vent. :(

[PwnzorsNTittylwinks]

I just need to vent about something that happened tonight

First off, unless it is a total stranger that I dont have to see ever again or have any mutual acquaintances with I am very VERY unconfrontational. Its a very bad habit and usually results in my getting walked over or ignored.

so after letting you know that little tidbit about me we can talk about what happened.
about a month ago I was approached by a friend of a friend who needed a rabbit to use in a easter photoshoot. before this i had never known of the dangers of the stress a rabbit gets, and stupidly told her it was fine. since then i have been researching and learning a lot about it (mostly through the CHRS's make mine chocolate campaign) and decided that i didnt want to put my baby through that.

tonight I told her about me not feeling comfortable putting frank through the stresses of the photoshoot and suggested that if she absolutely felt like she NEEDED a live rabbit that maybe she could do a separate private shoot with just the rabbit and then photoshop his image into the pictures with this children.
I also suggested that maybe the local pet shop would let her use one of their bunnies (i knew they had just gotten a new litter) under their supervision if she traded it for advertisement for the shop.


her response was that she would rather just buy the bunny and put it in a dog kennel, then have the shoot, then return it after she was done and claim allergies..
I was speechless. I couldnt wrap my head around how someone could do that. but Instead of ripping into her like i was imaging in my head, I just told her i needed to go and hung up. if she wasnt the friend of a person I work with (a higher-up too.. ) then I probably would of ripped her a new one. but now I just have this image of her completely traumatizing some poor little bun and i want to cry. I wish people truly understood how stressed out prey animals can be!
I have 2 pets right now, my bun and my gecko. both very easily stressed animals (I feel like im attracted to them because i have generalized anxiety and a stress disorder- diagnosed since grade 7- and its like they are little animal forms of me. lol) and i feel like noone truly gets them! they want to just pick up my gecko without even easing her into it or try to scare her because they think she looks cool when she runs. or they want to cuddle the bunny when he has no idea who they are.
















ughidbslngofb . frustration. iaulnv this is why I dont like people.

 

[woahlookitsme]

Wow that's pretty intense and very shady. The only way I would ever let a bunny of mine be in a photos shoot is if I was the handler and was able to place the rabbit in their lap or wherever and tell them how to handle it. Good thing my tans aren't cuddle bunnies. Kids would get scratched for sure!

 

[PwnzorsNTittylwinks]

Wow that's pretty intense and very shady. The only way I would ever let a bunny of mine be in a photos shoot is if I was the handler and was able to place the rabbit in their lap or wherever and tell them how to handle it. Good thing my tans aren't cuddle bunnies. Kids would get scratched for sure!

thats one of the many reasons i was afraid to put frank through it too was that I know on the very few occasions he lets ME cuddle he tells me he is done with a bite. and the last thing i want to do is try to explain to a very upset parent with a bleeding toddler that he does that because he is an animal. and thats how they communicate.

 

[Imbrium]

I totally understand your frustration! my bunnies are good with strangers... I let all sorts of random people pet them on Halloween (we were out in the pen in the front yard), but that was with ME holding them - I wouldn't let anyone else hold one of my girls. I also let my neighbor's 3-4 year old grandson come "play" with the bunnies, but he knew to be very gentle and not to try to pick them up. it was just ONE kid, who was already well-trained about how to interact with animals, and his mother and I were both in the pen with him to make sure the situation was under control. in both situations, my bunnies were in a VERY familiar environment, so they had a home-field advantage.

I can't imagine driving my bunnies to some strange, scary new place and simultaneously subjecting them to a room full of toddlers where the kids possibly outnumbered the adults and I didn't have full control over the situation.

I feel sorry for whoever ends up with the bunny used in the photo shoot... but then, I feel sorry for pet store bunnies in general ><

 

[whitelop]

My jaw just hit the floor when I read that about her buying on and returning it. I will say though, that a pet store bunny will PROBABLY be more used to people than just someone's rabbit, so it could be okay. I say all that very tentatively though because all rabbits are different. I don't understand why people have to get their kids pictures taken with live animals anyway, thats why they have the weird guys in the big bunny suits in the mall to take the pictures.

