All About Reheart Rescue

    Reenies Rabbit Rescue is a small nonprofit organization that is located in Salisbury Mills, NY.  I got involved with this organization back in 2019 in the spring. My sister had been asking for a rabbit for a long time and my parents finally agreed. We went down to the rescue and we did volunteer work to learn about how to take care of the bunnies before we committed to owning one. I went with my sister and ended up falling in love with one of the bunnies. We started out with getting one, then it was two, then we ended up with three bunnies. We’ve had them ever since then and they are very much loved. I got back involved with the rescue this year and now go every weekend. I genuinely enjoy being around the bunnies and the great people that help out there. I decided to interview one of the amazing ladies that helped get this organization going. 

​  Interviewing Gwen Kaiser!
Q: What's your name and a few fun facts about you? A: My name is Gwen Kaiser, I’m a Capricorn and I’ve had a ton of careers. 
Q: When did the rescue start? A: It started around 10 years ago in the summer of 2014.
Q: Tell me about the process of how it got started A: I met Doreen a while ago when I was jogging. Her rabbit escaped and I ended up seeing what was happening and helped her catch her bunny. Then years later I saw that same house was selling eggs and I ended up buying eggs from her because I respected the way she kept her chickens. I also found out that she was a manicurist and then started going for manicure appointments and started talking and found out that Doreen had a ton of bunnies that she took in and we started talking about it and found out we had a lot in common especially with this  awful animal hoarder that we both knew and we started talking about that. Doreen was taking in bunnies that needed it and she ended up taking a bunny that was pregnant and gave birth to 9 babies which was okay at first until that same bunny gave birth again to another 9 babies which then Doreen said we need to start a rescue and offered me to be a part of it. At first I said absolutely not because rescues cause a lot of stress and I didn't know if I wanted to be part of that. But I offered at least some kind of help which Doreen agreed to and Doreen started calling it Reenies Rabbit Rescue. But after a while I saw she was in over her head so I started to actually get involved and eventually we had around 20 bunnies on our hands which at that point I was officially brought into the rescue. 
Q: What made you decide to also take in cats and guinea pigs? A: I’ve always done cat rescue and the first lesson on Trap, Neuter, Release in Manhattan, I was a part of that and have been doing it very early on. I’ve helped around 1,000 cats and there was a particular situation where there were 100 cats all in one home and we ended up taking and rescuing some and that is how we started with cats in the rescue. Guinea pigs started when someone asked us to take their guinea pigs and at first we turned them away but eventually I said we should take them because guinea pigs have no resources. 
Q: What were your struggles in the beginning of the rescue? A: Well we had no idea what we were doing at first and we had to learn a ton about these bunnies. Everything was a learning experience. We didn't know that bunnies are very aggressive towards each other without the proper bonding. It took a lot of learning and research to get where we are today.
Q: What’s a recent rescue story? A: There were bunnies running loose in Mountain Lodge and we got a call so I went up and used a net and caught a couple of them but there was one that escaped me for weeks. He is such a smart bunny he knew to avoid traps and avoid any of my efforts which led me to originally think something had happened to him but in reality it was just him avoiding me. Eventually I saw him and I decided to just follow him until he got tired of hopping away which only took 30 minutes and eventually he ran onto someone's porch and a man saw me and offered to help me out. Eventually we caught him and he's now here at the rescue and he already has someone interested in adopting him.
Q: What’s one of the worst situations you've encountered? A: It’s sad to say but there have been so many bad ones but this past winter we had a lady call us and tell us she needs help and Doreen asked for some photos of the situation and it was horrific. Doreen said this lady really does need a lot of help and she sent me to deal with this and it was a 4 and a half hour ride and I brought someone else from the rescue with me and when we arrived it was so much worse then what we thought. It was 150 rabbits with no food and no water, it was awful. We took as many as we could and this is still ongoing and we are still trying to get bunnies from her. 
Q: What was one of your best moments? A: There was this restaurant that opened right before covid in NYC called Rabbit Rabbit. They found us and reached out to us and wanted us to bring down bunnies for the opening. I was all in and brought around 4 bunnies down and they treated us like celebrities. Everything was all set up for us and we got to eat whatever we wanted and drink whatever we wanted and the bunnies posed for photos all day. It was great and a lot of fun, plus we got some media coverage.
