We’ve all seen this line on a job description, maybe just spelled differently. It’s the line where your future employer is basically telling you that he or she may assign darn near any duty to you.
We have a similar arrangement with our volunteers, who are amazing, always willing to do anything to help the animals.
Weeks ago, I needed a flyer translated into Spanish. We sent our flyer text to a small group of volunteers and bam, received translated copy within an hour. Same response when we asked volunteers to deliver door hanger ads promoting our free Chihuahua spay/neuter special to residents in a targeted neighborhood. We needed 15 or so volunteers to deliver 5,000 door hangers. Not fun work at all. Not a problem -- they were promptly hung!
This week, we asked for something a little different. Here’s the email message we sent:
PHS/SPCA’s Wildlife Rescue Center is currently caring for a young jackrabbit and young brush bunny. Typically, these wild rabbits don’t have a great survival rate once they reach a wildlife rehab center. We think we can improve their chances, but need your pet rabbit’s cecotropes, also called “night feces.” Cecotropes look different from your rabbit’s regular droppings. They are soft, mucous-covered poops in a small bunch that rabbits often ingest directly from their anus. Google 'cecotropes' and you'll not only see how they differ from regular poops, but can view a YouTube clip of a bunny eating it's own stuff. Ok, we know we just elicited a major “ewwwww!” Many rabbit owners don’t even know about this and have never seen them. But, cecotropes are important since they serve as a major source of protein and vitamins for the rabbit. Young bunnies eat cecotropes from their mothers. Since our wild brush bunny and jackrabbit have no mother, they are missing this important part of their diet. If you see cecotropes left behind in your rabbit’s cage in the morning, it means your bunny didn’t need them. And, these fresh cecotropes will help us care for our two wild animals. We have to receive them in the morning, the same day you find them. Please place them in a Ziploc bag and bring them directly to our 2nd floor counter at the Center for Compassion in Burlingame. We will have this need as long as we have the jackrabbit and brush bunny – possibly for several weeks. Many volunteers want to help us, but aren’t in a position to donate. You can definitely help us help our animals with this “donation!”
