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Pet Stores & Some Pounds
The reason for this page is to help people looking for a forever friend to find a bunny who is more likely to be healthy and will truly be a forever friend. All buns deserve a chance at a good home. If you want to help a bunny in a bad situation and is prepared to do for it what needs to be done if it is sick and can handle a sudden death if it happens, I think that's great. I fully stand behind you. For people who can't handle sudden deaths and want to really be sure that your bun is healthy from the start, I hope this helps.
Note: When I talk of a pound, I am not talking about a bunny rescue. Pounds and no kill rescues are in complete different ball games. No kill rescues are good places to adopt a bunny or any pet because they know a lot about the animals they deal with. They can give you a lot of information and they are not going to send a bunny home with you that is sick. They know enough about the animals to know whether or not they are sick. You are also able to come back to them for more information if needed. If you are looking to adopt a pet Please adopt from a no kill rescue. When you do this, you are saving another bunnies life by opening a cage for a bunny that other wise would have been taken to the pound to be put to sleep. So many are put down because there aren't any cages open at the rescues. Thank you for your time.
If your looking for a bunny to buy, (even for a pet) the pet stores and pounds are the worst place to get them. I know its irresistible to buy that cute little baby bunny bouncing around that clean cage. But do you really know if that baby was always in a clean environment? Did the owner of that shop make a surprise visit to the breeder to be sure that the animals he/she received are healthy animals? Does he/she even care? Will this pet store owner tell you where it even came from? Probably not, they don't want to risk having you buy from the breeder when they have bunnies right there for you to buy or what if the bunny came from an unhealthy environment, they certainly don't want you to cost them a buck by telling others. They also refuse to accept pedigrees with the bunnies they buy them from the breeders. I was told by a pet store that their buyers are not interested in pedigrees. The real reason why pet stores don't accept pedigrees is because it has the breeders name, address and sometimes even phone numbers on them. They can't have you buying your next bunny directly from the breeder or announce that the pet store is buying bunnies from sickly rabbitries, even worse tell others were the rabbits came from and lose buyers that way. I can't count how many times I have had to tell someone that their precious bunny that they have grown attached to is no good in the rabbit breeding world because the pet store didn't give them a pedigree with their bunny nor did they explain that these rabbits are not for 4-Her's or show, they are pet only. Why would they explain that and cost themselves a buy. They don't care that it hurts you when you have to give up your beloved bunny to get a bunny that works with the project you want to be in. They don't even care about what happens to this bunny because they didn't tell the new owners about the bunny being a pet only. All they care about is the buck they made off of the bunny.
As for the pound, again you don't know where this rabbit came from. Think about it, what is the pounds job? well, they rescue animals from unfit homes, meaning that this rabbit was probably in a dirty area. Or if someone brought it in themself, there probably was a reason why. It could be sick and the previous owner didn't tell the pound that is why it was being dropped off. The pound does not specialize in rabbits enough to know that it is sick. Dogs and cats are needing to be rescued and you can get some real nice animals from there. I am not saying that you should not adopt any animals at all. This is only towards the adoption of rabbits. (Personally, if someone has a new bunny that came from the pet store or pound, I will not allow them to bring it to my residents until they have owned it for at least 4 months without any problems and if I handle it, I wash my hands before handling my own bunnies. I can't afford to spread sickness to my herd.) Some pounds can be knowledgeable about rabbits. Find out before you adopt. Even if this pound is knowledge about rabbits, keep in mind that your chances of buying a sick rabbit is much greater here.
I tend to get some argument on the pound issue. I have been told that even the sick ones need care and don't deserve to die. My comment to this is, I don't think its right to dump sick rabbits on unsuspecting people. Most people are looking for a long time friend, not an animal who is going to empty their pocket book on vet bills and still have a painful death in 6 months or less. That is inhumane to people and it discourages them from trying to have another rabbit companion, and is it really humane to let a rabbit go through a painful death when he/she could be humanly put down in the first place? If someone wants to help save a wonderful bun from untimely death, (and there are many there who not sick as well) then it is only right to let them know what they are getting themselves into. It would be a good idea to bring along an experienced breeder who would see things that most people who don't deal with them on a daily biases would miss.
