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Cottontail Cottage Farm Sanctuary hasn't added a story.
Hi. My name is Jenny Nichols. I am the owner and founder of the licensed, animal shelter and 501(c)3, non-profit, Cottontail Cottage Rabbit Rescue, where our mission is: "together, we can save somebunny today." I live at beautiful Cottontail Cottage - an organic homestead and animal sanctuary on the coast of Maine, with my husband Mathew, and our two daughters.
People often ask me how I got into rescuing rabbits. Even my vet took me by surprise, one day, by asking if it was "my calling." I never really know how to answer questions like these. And I honestly cannot say for sure if I was born to do this - if that is what a calling means. I only know it is within me to do so. That there is a deep well-spring of love inside of me for these beautiful, often misunderstood, animals. That to be an advocate for this small species is as essential to me as the air I breathe.
It has not been an easy journey. I wake-up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep, feeling such anxiety and strain wondering how to keep it all going - but the minute I trudge out to the barn and see the eager and adorable bun faces that never cease to greet me with joy, i feel renewed and my worries disappear. And then I remember it's not just me doing this. There are our supporters. People who believe in the work I am doing. Good people. People who care just as much as I do. People who are willing and happy to make a difference and who have never yet given up on our cause. And I remember our mission, that together we can save lives. Together. I am not alone. That is a wonderful feeling.
Three years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A lot of folks do not know this about me. Or, the fact, that as part of my treatment I am stuck taking a terrible medication for five years that makes me sick and tired most of the time, and causes chronic pain. They do not realize what it is to get up on cold, winter mornings when the wind is sharp and blowing hard and make my way out to the barn; sometimes in knee-high snowdrifts or driving rain. Or on Christmas morning. Or my birthday. Day and night and hours in between. Not to mention those nights when I don't sleep at all due to a sick bunny needing to be dropper-fed by the hour. This is not an easy job and there are no days off - but it is certainly not a thankless one.
And we've come so far! With two new facilities and plans to build an even larger rabbitat next spring, I can't help but dream large and envision all the bunny lives that we can save. Already, we are reaching out to New England and further, through surrenders and adoptions and emails from rabbit lovers as far away as Africa, asking for bunny advice. We truly are becoming an authority on rabbit care. Why, just the other day I received a phone call from a lady who was referred to us by her vet clinic when the doctor was away asking for medical advice.
At the moment, we do need your help. Funds are desperately low. We need to restock our supplies including purchasing hay for the winter and enough pellets to feed all our hungry bun mouths. Our veterinary funds are constantly being drained due to new rescues coming in needing medical care and spay and neuter procedures. Not to mention we are in the process of adding-on to the back of the barn, providing more space for surrenders.
My heart broke a little today, when i was out with the buns and watched Delphinium and Foxglove - our elderly buns - have a difficult time get out of their litter box. Their back legs are beginning to fail them from the effects of arthritis, leaving them incontinent most of the time. I felt tears fill my eyes as i realized they had missed their chance for a forever home. For as long as they've been alive, they have never once been inside a home. All they have ever known was a cruel wire cage - and upon their escape from this terrible, meat operation - a new life, with a well-intentioned gentleman, who built them a large hutch where they lived outdoors through every season, year after year, until they finally came to me. This set-up was certainly much better than where their lives had started from. They were fed and cared for; and there was no threat of impending death - but still, it wasn't a home. They have been at CCRR for the last two years. I love them and I care for them, but it still isn't the same. And watching them now, as they muster up the strength to get to their little door which leads to the bright outdoors where their favorite thing is taking naps in the sunshine, it breaks my heart to believe that they have missed out on their chance for a loving, forever home. For whom in their right mind would take on an elderly pair of bunnies who often have to have a line of litter pans to catch their urine leaks?
I thought long and hard about what kind of fundraising campaign I would have. We need so much. But then, I decided I would just be real with everyone. And hope you will help me carry this load. Because, I cannot do it all myself. That is why we are asking for donations of $2, $4, $6, $8 & $10 because sometimes folks feel like that is not enough to give. But I can promise you it is! It truly is! And it adds up. And if twenty people give $2 that equals $40 and that will buy nearly 7 bales of hay for the winter. And! If everyone who donated selected "recurring monthly payments" at check-out, I wouldn't have to keep asking for support. We would already have it - and we would be sustained! CCRR is not funded by any state or government agencies. No one here collects a pay check. What we do - from our amazing foster homes to our caring volunteers - is done out of love. It is as simple as that. And your part in this is critical. Your part keeps us in existence. Without you and your support, we wouldn't be able to continue saving bunny lives.
I thank you with all of my heart. Please "share" this campaign with your friends on facebook and at home and with just a little bit of effort, I truly believe we can move mountains.
Much Love,
Jenny
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