a horrific farm accident, but was given hardly fathomable but amazingly effective new legs by Gordon Blunn of University College London. 

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baby hummingbird and bunny rescued, and fed!

This is a beautiful story and video about a baby hummingbird who was found fallen out of his nest with a damaged wing.  The fledgling was patiently and lovingly taught to feed and nursed back to health by Peter Tommerup and Lee Anne Welch, and his wing was rehabilitated at Sulphur Creek Nature Center in Hayward, California.  You won't believe his mother's bravery or trust in Peter in returning to feed him as well:

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hope for lab animals, and doing our part

One last post, and an encouraging one at that, to close out our series animal experimentation.  I wanted to pass along some alternatives which are gaining ground and some other promising developments, as well as a few resources for shopping for products which have not been tested on animals.

First, some very good news:

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animal experimentation, is it still necessary?

Following is part one of a very helpful overview of toxicology testing on animals from community member Sharon Sigethy Coughlin ("A Rabbit Rescued").  Sharon holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in environmental management, and has also taken some classes in theology. 

Some years ago she worked at an EPA Health Effects Research Laboratory under a student fellowship, and also for a short time assisting in the writeup of toxicological profiles for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (though she wanted me to note that the views below don't necessarily represent those of the EPA or the ATSDR).  Sharon now works in the healthcare field, while also maintaining a pesticide- and herbicide-free garden, riding horses, and taking care of many animals in rural New Jersey at home.

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more animal funnies

After a heavier week of discussion defending a Christian concern for animals, the mood seemed right for some humor with no strings attached.  Thanks as always to the very funny LOLcats:

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wheelchairs for rabbits

Updated on May 3, 2010 by Ben DeVries

We've had a couple of recent posts praising the companionship of rabbits as pets, but also warning about taking their unique needs seriously and for the long haul (see "Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ with a Season of Suffering" and "The Easter Bunny's Seedy Underbelly").  To exemplify that commitment, above and beyond even the normal responsibilities of rabbit-keeping, I wanted to share a happy story of tremendous compassion and creativity which I bumped into not long ago.

Charles and Kathy Harris of Ponchatoula, Louisiana have a much-loved house rabbit named Bebe, now 9 years old, who two years ago became paralyzed in her front legs due to a rare disability called "splay leg."  Her condition broke their hearts:

"I just kept saying, 'I wish we could do something, '" Kathy says.  "She used to be able to fly through the grass.  That's what made us so sad."

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the Easter bunny's seedy underbelly

Far from being exclusive to Easter, this post is very much worth your read if you've ever considered bringing home a rabbit or are interested in their unique quirks and needs as pets.  I'm grateful to Agnieszka Tennant, a fellow Moody alum and currently pursuing her Ph.D. in political science and intl. relations at Northwestern University, for sharing this article which was originally published by The Huffington Post:

It's that season again, the worst time of year to be born a rabbit.

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