irresponsable pet owners

[butsy]

i was looking on the spca website where i live and got very upset when i clicked on the cutest bunny picture. he is a one year old minilop. i was reading about him and his owners surrendered him because he could not ''live WITH the family ferret'' !!!!! . i wish people would do their homework before adopting/buying a bunny. i hope he finds a home sooon <3

 

[slavetoabunny]

That's so sad. It's just like the call I got from people wanting to surrender a rabbit because "their 4-year old wasn't taking care of it." Really!

 

[mistyjr]

That's how we got our 1 year old Chin Mini Lop House Pet Bunny.. The teenage stopped taking care of, So the mother asked me if I can take him, And of course I said yes..

 

[butsy]

it upsets me so much.. i did a TON of research before getting my bun, and im very glad i did, because they are very different from any other animal i have owned. i wish everyone would look rabbits up. it really really upsets me

 

[jcottonl02]

All animals require different types and amount of care. Some need to have hundreds of pounds spent on them at the very beginning to give them what they need (many reptiles) and some start off very small but can grow meters and meters! (some reptiles). Those animals like rabbits which have a wrong portrayal by most books/resources etc. that say they need minimal care, don't get ill easily etc. and are cheap, easy pets just show how little people know about certain animals.
I probably feel most sorry for hamsters. They are often bought for very young children, even toddlers, and so often do not get proper care and are downright terrified through most of their little life, being thrown around like toys by these children who don't know any better.
I knew a girl when I was about 10 who used to keep her hamster on the floor by the boiling radiator, used to cover it in talcom powder to (clean) him (??), and used to kick the cage if the hamster wanted to sleep during the day.

Every single animal brought into a home needs much research put into its care and health etc. Unforunately many people don't do this necessary work , and the poor animal suffers

Until today I didn't realise how expensive fish were! I thought they were a sort of...20pound jobby for the tank and fish. But no, my sister just spent over 65 pounds on tank and equipment for her two lil fish.

A pet should enrich your life, but you should enrich theirs the same amount.

That's how I got my first bun Benji- the inproper care he receieved from his previous owners resulted in emergency neuter and stitches, and he has scars over both his ears. I am just so glad that it didn't seem to affect his affection and trust for people.



Jen

 

[MiniLopHop]

Every animal if they are taken care of properly has the potential for a large price tag. Personally I think half of the fun of getting a new kind of pet is the research. I love to find books and websites to read everything I can. Somehow it makes me more excited.

When I was in graduate school and working full time I started to plan my fish tank. I would use it as a stress reliever to draw up maps of what plants and what fish I wanted. I found it very pleasant to do mock up tanks changing various elements on paper. I probably went through 100 variations until I graduated and got what I wanted. The great part was that I did my experimenting on paper so no one had to die or suffer being not the right fit.

Perhaps in a day where delayed gratification is a rare thing people don't find joy in the planning stage? Animals should never be an impulse.

 

[JadeIcing]

Agreed. Which is why I have done so much research when adding different geckos. Not all reptiles have the same needs.

 

[Jynxie]

I love researching.
That is one of the best part of getting an animal.

Be it a dog and looking up the breed and best way to train that breed.

Reptiles and their housing/diet requirments (also learning about morphs is neat)

Or bunnies, I learned so much from researching. I never even knew they needed hay until I researched before getting Harley.

I even researched different types of birds even though I don't plan on getting one, It was just fun to learn about.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:banghead..........ray: Such a cute bunny too.

 

[Happi Bun]

What really gets me is when I see pictures of rabbits available for adoption at shelters.
Then the next week see "Euthanized due to space" labeled on the pic. :tears2:

 

[Violet23]

Unfortunately thats what happens to so many of them, and its even worse with cats around here this time of year. Kitten season is on its way, so the already maxed out shelters have nothing they can do, and no other options. It's just sad all around

 

[kuniklos]

I never lived without an animal until college. All my pets at home passed while I was finishing up my degree. But I had been rabbit dreaming since high school. I just felt I had no right to get another pet when I was about to leave for college. And that I had no right to get one if I didn't have the time or money.

So every year I looked forward to the annual bunny magazine, when to ARBA conventions and shows, bought lots of books and online dreaming.

Then this winter I graduated college and found myself in an excess of graduation money. Plus a few months off during surgery recovery before applying for grad school. And so my fiance and I took the dive and got our General Bismark. We were prepared, in love, and were able to pay for all his vet bills and food without an issue.

I get so mad when I would stop at the local SPCA in my college town and it would be filled with animals college students picked up when they were cute and little. Then they stopped caring for them, or got the boot from their apartments...or just couldn't afford them. I didn't want to be one of those students.