Q: What does an adoption process look like? A: We do a reference check preferably a veterinarian reference and personal reference. We do a habitat check and make sure the habitat checks all the required needs for a bunny. Then we have you come in  and talk to you and then sign the documents which say that if anything happens we will always take the bunny back and it states that if you want to give the bunny up you have to bring it back here. 
Q: Why do you like doing this? A: Well It's actually really hard and very stressful but I do it because I have to. No one else is going to do this for them so I will. But it's quite rewarding in the end knowing you’re saving all these animals.
Q: Tell us about one of the adoptable bunnies that you think should be adopted out. A: Well I obviously believe all of the bunnies should be adopted out but as of right now Dune and Goose are a perfect bonded pair. I’ve been really trying to encourage them to get adopted out because they are so good. They really are sweet bunnies with great personalities and would love a forever home
Q: What makes Reenies Rabbit Rescue so unique? A: Well the fact that it's a rabbit rescue is unique in itself. It's also unique because of the knowledge we have about these bunnies. I found Theta healing very helpful and I learned most things about these bunnies on my own. Most vets don't know what I do. I also have learned to bond bunnies which most if not all rescues don't know how to do.
Q: Why should people give more credit to rescues? A: Rescues need so much more support then what they get. If we got more recognition then we would further be able to help animals. Some people just kind of say so what it's an animal but animals are also God’s creation like we are. God wouldn't want animals to suffer in awful situations so rescues are doing God's work. 
Q: Why should people adopt not shop? A: For similar reasons to what I said earlier, a majority of animal breeders are only doing it for the money and don't have the animals' interest at heart. Although there are some ethical breeders out there it's very rare. Adopting helps animals in need and it's cruel some of the situations breeders keep the animals in. If you're going to breed animals, do it with integrity. It's always better to adopt in the end. Most breeders end up culling their rabbits anyway which is just cruel. 
Q: What does a bunny require to take care of them and why would they be a good pet? A: Bunnies have a pretty easy diet. They make great great pets because they are so docile and if you're a very busy person. Rabbits are also independent similarly to cats which is good. I love the independence of bunnies and if you want a friendlier bunny you have to put into a rabbit what you want to get out of a rabbit. If you spend time and bond with a bunny your bunny will be all over you. 
Q: How many rabbits do you think you’ve adopted out? A: I’d say around 1,000 but it's been a little slower so maybe less than that. We usually adopt out around 100 a year. 
Q: What are your goals for the future of the rescue? A:I would love to have more volunteers with everything from a groundskeeper/gardener to just more people helping out with the bunnies. Eventually I’d like to move to a bigger property and expand. I started a vegan bag line in which all the profits will be given to the bunnies and each bag is named after a bunny we had in the rescue and I’d love to go huge with this.  Eventually I would like to not only take in bunnies, cats and guinea pigs but also take any animal that needs help. 
Q: Anything else you would like to add? A:We would love volunteers to come down and help. We also have no public funding so we rely on the generosity of people to help us out and we are always in need of donations from newspapers to food for the bunnies. Visit us on Instagram or Facebook or any social media under Reenies Rabbit Rescue. A big part of our mission is to educate people on how to properly care for bunnies. There's so many misconceptions about rabbits and it's our job to educate people on this. Housing is a big thing, hutches are not homes for bunnies. It's cruel to keep them in that it's like living in your bathroom. Bunnies need adequate space to run and play. Hay is a huge part of a bunnies diet as well, it's a must for bunnies. Bunnies also always need to be eating or they will get sick and possibly pass away. Please educate yourself about any animal before you get really involved. It's our mission to educate others about these wonderful animals. 
      To wrap up this article we can summarize some of the big points. Rabbits are highly misunderstood animals and rescues like Reenies deserve a ton of recognition and respect. It takes a lot to do what they do and keep the rescue up and running. Bunnies are great pets and would also make a great apartment pet for most people. They don't require much and they can be extremely loving and as most people know they can be extremely cute. If anyone would like to get involved in this rescue you can find any of their social medias under Reenies Rabbit Rescue and they would be glad to have you. If you have any donations they would greatly appreciate it and you can see about dropping them off by getting in touch with them by using their social media. It's truly an amazing feeling knowing that you're helping save these animals and putting them into good homes with loving families.

By Ariana VanLeeuwen