Adopting
So you've decided you want a bunny? Where do you
go from here?
Bunnies are the third most popular pet
after dogs and cats. You'll find them at pet shops and breeders but I
would strongly suggest going to a Rabbit Rescue or animal shelter to adopt. The cost
is often less, especially if you consider you're getting them already
spayed or neutered. Plus, you'll be providing a home for a bunny
that really needs it.
An important reason to get your bunny from Rabbit
Rescue organizations is the information and education they provide.
A pet store is a business. The bottom line is they are making
money. They buy rabbits for $10 from breeders and sell them for
$40+. If the rabbit is sick they will not provide vet care because
the cost is higher than the price they expect to get for it. A
breeder is much the same.
I learned first hand how much a business this is when
I bought another bunny from a pet store after our first one passed away.
We brought him back to the store almost immediately as we had concerns about his health
after observing him and they wanted nothing to do with us, despite their "health
guarantee". He ended up passing away shortly after which was
horrible because we were already devastated at losing our first bunny
earlier that year.
Having said that, I must credit pet stores for at
least introducing people to the idea of having a pet rabbit. My
first rabbit was from a pet store where the clerk explained what great
pets they make. They are often the first place people are exposed
to domestic rabbits.
Rabbit Rescue will be there for you after you take
your bunny home. They will take the time to educate you on how to
handle and care for your bunny properly. Their goal is to provide
a healthy, happy environment for the bunny, not to make money off the
sale. You may wonder why they charge a fee at all. They do
this to guard against people buying domestic rabbits for consumption by
people or other pets, for example, snakes. Fees also help support
their efforts in rescuing, providing healthcare and daily necessities
for the bunnies in their care.
You also need to consider other pets
and how they may get along with a bunny. All pets have distinct
personalities so any advice has to be given in context. I know
many people with multiple pets including bunnies, dogs, cats, guinea
pigs, chinchillas, hedgehogs, hamsters, and so on. You need to
take into consideration the personality of each pet you have and
introduce them slowly and under direct supervision. Rabbits are
high stress animals so a dog may just be playfully chasing and barking
but it could literally scare your rabbit to death. Adult cats
usually get along quite well with rabbits. Kittens may irritate a
rabbit with their playfulness and eventually the rabbit could give them
a warning bite! Just remember rabbits are prey animals which often
makes them vulnerable.
I have received some emails from people
asking about children and rabbits. Most of what you read online would
discourage having rabbits in the house with small children. Personally I
think it depends. Having any pet with young children can be an fantastic
learning experience. Of course, children don't understand at a young age
that certain things they do can hurt animals. Our son is 6 now and very
good with all our rabbits. But it took a lot of supervision and stern
reminders any time he was even a bit rough or tried to pick them up. It
was obvious he wasn't deliberately trying to hurt them, he absolutely
adores all of them, but they're cute fuzzy walking stuffies to a child
that age and they have to learn they're not toys. I believe it all comes
down to how the parents deal with it and the level of supervision they
are prepared to provide. Some basic ground rules would be:
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Children must never be
allowed to pick up a rabbit. Most rabbits do not like being picked
up and they will fight and struggle to get back to the floor. A
child will almost certainly either drop or tightly grip the rabbit
resulting in injury or death.
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Especially if the rabbit is new to
the family, a child must be constantly supervised when in the same
room as the rabbit. If you leave the room, your child will
probably take that opportunity to "play" with the bunny.
You need to observe the interactions between your child and the
rabbit for some time before taking any chances. Not only could the
rabbit end up hurt, but so could your child if they frighten the
rabbit. Rabbits are capable of giving some pretty nasty bites if
they are feeling threatened.
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Children should be encouraged to
participate in the care of the rabbit. Refreshing water and hay
is a good way to teach responsibility and a rabbit can never have
too much of either. A pet rabbit can teach your
child empathy and about caring for animals, and by extension, all
living things. Its such an important and valuable lesson.
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Rabbits are not classroom
pets despite the popularity of them with many teachers. They are
high stress animals that do not do well with the constant noise
and movement one finds in a class of 20 or 30 children.
Invariably, there will be some form of nuisance in terms of
sticking fingers or objects in the cage, taping or banging on the
side of the cage to get a reaction when the teacher is not aware.
Rabbits require a stable home with constant fresh water and hay.
This is not possible when the rabbit is being taken home by
various children in the class on weekends and holidays. I hope
teachers will reconsider before getting a rabbit as a classroom
pet. Pets are for home, not school.
Even with the best care, rabbits do not
live as long as dogs or cats. A rabbit can live 8-10 years,
although we have known people to have rabbits as long as 14 years.
