[ShadyBro]

You can complete these by either writing a story about the task (No less than 250 words) or drawing the task being completed (must be done by you, show exactly whats happening, and be fully colored!). You can even do both if you want!

Required Tasks:
#1: Meeting your rabbit. (What drew you in and made you wanna take this baby home? How did they act around you at first? How did you gain their trust?)
#2: Cleaning your rabbit. (Youre bunny is in some serious trouble! Their claws are long and cracked, their teeth over grown, their fur matted, and wow do they need a bath!)
#3: Training your rabbit. (Your bunny has no training or manners! Get them potty trained, walking on a leash, and behaving like a proper house rabbit.)

I just realized I was so busy working on all these events at once that I never got a chance to join in on the fun myself <3

This frail little english lop mix has some serious health issues from being in such a terrible situation for so long. For starters, he has a degenerative bone disease that is thankfully able to be cured after a course of medication but will unfortunately render his bones brittle and easy to break. Secondly, his eyesight is about the only thing that he can rely on as he is completely deaf and has no sense of smell or taste. Lastly, the scarring and wounds on his body will not heal correctly due to the awful infections underneath the new skin, and he will likely need to have them re-stitched multiple times in over the course of the year. He will undergo several surgeries to put pins and rods in his bones and hinges in his joints, but even then his lifespan is severely compromised. Its best to give him as much TLC as possible for whatever time he has left </3

Breeding Note: Lopped ears have a 50% chance of passing, while lop ears at such drastic length have just a 20% chance. Slate grey is an extreamly dominate coloration for this particular rabbit.

Username: ShadyBro
Show Name: Ashes To Ashes
Pet Name: Smoke
Gender: Buck
Weight: Current: 10lbs. Goal: 25lbs.
Length: 3ft
Personality: Curious
Offspring: N/A
Lineage: Foundation
Coat Color: Slate Grey
Eye Color: Blue/Green

[ShadyBro]

It was early when I managed to show up at the site, work at the adoption center keeping me busy as my coworkers checked out the call. I had sworn it was a prank, some ridiculous thing someone came up with to be funny and waste our time. But when Lacy called me from the site, telling me how awful it really was, I just couldnt stop freaking out. I was a total wreck thinking about these poor rabbits. Lacy wasnt one to exaggerate, and I knew it would even worse than what she had said. When my shift was finally over and a draft of volunteers filed in, I rounded up some of the stronger, newer people and left the more experienced workers behind to tend to the center. It had been a slow day, so I wasnt all that worried for them, but I was pretty concerned for the group I was bringing with me. I had already told them the basis of what was going on, and at about 4am that morning we all piled into the truck and set off for the site.

Some of the younger girls seemed pretty squeamish as I talked about some of my experiences with rescue missions, and they were none too pleased to hear this one would probably be one of my worst. I tried to keep the conversations during the ride light, telling them fun stories about rabbits in the center, talking about the adorable tendencies of the kits I had raised over the years, but that nostalgic happiness was zapped out of all of us as I pulled up the dirt path toward the shack. I could smell it from the care, despite having all the windows closed and the vents shut. I was horrified, to say the least. Urine, feces, rot, blood, and my gods the rancid odder of death, just seemed to rush past us as we opened the doors and piled out. Lacy and Kay were busily checking over the property and unhauling crates from the trailer, and I called out to them. They looked over with plaster smiles, solely continuing their work as they greeted us. The volunteers filed in behind me, no one eager to be the first in line for once. I didnt even say a word as I approached the shed, just pulled a mask over my mouth and walked inside, the morning light drearily illuminating the first twenty or so cages. I couldnt help myself as I started crying, the sight before me taking my breath away and replacing it with more sobs. It was just cages upon cages, stacked on top of each other in a chaotic order, dirt and filth piling over and coating the floors. The soggy wood creaked underfoot as I leaned over the first cage. A once white mother lay dead, her three rotted kits curled up beside her. In the next cage, an elderly male, unable to use his back legs heaved forward towards me, opening his mouth and bobbing his head in a vain attempt to fill his stomach. Had he ever known what a treat was? Had any of them ever even been fed? I doubted that even more as I walked farther back. In places where the cage wires had been chewed and snapped, rabbits craned their necks out toward the wooden walls, chewing away until they choked on the splinters and bled out from the inside. I barely got two steps in before I rushed out, Lacy already standing there to catch me. She cradled me in her arms and hushed me quickly, grabbing my shoulders to stare into my eyes. She batted her long lashes and spoke in her rough yet melodic voice, "You have a job to do Slim. Man up." I smiled and wiped my eyes before turning to the workers, addressing them as a whole.