 

[Alek]

Pamela my dutch rabbit came to me one day when my mom came home from the vet clinic she worked at and some woman had dropped her off. The woman who had dropped her off at the clinic had went to the pet store to buy a pet for her family. She told the staff at Petland her children had some allergies so what sort of pet would be good for them. The people at Petland recommended a rabbit. The family brought Pamela home, had her a week when the 4yr olds throat closed up and the two other kids broke out into a rash and they all had to be rushed to the Emergency room.
What sort of idiot recommends a rabbit for kids with allergies. Rabbits bother people who don't even have rabbit allergies.
I'm ticked the woman didn't bother to do her own research to figure out what pet would be good for her family but Petland is evil and they have caused more problems for the local animal shelter, rescues and foster homes (I foster) then any of the puppy/kitten mills combined. The vet clinics receive animals all the time that people have bought at Petland that have broken bones, heart problems and other serious conditions. Pamela had ring worm really badly when she came to us and she had been exposed to it when she was at the pet store. Another bun I met had two broken legs because a worker at Petland had dropped him and didn't bother to tell anyone and simply put him back in the cage.

 

[hippity18]

how ridiculous!im glad you are responsible and caring in discuses the hell outta me when i see a rabbit in pain or neglected :X

 

[pet_lover48]

Hi! It's always disgusted/really bugged me when people don't do their research before they buy a pet(s.) :grumpy:

Then, they're crazy enough to take the advice of the petstore employee, (which is usually just a teenager working there, that doesn't really know anything aboutthe pets/proper care, housing, etc.)

Also, more people need to adopt/rescue, Not buy from pet stores, but usually what happens is they see it and buy it on the whim, not knowing aything about how to care for the animal.

I was in a pet store once and over heard a couple asking the employee/worker if they could buy 2 rats and if keeping them in a 10gallon aquarium would be ok - she said yes and then they went topick out2 rats! I couldn't believe it-10 gallons is way too small for 2 rats and they need to be housed in large cages with multiple levels. I felt sorry for those 2 rats.

Anyways, sorry for the long post, this is something that really bugs me. People need to do their research before they get any pet!

Thanks,

Pet_lover48

 

[butsy]

yes i watched a documentary about petland and it upset me VERY much ..

 

[Marrie]

Agree with everyone here - people who buy on a whim and don't want to properly care for a pet irritate me. When I got my tiel, I did a lot of reading, joined a forum, read through old posts, browsed books, looked at all the sites. I compared information, even compared vets. I quizzed my vet (which got me weird looks) and the breeder I got it from (the rescue that handles birds was not possible for me, due to it being so far away and having so many visit requirements before it let you adopt, though I checked there first).

I have a lot of experience with "throw away" pets due to my experience now with birds, who people think belong in tiny cages with no outside time and aren't worth vet care. So many small animals, be it birds, rabbits, reptiles or rodents get bought with no thought to their specialized care. I actually have earned enemies by pointing out that it isn't as easy "buy it and feed it" when people want to buy pets, because they don't like that I tell them the blunt, honest truth about how hard it is to own a cockatoo, or other specialized pets.

I am browsing rescues/ads looking for adoptable bunnies in my area at the moment and while I get everything set up I am devouring all the information I can. My boyfriend thinks I am crazy, he says he's never seen an animal spoiled as much as I spoiled my bird. I told him he should get used to our pets being given the treatment animals deserve.

 

[Alek]

I'm an obsessive researcher. Even though I've had rabbits before I still did 4 months of research before deciding to get one.
I'll admit as a kid I did a spur of the moment purchase a couple of times but I never got tired of the pet and played with those pets constantly. I never understood my friends when they forgot to feed a pet or were tired of it. I played with mine obsessively.
Most of my pets have been throw away pets or rescues. The saddest story being my littlest cat Gigi who was abandoned in a tiny cardboard box in front of the vet clinic my mom worked at over the weekend in sleet/rain and 10 degree weather. She was 4wks old, her eyes weren't open due to puss, she had a complete body infection, pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infection, broken leg and fleas as well as a skin infection. I feel furious thinking about someone letting her get that sick and not helping her.

 

[Helenor]

I admit, I did kind of buy my first rabbit a year ago without doing research. My housemate has a bunny that she had before I had mine so I learned a little bit, though my housemate also bought hers on a whim. I didn't know much about them, but I soon learned how to properly care for them and I have two rabbits today.

 

[Acacia-Berry]

Oh, same here Helonor. I did a little research and bought my bunny Acacia off some idiot BYB in a small town in Newfoundland. My roommate at the time had a rabbit and I figured since she was offering advice and whatnot I could trust her. . Acacia has serious trust issues and my roommate probably caused them by chasing her around and yelling to "scare her to stop" etc. . . I cannot believe she still has her rabbit. Poor thing, she used to let her ferret free roam the same room the rabbit lived in. The ferret constantly harrassed the bunny, I spoke to her about it but she has issues of her own. She is a hoarder and has paranoia so there is no getting through to her

What a lot of people do not see is the fact that many people who buy animals and dump them off are not only irresponsible and ignorant but have social problems like anxiety, schizophrenia, ADD, um. . . well problems which cause people to become social outcasts. This also includes people with chronic pain and seniors. IMO urban societies are to blame for many of the health problems today. They're psychological and many are caused by growing up in dysfunctional families too where the only love one feels to receive is from animals. Since animals are so easy to obtain and dispose of it fits people's changing lives. It's unfortunate and I know everybody here has rescued and supports rescue and hates idiots that dump animals on shelters etc. . . But I think more outreach needs to be done to these groups of people and we should be responsible for getting out there and supporting them by helping them rather than slandering them.