Now, I would let Ellie go and do pictures because she will let anyone just scoop her right up and she has no problem with it. She isn't easily stressed though.
I hope that person doesn't do what she's talking about. I would actually caution all the pet stores in your area and let them know that she could be buying one only to return it later, so don't sell her one! haha. They probably don't care, but you could try.

People suck and thats why I hate people too!

 

[Troller]

That's terrible. I hate that people who have kids understand that responsibility, but then turn around and have this little life in their care which is even more dependant and think nothing of that duty. 'Allergies'. How Gehrig conveniant...

 

[Nancy McClelland]

There have been times when I really wanted to find a person's parents so I could punch them in the nose. Some of our buns are very good, social, and love to be held, but I would not let anyone take them out of my sight, period, end of sentence.

 

[Tauntz]

I can't stand people like that! Why do people want to have children's pictures with live animals that are not THEIR pet? In today's "sue happy" society, I would not want my pet to be around other people especially other people's children! Plus don't any of these lamebrains realize that animals are just that, things can spook them causing them to bite or scratch the child; the animal gets tired after hours of being held & passed on to another child who probably has no idea of how to hold the pet! Take pix of the kids searching for easter eggs or holding their candy-filled easter baskets or the human in a bunny costume but leave the poor bunnies & other animals alone for easter!

 

[Kadish Tolesa]

A bit off-topic; but I sold some young(6- month olds) ND's to a gal with 3 boys, ages 5, 7 and 8. A week later she called and said the bunny died, and could she have another ? I said that once a bun is sold, the sale is final.
So she came over and bought another. Two weeks later, it also died. I asked her if she watched the kids when they played with the rabbit, and she answered that " No, the bun was the boy's responsibility." Hmmmm.......
I suggested she wait until the boys were older or at least watch them any time they played with a pet.
She responded that it must be my buns were sickly --- I said that they were healthy as far as I knew.

Strange, but it all ended fine and she and I still talk. They actually went and bought a milking goat later and that turned out alright.
I've been asked by people if a bunny would be a good pet for their child. I advise against it; but some kids are better with a rabbit than others --- after they are about 7 or 8 yrs. old.
My son has a pet Flemish that he takes out for a hop in the yard (we live way out in the 'boonies') on his stretchy leash ... and he's 9. But he's grown up with rabbits most of his life.

 

[Imbrium]

I'd like to think I did well with the bunny I had as a kid, if you disregard the fact that we'd share licks of a fudgesicle from time to time when my parents weren't looking... in my defense, he only got a few licks whenever I ate one, he really REALLY liked it and nothing bad ever came of it or I would've stopped

I was 9 at the time, had plenty of experience with the family dog and had hamsters of my own where I fed them every day and cleaned their cages every week and basically did *everything* involved in caring for them (which, granted, isn't much with hamsters) all by myself aside from my parents paying for supplies and vet trips... plus I was rather grown up for my age.

I consider myself an exception, though - as a general rule, bunnies and small children do NOT mix well at ALL unless their parents have done a really good job of raising them *and* both the parents and the child have previous experience (successfully) caring for other animals.

things I wish people HAD to understand before they could get a rabbit:
a bunny is not a starter pet.
a bunny is not an easter gift.
a bunny is not low maintenance.
a bunny needs vet trips like a cat or dog (actually, all pets need vet trips).
a bunny should never be allowed around cats, dogs or children under the age of around 7 without adult supervision.
a bunny does not belong in a cage 24/7.
ANY pet requires research regarding proper diet and housing prior to purchase because you can't trust companies that make pellets/kibble/food mixes/cages - most of them are entirely unsuitable for the very animal they're supposedly for.