"We have a lot of work to do here today everyone. These rabbits...well these rabbits are basically ghosts. You need to help me bring them back. Before anything else, everyone needs to suit up." I gestured to a large crate of white suits and supplies, pulling one out and tossing it to the closest volunteer. I continued handing out gear as I spoke. "We'll need boots, masks, goggles, and especially gloves. Im going to split everyone into three teams. 'A' team," I said, pointing at the first three people, "youre in charge of putting together crates and loading them. Each rabbit gets its own crate, but make sure to keep mothers and young together." As the first group set to work on their task, I addressed the next 6 people, making sure to pick out those who I knew wouldnt be as rattled as the younger workers. "'B' team, Im going to give you the hard part. You will need to go in and pull down all the cages. Start with the top row first, and be extreamly careful. I want you to pair into twos and really help each other out. When you find a dead rabbit, pull it outside where Kay is standing, and she will do her autopsies, which will help when we make our animal cruelty case before the judge next week. Its very important that you dont disturb the bodies, okay?" I watched a few timidly nod their heads, obviously unsure about the whole thing. I smiled and sent them off, turning to the last two. They were the squeamish new comers from before, and I could already see tears in their eyes as the first few bodies were pulled out of the shack. "You two will get the easier job with me, okay?" They nodded, a sense of relief on their faces. "We know a large majority of the rabbits got out of the shack one way or another, but as you can see, the whole property is a barbwire death trap. What we're gunna do is search the entire property fence line and work our way in, and if you see any of the rabbits that got out, even dead ones, we need to get it back to the base camp." They looked horrified, clutched each others hands tightly. "No worries, Ill carry the bodies." I said gently, putting a hand on the taller of the two's shoulder. I led them out to the end of the path and shut the gate securely, setting a few dozen of our humane traps beside it in hopes that some of the rabbits would be flushed toward what they once knew to be an escape. As we began walking the border, it wasnt hard to see why the yard wasnt over run with rabbits. So many bodies, some even to the point of being skeletal, were jammed into corners and edges of the net-like wire, their pelts slashed to bits by the razor sharp edges. I collected them gradually, not minding it as much as the girls were. I picked up a fresher female, her black pelt crawling with maggots, and tossed her over my shoulder. The taller blonde squeaked and jumped back as one of the little worms fell onto her sleeve, and I almost laughed at her. "Ack that is so disgusting how can you handle that?" She said girlishly, wiping her arms with a towel despite nothing else being there. I chuckled and began to tell her about my own hobbies. The shorter one, Jenna as I had learned her name was, turned towards me and began talking about the subject, fairly interested in the processes of taxidermy. The other girl, Faith, simply shivered and went back to searching the tall grass.

