Runny nose/pets at home

I have added comments on another thread about the problem I had on Saturday when I stupidly purchased a rabbit from Pets at Home. On sunday I realised he potentially had mites so I took him into their vets for the health check. They are treating the mites only after I refused to swap him for another rabbit! Then they noticed he had a runny nose so they have him in isolation and he has had a 5 day course of baytril(SP?) so I was hoping he would be home today or tomorrow but they are saying he still has a snotty nose and need to treat him for another week in isolation. Is this normal? should it take more than one treatment and can they do tests to find out what the infection is before doing more of the same that hasnt worked yet? By the way the reason they have him and I dont is because they said and I quote ' If you take him and he gets worse (ie nearly dead or worse infection) then thats your responsibilty and we wont pay! I am seriously considering collecting him and taking him to my own vets but wanted some advice before I charge in like a bull in a china shop! I cant believe how awful the service in selling rabbits is and the fact they were willing to swap a rabbit for another that had all be in the same enclosure and that was when the vet was in the room!! Ok rant over otherwise I could go on all night!

Oh by the way when I say stupid I mean for using pets at home not for getting a bunny as I love him even though I have only had him at home for 1 day!

Dont mean to scare you but Ive heard stories of P@H vets keeping animals in 'for isolation' and the owners never seeing them again...when they ring up theres no 'proof' that the animal was even there in the first place.
I'd say get him out, and fast!

Oh god dont say that

I worked in p@h when i first left school & the policy then was to pay for any vet fees that you incurred within one week of purchasing an animal,providing that the vet says it was ill when sold.There was never mention of them having to keep hold of it as far as i know.

Hi :wave:

I'm sorry to hear you rabbit is unwell

I bought my rabbit from Pets at Home (I didn;t really know about rescues then) and a day after i bought him he started sneezing adn had a runny nose so i took him to my vet. He had snuffle and my vet treated him and he's absolutly fine but it cost just over £50, when i rung Pets at home they told me i could bring him back and exchange him!!! :shock: this made me even more angry and i demanded that they pay my vets bill. I took my reciepts in and they paid they also said that they wwould look into the snuffles problem but at the moment it is still on going.

I hope he's better soon

Abbie x

Aww poor you and bunny. Hope he gets better soon! xxx

Oh poor bun and you, If i were you I'd go get him asap.

My friend just had a very horrid experience with P@H and a rabbit from there.

Good luck xxx

Good luck, poor wee bun xx

I got Dillion from pets at home. He had a snotty nose when i got him, They kept him in for a week in isolation. He died about a year later, When i phoned them up to complain they told me to bring his body back for a exchange or refund, When i told them no and that i had already buried it the lady on the phone said "oh thats fine you can still bring it back" i was horrified.

Michelle82 said:

I am seriously considering collecting him and taking him to my own vets but wanted some advice before I charge in like a bull in a china shop!!

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Hi! Have you decided whether you are going to collect him from P@H yet? I think I would if I were you reading this thread and listening to other people P@H seems to have quite a bad reputation.

Hope everything goes ok and he gets well soon!xx

Gingypig said:

Oh poor bun and you, If i were you I'd go get him asap.

My friend just had a very horrid experience with P@H and a rabbit from there.

Good luck xxx

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Same thing happened to a close work colleague. She didnt see her bunny again

Hi

I think you should take the rabbit to your own vet. I sounds that the "vets" at P@H are acting more on behalf of the store rather than in the welfare of the animal.

Oh, don't get me started!!!!!

I would go and get your bunny out of there and fast and insist that they pay your own vet bills. He was ill when sold - simple as that and he's yours now not theirs. You can battle with them later, after you get your bun treated properly.

My bun had snuffles when we bought him from there - still has it and can't get rid of it and is riddled with problems related to it. We were too naive in the beginning when we bought him - we should have done more research but, hey ho, here we are today - a lot wiser and a whole lot more worse off financially!!! :?

There are heaps of people on here who will help you fight your corner should you need any advice. Please keep us updated. I hope bun is feeling better.

Well I have spoken to the manager today and aired my thoughts he was very apologetic and when bobby is looked at again today he will personally call me back with further info. I spoke to my vets who have said without seeing him they cant say what action they would take so will keep you updated

Oh by the way I mentioned to him the lack of staff knowledge and he reckons they have a training manual that they follow but have a couple of new people and it may have been them and you cant train everything at once, which working somewhere like I do I understand that but you wouldnt let them do it together without a senior staff member present would you! Common sense is whats needed!

And I mentioned the fact that not once, twice but three times they offered to swap bunnies he said the customer comes first but apologised if I felt offend by them doing it so often. I personally would have thought in a pet shop the pets come first?!

The I mentioned the mites he reckons they check them everyday and this one must have 'slip thru the net'! I dont think so it was an obvious mite problem but he has stated they dont have a mite problem and that he must have come in with them, fair enough but as he was living in the shop with other bunnies how can he be sure that they are all mite free?

Oh I could go on!! waiting for my phone call then will update you.

Ps thanks for the replies nice to meet you all!:wave:

Hey I work at a vets within a pets at home. At lot of the pets at home bunnies either get bloat, snuffles or abscesses. There always seems to be something wrong. But we've always looked after the sick bunnies at the vets, not in the petshop's isolation unit. Normally with pets at home paying the bill. Your bunny should be getting good advice and care if it's at the vets (although every vets is different). At our vets, owners are able to come visit their animals daily if they want. The only policy in place is that we do a free nurse check within a week of purchase. Personally, I think there should be a policy where all the animals go to the vets for regular health checks to try and prevent these problems. Really hope your bunny gets better and that they pay for everything. The more assertive but professional you are, the more you should get out of them. Good luck!

Well a miracle has occured P@H rang up earlier after bobby had his daily check and his nose is clear and they checked his chest etc and all lovely so he is home!! yay! The manager couldnt explain the u turn since yesterday but I will hopefully get him into my vets monday and get him checked I also advised the manager I was doing this and if any problems I would be contacting him. I wondered if they were trying to keep him in to be on the safe side?

Anyway he looks well and his mites are clearing up he has baby soft fur where it was patchy and he is still lovely to hold he likes to snuggle under your chin I will post a pic soon.

We also got him a hutch hugger to keep the drafts of and filled his hutch with lots of yummy meadow hay and he is pigging loads and has def grown in the past week

Glad you've got him home safe and sound.

Phew thank goodness you got him x

Glad bunny is ok.

I know ill probably get shouted down for this but I must stick up for my pets@home store AND instore vet. Before I got any bunnies I went to a local vet with my dog, they were expensive and very rude always refering to my little yorkie as a rat on a lead!!!:evil: but they did seem a good vet and we didnt know of any other local one so stuck with them, then a companion care vets opened in the pets@home store near my husbands work and we went in for a look, they showed us round the practise and showed us the operating rooms and where sick animals were kept etc, we ended up switching to them and we couldnt be happier, even my dog prefers them as she now runs into the vet and wags her tail at them where before she would sit down as soon as weapproached our other vet and refuse to move, having to carry her in the end. As for the store my first bunny Petey came from there (before i knew about rescues or this forum) Petey is now 2 1/2 yrs old and very fit and healthy, he has never been to the vet since we got him except for his injections, So id like to say that while there does seem to be some bad stores and vets out there it doesnt apply to the whole chain.