Humane Society bunnies...questions...

[undergunfire]

While Ryan and I were looking at kitties today at PetsMart, there were two GORGEOUS 1 year old chocolate Dutch boys up for adoption by the local HS. They were in brand new Super Pet cages, but they weren't even large enough for a guinea pig to live comfy....actually...if I plugged the dimensions in on the "rat cage calculator", the cage probably is only big enough for one adult rat.

Anyway, I was loving up on the boys through the cage bars (they are in seperate cages) and one of the boys was chinning me and doing little binky dances in his cage. Wow, total sweetie....if I didn't already have a bunny room full of bunnies....I would have adopted him right then and there. He adored me.


Now, neither boys were neutered and their adoption fee was a meer $25...cage included. I worry about these two because a $25 fee for a rabbit and a cage is pocket change. The cages....too small....if the bunnies come with those cages, it gives the impression that the rabbit can live comfy in that tiny cage. What if someone adopted one of them and kept him in the tiny cage and never let him out?

Is it right for the HS to adopt out intact rabbits? Rabbits are the 3rd most dumped pet in shelters. I don't understand it. The Humane Societies in Phoenix (2 hrs away) spay & neuter all their bunnies before they can be adopted.


:?

 

[JamesCarden]

thats definetly not good news. $25 is WAAY to low for an adoption fee... it will attract irresponsable pet owners..

 

[slavetoabunny]

The male bunnies at my humane society are neutered before they are adopted. The fee for them is $40. They do not spay the females, because the vets that work there won't do it. Females are adopted for $25. I do have an arrangement with my vet to spay the females for $45, including pain meds. The only drawback to this is that it's up to the adopter to take advantage of this. The humane society does not require them to get the rabbits spayed.

 

[Beckers]

I adopted Little Bit from the SPCA in Pinellas County, FL for $15 which included a spay. I did expect a more rigorous process--they didn't ask any of the questions that I've come to expect from reading about other adoptions here on the forum. I had Floppy with me, so they might have gone easy on me, though.

I was concerned enough about it that I signed up to volunteer with the rabbits and work with potential adopters. Unfortunately, we had to move suddenly and I never got to help.

 

[luvthempigs]

The Petsmart stores here allow the Humane Society to house some of their cats that are up for adoption and Petsmart cares for and feeds them (at their own cost which I thought was nice) while they are there. I have never seen anything but cats/kittens though.

Lake Co. Humane Society charges a thirty dollar adoption fee for rabbits and they are spayed/neutered before they leave the shelter (I know because I adopted from them) they hand out a folder with lots of good info on rabbits and proper care (most taken from the HRN or HRS can't remember which oneoff hand) The bun I wanted to adopt wasn't spayed yet but when I told them I was interested in her they put her at the top of the list to be spayed. They called me as soon as she was ready to come home. At that time I also found out my exotics vet is the one who spays/neuters all the rabbits at the humane society which I thought was really cool.

They require that you meet the bunny then fill out an application and if approved adoption is processed.They alsohave volunteers who do follow-up on the rabbits. The lady who did follow-up with me was very nice andeverything she told me was correct (timothy hay, plain pellets, veggies, exercise, etc) She isa bunny owner herself which was cool, we talked for a long time. She also knew the story behind how Oreo ended up atthe shelter as she was there when Oreo was surrendered.

All in all it was a very positive experience Since coming home Oreo has earned a new name, One Bad Bunny :biggrin2:

 

[JadeIcing]

The Humane society here onnly spays or neuters if you have more than one or if you want the bun to be fixed. The fee is $25. Oh and they advise not get it fixed unless you have too. This one is umm yea I don't like their opinion of small animals.

I may or may not start voluntering there.

 

[undergunfire]

I sent them a very long email of an unhappy and concerned Amy . I also included information about WHY you should spay & neuter rabbits. I also let them know that I was unhappy with the tiny cages the rabbits were being adopted out with.

I'll let every one know what kind of responce I get.

 

[pla725]

Good for you Amy. Hopefully they will address this issue.

My shelter adoption experiences have been different. I had to go through a vet check and referrence check to adopt Goobie. That took a few days. For $15 and a copy of my DL I adopted Maddie. No background check at all. Perhaps, the fact that I stated that I said I had rabbits and volunteered for rescue was the deciding factor. I hope so.

Just to add I had to leave an a deposit for Goobie guaranteeing that I would spay her once she was about six months. I had to send them proof.

 

[werecatrising]

My local shelter only charges $5 and doesn't make people sign a spay/neuter contract. Talk about attracting irresponsible adopters...

 

[Leaf]

The local humane society here does not adopt out rabbits. They are considered livestock.

 

[trailsend]

I know most of our local SPCA's don't spay and don't always neuter. The big city ones do, like Toronto. My first bunny came from there and I can't remember what the adoption fee was but it wasn't much, maybe $30. Had to bring our cage with us, show them we had one and that it was suitable and go through the adoption process of course. I thought they did a decent job. But I know most don't...

 

[undergunfire]

I got an email back from the HS and the executive director was very willing to learn from me. He even said he is going to bring it back up with the board about finding a place in their budget to spay & neuter rabbits !

Darrell said that the rabbits generally get adopted out fast and that they do the best they can to care for them while they are in the HS's cage. He said that he was going to try to train his staff about rabbits and how to handle them, ect......

So, I offered to bring in Benson to show the staff how to properly handle rabbits and talk about rabbit care . I also offered to donate my copy of "Rabbits for Dummies"...for the staff to turn to when they are curious or need to look up something about rabbits....it's a great reference! I also offered to throw together a willow basket filled with hay, healthy treats, cardboard toys, an RO business card, and a huge information packet to new adopters.

I even offered to sew "sleeping bags" for guinea pigs and hammocks for rats & ferrets.




p.s...those two gorgeous Dutch boys got adopted! Eh, but Darrell did say they were adopted into a loving home that had a big "rabbit facility"...not sure what to think of that....breeder :??