As soon as we found the first live rabbit our spirits lifted. Jenna stopped suddenly, shushing us and pointing out into the grass. A large grey and white kit hobbled away from us, unable to run due to a bloodied paw. Faith scooped the darling up, brushing dirt away from the limp to see he was missing most of his toes. I looked around over the girls heads, and spotted the red spot on the fence where the rest of the rabbit was still tangled in. "Hm, maybe thats just half the luck?" I joked morbidly as I stuffed the paw into my pocket. Jenna immediately squealed and batted at me angrily as Faith giggles. I was beginning to like Faith more and more. I bent down and checked the rabbit over for any other wounds, only to find him in fairly good shape. The bleeding had stopped long ago, but I still wanted him cleaned before an infection set in. I brought the dead rabbits and the one live one back to Kay, piling them next to all the others as Lacy came over and snuggled the new boy. "Its so nice to see a living thing for once.." she explained as she began washing and wrapping his paw. I looked over at team 'B' to find them just as depressed, pulling cage after cage out of the shack. I turned back to Lacy, petting the rabbits nose softly. "I'll make a prosthetic for this babe when we get back to the center, dont you worry." Lacy nodded enthusiastically and took him back to the trailer to be loaded up with some much needed food and water. I looked over at the shack, and felt an odd pull in the air. "Hey uh, girls? Do you think perhaps you could sweep the rest of the property by yourselves, just for a little while?" Jenna looked at me like she was about to be sick, but Faith nodded and grabbed Jenna's arm, pulling her away towards where we had come from, assuring her that she wouldnt have to deal with any of the dead ones. I muttered a 'thank you' as I walked towards the shack, dragging my feet slowly. A pair of volunteers pulled another crate out as I aproached, this one thankfully alive, and set it to the side for Lacy. I leaned over and saw an odd stump where its ears should have been, yet I just shook it off and continued walking, farther back and out of the groups way. The farther you went it actually seemed to improve for the rabbits, to my surprise. The panels on the walls had busted and broken apart, the ceiling leaked much needed water, and reeds of grass even poked up from the floor to treat the lucky bunnies that could reach it. In the very last cage I noticed a stillness that read death however, and I cringed at the smell of sickness in the air. I walked over, peering in through the crooked bars. Another crossbred lop sat inside, his body heaving ever so gradually as he breathed. I sighed, a bit of relief washing over me as I rattled the bars softly. He picked up his head and twitched, rolling onto his stomach. It looked painful to move, and I could tell he had something serious going on that needed to be treated as soon as possible. I looked around at the other rabbits back here, more alive than anything I had seen today, and then glanced back at the lop. He curled his front nails into the filth he was laid upon, heaving himself forward towards me eagerly. A few tears slipped out as I crouched down, sticking my hand through a larger gap in the bars. He curled his body against my hand in a heart wrenching attempt to get closer to me. I sobbed as I peeled the front bars open like a gate, stretching my arms out for him. He stood over the edge cautiously, peering out at the floor. I could only guess it has been quite a long time since he has seen anything other than the carpet of filth in his tiny cage. He put a tentative paw on my arm and leaned out, more falling into my arms than hopping. I smiled and pulled him up to the crook of my neck, cradling his light frame as gently as I could. He nuzzled my ear and licked at my jaw, his jagged teeth trailing slobber across my cheek. I squeezed past the volunteers, earning a few odd glances, and rushed over to Lacy. She looked up at me and I knew instantly that she was going to give me one of her lectures. Just as expected, she begain yapping as soon as the rabbit's paws hit her table. "How many times did you tell me over the phone that you did not, I repeat did not, want to take home another rabbit? How many times did I say I wouldnt let you? Slim look at me, what do you think youre doing, why this one? What magical force dropped this babe at your feet?..." She clamored on as she examined him ever so gently, an odd contrast to her current tone of voice. Eventually she stopped, leaning over the table and sighing. Her eyes turned towards me, and my spirits fell as she bit her lip, something she only ever did when she had to give bad news to her clients. "What? Whats wrong with him?" I said softly as stroked his ears. "I cant be sure but...well he isnt off to a good start, Ill give you that." I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "He definitly has something wrong with his bones and joints in general. Do you remember Lilah?" I smiled as I remembered the little brown dutch office rabbit we used to have at the center. She had passed a year ago, but it felt like it had happened yesterday. "Well," Lacy continued, "I think this babe has the same degenerative bone disease she had, but a lot worse. From what I can tell it should be treatable, but dont go gettin your hopes up." She waggled a finger at me and then turned back to the rabbit, explaining further. "See the puffiness of his scarring? Thats infection. And he has it bad. I can try re-opening and cleaning them out, but chances are he is going to tear them up himself until it heals correctly. And, by the looks of it, eye sight is all this babe has going for him.." She snapped her fingers and clapped her hands, getting no response at all. She popped a few apple candy treats out of her pocket, sending the rabbits waiting nearby into a frenzy. The lop stayed still, uninterested. She even popped one in his mouth, only for him to spit it back out and continue sniffing around on the table. Lacy shook her head and handed out treats the the other rabbits, all of whom gobbled them up with lightning speed. I shook my head, a look of amazement on my face. "He shouldnt even be alive at this point..." I said, stroking his matted fur. "Shouldnt, but is." Lacy snapped back, an edge of sass in her voice." I smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "So Doc, whatcha gonna do?" I asked in a childish tone, giving her my best puppy dog eyes. She grumbled, trying to hide a smile and a blush simultaneously, then turned towards me and grinned. "Im gonna do what I can hun...I suppose every life is worth it, no matter how short..." She spoke her famous line halfheartedly and I laughed, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as I loaded my new babe up into a carrier. I peered in, nuzzling his nose with mine, and loaded him onto the trailer with the rest. Once he was secure in his stack, I knelt down and whispered, "Smoke. Thats your name little dude." He titled his head curiously, his ridiculous ears flopping over him, and I grinned, humming softly, "..ashes to ashes..we all fall down sometimes..."