I do feel that their is a big difference in pounds and those that specializes in bunny rescue. When I refer to pounds that excludes these other organizations.
I have made it real clear at this point that sickness is very serious to stay away from. More serious than in a dog or cat. I say this because dogs and cats are very well studied in the medical world. Most sicknesses in dogs and cats can very easily be taken care of at the vet. The reason why it isn't so easy to medicate a rabbit is best stated in "Raising Rabbits The Modern Way" (My Rabbit Bible) By Bob Bennett. This book can be found in Tractor Supply stores. I suggest anyone who has rabbits buy this book. This is what it says on page 125.
"In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration, and its Bureau of Veterinary Medicine, must approve all medications for animals by species,before they may be sold. Few medications are approved for rabbits, because few drug companies are willing to stand the great expense of the testing required by species with little hope of return of their investment. They do not view the rabbit market as large enough to warrant the expenditure. So they don't test their products for rabbits and the government doesn't approve them for rabbits. But that doesn't mean they don't work on rabbits. They do, and you can buy them. The big problem is that the rabbit industry has not sold itself as a market and therefore the drug companies don't know just what opportunities are available for selling the products.
Actually, only two groups know how to treat rabbits, and they won't or can't tell. Veterinarians won't; they want to do it themselves. The problem is that the rabbit can be replaced for the cost of a vet visit. Drug companies can't; the law won't allow it. Therefore, rabbit producers are left to wander from folklore that advocates vinegar and plasterboard, to medical products approved only for major food animals species, i.e. cattle, hogs and poultry."
So you can see why taking a bunny to the vet isn't going to help your bunny needs unless you are experienced in rabbits and know exactly what you need and you can't buy what you need anywhere else. You will most likely spend tons of money on a vet and get no where and lose the bunny anyway if that bunny was bought sick in the first place. If you have another rabbit, you more than likely will lose that one too because it caught what ever the other bunny had within the first few hours they were together. Imagine what kind of devastation that would leave behind if you have a whole herd.
Another reason is that the pound and pet store just are not knowledgeable about rabbits. Most are so convinced that they know it all that they are not capable of learning. They are so offended that you may know something that they don't, that their noses go straight up in the air and they treat you like your an idiot. (I have met one pound person that was not offended that I knew what I was doing. He was very nice to me and respectful. Thank you to that person.) Since they are not capable of learning, how can they possibly give you the correct bunny care information? They can't even sex a rabbit correctly. That is one of the first things that a 4-Her child learns to do, yet these adults who are supposed to know it all can't tell the difference between a buck and a doe. I would teach them if they would pay me any mind. I have yet to find someone that has bought a pet store bunny and not have to tell them that the rabbit is the opposite sex than what the pet store told them. Pound bunnies are the same way. Note: Some vets have been known to be this way as well. Be sure your vet cares about your animal, is willing to explain everything to you that you need to know, constantly refers back to books and isn't afraid to learn something new even if its from you. (I have a wonderful vet!)
Always buy from good breeders & pounds who are knowledgeable & bunny rescues only!!!!! Now that you know not to buy from pet stores and unknowledgeable pounds to avoid sick rabbits, go back to "Bunnies for sale" and click on the link below this one to find out what rabbitries are safe to by from and what ones are not, to avoid sick rabbits. Don't leave before checking out non breeder organizations that are safe to buy/adopt from below.
Attention pet stores and pounds:
I will list below any pet store and pound that is willing to learn more about the rabbit or has already been working hard to know more about the rabbit and make sure that people wanting to show and do 4-H have the understanding of how important a pedigree is. (to show with out a pedigree is okay as long as you are not interested in breeding, this is okay for lots of 4-Hers. To breed show animals, a pedigree is a must.Someone wanting a pet has no need for a pedigree.) You have to admit that selling/adopting out a bunny that can not participate in a project that it was bought/adopted for is going to put that animal right back into the same situation it is in now or worse. I will also list Pet stores who are willing to inspect the rabbitries that they regularly buy from. I will list any organization that is not a breeder who is safe to adopt from. E-mail me at apel@alltel.net and title it "pet store" or "pound."
1. I can't get the html working but I am working on it. The Monmouth County SPCA in Eatontown, NJ.