OK, here's the scoop:

------ BUNNIES ------

Veggies: 
        Take one bag from the top veggie drawer in the fridge.  Dump the
veggies on the wooden platform in our bunnies' run.  From the pile, pick
out approximately 1/5 of the veggies for the white bunny, Cadbury. Try to
get some of each veggie, but don't stress about it.

Pellets:
        Our bunnies get Heinhold Show Formula pellets.  They are in a
glass jar on the floor.  Extra pellets are in the white bucket near the
hay.  Just keep their bowl full-ish.  They are normally rationed to 1 1/3
cup per day, but oh well!  Cadbury gets the "Family Formula", which is
leaning against the freezer.  Fill her bowl and close the bag as well as
you can.

Water:
        Our bunnies should have their water bottles refilled if they are
more than 1/2 empty.  Cadbury only seems to drink out of a bowl.  Rinse
and refill her pottery crock with fresh water. 

Hay:
        Give our bunnies a generous handful (about 1x1x1' cube of hay) -
stuff it down into the hole in their wooden box.  Don't worry if the whole
place is covered in hay by the end of the week.  Cadbury loves her hay.
Give her a smaller handful, and drop it into the blue litterbox.  She
digs and frolicks in the hay.

Litter:
        The litterboxes should be ok.  If you notice poop or wet spots,
toss some old hay (the stuff that is on the floor) onto the wet spots or
poop, so that the buns don't get sore feet from walking on the soiled
stuff.  Cadbury may need a litterbox change by Sunday or Monday, since she
religiously only uses one box.  Just dump the old litter into a white
plastic bucket and pour new wood stove pellets in (about 1" thick).  
Cover the pellets with a layer of hay.

You shouldn't try to pick up Cadbury - she *loves* being pet, but squirms
dangerously when you try to pick her up.  You can sit at the open door and
pet her.  She's nice.  

Emergencies:
        Hopefully nothing bad will happen.  If the bunnies are not acting
normal, please contact one of the following people:

* Essex Veterinary Hospital (near Grand Union on rt 15 in essex) 879-1399
* Milton Vets (893-4000) - ask for Dr. Paula Gamache - she's the best
bunny vet around.  If it's after hours, call Colleen because she can call
Paula at home.  You can also call Dr. Metz (Shelburne Animal Hospital) if
it's an absolute emergency (985-2525).
* Colleen Rouhan (bunny rescue friend - call her esp. if Cadbury needs
help) 802-527-1175 grumpy@together.net
* Caroline Hess (bunny rescuer - HRS chapter coordinator for NH - very
knowledgable and will respond quickly to e-mail or phone calls)
1-603-569-9372 (wchess@worldpath.net).

------ CATS ------

Food and water:
        Cat food is a mix of Innova regular and low fat stuff.  It is in
an electrosol bucket near their dishes.  They are usually limited to one
cup per cat pet day, but you can just fill their bowls (white bowls).  If
you would give them fresh water in the bowl, that would be great.  The
plastic thing is a backup, but they prefer the fresh stuff.  If you come
in and they already have food, just top off the bowl and don't worry about
it.  They have treats on the counter - Shadow will eat them out of your
hand, Fiona prefers them on the floor..

Litter:
        The litterboxes should be scooped at least once..  but I'm not
going to hold anyone to it.  Just scoop out the chunks and put them in the
trash can nearby.

Toys:
        The cats love to be pet and played with.  Shadow's toys will be
left on the bar.  Fiona plays, but loves to be pet.  If you are looking
for them, Fiona is often under our bed, and they sometimes hang out in the
other bedrooms. They don't answer to any calls, unfortunately.  Shadow
will run at the door, so take care that she doesn't get out or end up
stuck in the garage or a closet..

Emergencies:
        Both cats are seen regularly by the vets at the Essex Veterinary
Center (879-1399) - try there first.

------ FISH ------

This is optional.  Fish are fine for many days without food.  We overfeed
them in general, so really, don't stress about it.  Error on the side of
less food, if you aren't sure.  Also, if there is any food left in the
tank after about 5 minutes, it's too much food.

Upstairs Fish:

1. Tank near the living room table: there are only TWO fish in there!
Just feed a tiny pinch of flakes, broken into somewhat small pieces for
the baby rainbow fish.  Don't worry about feeding the catfish.  

2. planted tank.  They get a pinch or two of flakes, and a large pinch or
two (maybe 1/2 tsp) of red color bits.  I will leave the fish food on the
table to the left of the planted tank.  you can put the food in through
the back of the tank - there is an opening back there.

3. African Cichlid tank - they get the same food as the planted tank.

Downstairs Fish:

1. The goldfish get a handful (up to the blue line on the scooper
nearby) of puffy goldfish sticks - they are in a green cardboard box.

2. (barbs, Geophagus braziliensis and a pleco) The BIG tank gets about 1
Tablespoon of cichlid sticks (or less). Crush them in your hand a bit for
easier munching.  They also get about 1 tsp of color bits (bacon-bit like)
and a pinch of flakes (for the smaller fish). Try to spread out the
feeding over a few minutes to prevent it all from dispersing in the water.  
You may get splashed.

3. (Julidochromis transcriptus) The long 20 gallon to the left of the big
tank (full of black and white striped fish) gets a pinch (1/2 tsp or so)
of color bits, and a small pinch of flakes.

4. (Hemichromis lilafi) The tank below (20 gallon high) with 6
orange/brown cichlids gets less of the same - 1/2 tsp of color bits and a
small pinch of flakes.  They are moody and may hide on you.

Now, looking at the tanks on the drawers.. starting at the right:

5.  The plastic tank with the purple top has NOTHING in it - don't bother
feeding it.

6. (Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis and bumblebee goby) The algae-infested tank
with 2 tiny old fish in it gets a very small pinch of flakes.

7. (assorted malawi cichlids) The 10 gallon tank with rocks and debris in
it gets a medium pinch of flakes and about 1/3 tsp (haha) of color bits.  
They are piggies.

7. (planted tank with guppies, etc) Around the corner, the planted 10
gallon.. gets a small pinch of flakes and a very small pinch of color
bits.  The fish don't seem to ever eat - they mostly ignore the food, but
I feed them anyway.  I don't know what they live on.  Anyway, blow on the
surface of the water to clear a spot free of floating plants - then drop
the food there.

8. (siamese algae eaters, otocinclus and snails) This tank is the
quarantine tank.  They are doing fine.. feed them a smallish pinch of
flakes.  What the fish won't eat, the snails will polish off.

I think that's it.  Underfeed rather than overfeed.  If the fish aren't
enthusiastic about eating, check the water temperature (should be between
70-80 F except for the goldfish) and look to make sure the filter is
pushing water.. 

Emergencies:
        If a fish looks sick, a tank stops eating, there is a beaten-up
fish, a big hardware problem, or something weird happens, you can call my
friend Doug Varney at 656-1181 / 899-3793 (dsv@zoo.uvm.edu).  You can also
try David and Janine Banks at 372-8716  (dbanks@together.net).  You could
also try Gerry at Green Mountain Aquarium 985-4160.

If you notice a fish dead, no big deal - just flush it or throw it away in
a plastic bag.  We love our fish, but they do occasionally die on us.  

------ DONE ------
 
Yay!  Thanks again!!  Put the key back on your way out, if you would.  We
REALLY appreciate you doing this.  If you do have to bring any animal to
the vet, we give you and the vet permission to do whatever is necessary to
help our pets.  We will reimburse you, whatever happens.

Also, I stuck this document on the web just in case - it is at:

http://www.uvm.edu/~jdion/pets/petdirections.march2000.html

Thanks!!!