However, if you find yourself in the position of having to explain the
death of the family pet to your child you may find my experiences
helpful in my section on Explaining
the Loss of a Pet to Young Children
If a Shelter Bunny Could Talk
Hello, I am a little bunny that is sitting in a
shelter now and I don't know what I did to end up here. Or maybe I do. I
don't want to give my real name as I am ashamed of my situation. Though
it must be my own fault I guess. So call me Joe. Joe the bunny.
Me and my friends that sit here everyday want to
share our stories so that other bunny rabbits out there know to be good
so they don't end up here with us. We sit in our little cages now and
know our time is coming. You see we suffer from a terrible terminal
illness. Its as deadly as cancer and sometimes even faster moving. Our
terminal illness is called Unloved and Unwanted. I know
I'm dying and I know its soon. There is only a very very small chance
that someone will ever come to see me and want to take me home and save
me from my terrible fate. But I stopped hoping for that a long time ago.
Now I just sit quietly and wait... my suffering will end. One way or
another.
Oh but if I ever get that chance I will know to be
the bestest behaved bunny ever! I really will, I SWEAR I WILL! I know
now that its my own fault I was brought here. I know now that I never
should have gotten so excited about my food that I would accidentally
bite my peoples hands. I know I was wrong. And it doesn't matter that my
people sometimes forgot to feed me for days. I should have behaved
better. Maybe if I was a good bunny they would have fed me more often?
It was my fault I know. And I really did try my best to ration my water
and make it last until it was filled again sometime next week but I was
sooo hungry I put whatever was available in my tummy. I was greedy and
I'm so sorry for that. And it doesn't matter if I was confused about
where my litter box was because my whole cage was always dirty. I should
have held it in and not gone to the bathroom in my cage. Maybe if I had
done that they wouldn't have been so disgusted by me and my house when
they came to clean it once a month? I wish I had been better about that
too. My own fault. And who was I to be upset about not ever coming out
to play? Really I asked to much. I guess to need just a little exercise.
After all my owner was only 8 yrs old and not her fault she didn't want
to let me out to play. Really, it was all my fault. I was selfish.
And though I pray someone will some day soon save me
from my fate I don't think anyone is coming for a badly behaved bunny
like me. I'll get what I deserve soon. The clock on the wall beside is
always ticking at me. Tomorrow.... then next day.... soon, I know I'm
dying.
So I can only hope to try to save other bunnies from
my fate. I hope that all the bunnies in the land read my letter and
remember "You are the bunny. You must behave right or else."
But alas I know most bunnies simply cant help themselves. We are just
bunnies after all. So to the humans that may read my story I ask that if
you ever should decide to come to our rescue we will ask for little but
I guess more than we deserve...
We ask for just a small area to call our own. Look
around you now. There may just be a corner you could squeeze a cage in.
We don't need a whole room or house, just a little room. And I know it
may be a lot to ask but we do so love to stretch our legs. So maybe if
you could find it in your heart to let us out to play for just a little
bit everyday... It doesn't have to be hours and hours. We've been in
these little cages so long anything would be heaven. Some of us have
never had play time. We ask if it isn't too much trouble for just a
little food everyday. We don't eat much. And if you felt so inclined to
let us try some hay that too would be heaven. I've heard talk of this
"hay" thing but I've never tried it. It sounds delicious. And
most of all, though we obviously don't deserve it, or we wouldn't be
here ... it would mean the world to little ones like us to know the
feeling of a kind and gentle hand touching us. An affectionate head pat
... a soft cheek rub and maybe, just maybe, a kind word or two. Maybe if
we try really hard you may just some day say "I love you"...
that would be heaven ... and I would be good.
Rosalind Glousher
Rabbit Rescue Inc,
Ontario, Canada
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Petfinder.com
- adopt a pet in your area, including rabbits, dogs, cats and
more. They have listings from shelters and rescue
organizations all over North America. |
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Rabbit Names (A-M)/(N-Z)
- Need a name but you're drawing a blank? Here's a whole
list of suggestions.
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Rabbit Names (Pairs)
- For the more ambitious with bonded pairs, here's a site that has
cute name pairings. My favourite is Bacardi and Diet Pepsi
but that's another story!
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Rabbit
Names - this site is really extensive. If you can't find
a name for your bunny here, you're going to have to name them
"hey you".
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Rabbit
Breeds - this is an interesting site because it has photos of
many rabbit breeds.
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Sexing
Rabbits - how to find out if you have a boy or girl (buck or
doe).
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Everything you ever wanted to know about
rabbits but were afraid to ask ...
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