[ShadyBro]

By the end of the day the team was an utter mess. We counted the bodies, totaling a horrifying ratio of about fifty found alive and over one hundred dead. Autopsies that Lacy and I preformed revealed that almost all of the rabbits had severe genetic disabilities, but overall had ended up dying of starvation and general neglect. It was a hard day, but by the time the trucks were packed and everyone began driving off my spirit was lifted. We all began coming up with names for the new rabbits, and had lots of fun with helping rabbit-less volunteers pick out their new pets. When we finally got back to the center I sent a majority of the volunteers home, hoping that our night shift workers would all show up early like I asked. They filed in slowly and I downed another cup of coffee, ready to get to work. We set up three large metal tables, one for shaving, one for washing, and one for clipping. I stationed myself at the butt of the line, picking and choosing which rabbits to take over the table first while also naming and sexing each for the medical files. I had already picked out an assistant to write down all the information, and another to photograph the rabbit's progress as well as before and after photos. Before we had started I gave smoke his first injection, and set him up with a larger crate in our storage room to relax. If he got too stressed out the medication could be severely detrimental to his health, so I would wait until I went home to care for him separately. We worked through the night, toiling at our tasks, switching positions here and there to keep things running smoothly. By the time we were done and each rabbit was settled into their cages, I had already sent six workers home with bad bites and scratches. Many of these bunnies were, unfortunately, very wild. Smoke however retained his happy-go-lucky attitude, proving to be a wonderful choice. I packed him up in my van and let the skeleton staff at the center lock up, eager to get my darling all cleaned up and happy.

The first thing I did was let Eevix out of her pen when I entered the house. She stomped her foot and snapped at me, upset that it had been nearly two days since I had been home, or even slept for that matter. I downed another cup of coffee as I cleaned out the rabbits pen and filled up the food and water, tossing a good handful of treats at Eevix to get her to stop biting at my ankles. I opened the glass door that led out to the garden and watched as Eevix rushed out to greet the morning light, chasing off the tomcat that stalked the fence line every night. I chuckled as I left to go fetch Smoke, who was waiting patiently in his crate. Plopping him down onto my table I plugged in the trimmer and got to work with his matted fur. It came off in hard chunks, revealing several more scars and injuries than I had first realized. When I was done, he looked so relieved and cheerful it was hard to imagine it was the same rabbit. I smiled fondly as I settled him into a tub on the floor, scrubbing the dirt and grime away from his pelt. Surprisingly he wasnt actually black, but rather a light slate grey with white mottling, much like a dulled chinchilla pattern. It made me love him even more to see how beautiful his coat shined. Once dry, I started at his nails with the clippers. I ended up having to use a hot dremel on most of them, seeing as how the blood vessels were highly extended in the nail. The heat from the tool singed off the veins, which was fairly uncomfortable but not painful. I trimmed them as far as I could, but it was pretty tough on the both of us. Finally it got down to the easy part. With a quick and simple clip I trimmed all four teeth, which Smoke dealt with like a champ. I snuggled my clean bunny in my lap, coddling his fragile limbs and kissing his velvet soft nose. He was calm and happy, loving the attention the whole time. I grinned as I settled him into the freshly cleaned pen, shoving a boat load of molasses soaked greens into his bowl and loading him up on yummy treats.

[ShadyBro]

#3 Res

[Vraska the Unseen]

*Pushes my only Doe forward.*

[ShadyBro]

Heh I might be a little picky breeding him, he is just too cute c;

[Vraska the Unseen]

He iiiiis. If Rocky were a Doe I would offer him up. X3

[ShadyBro]

Ahh they would make the cutest gay babies, I might actually go for that <: