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Why do we bother with homechecks?

donna-arc

Mama Doe
I know we have to check where our bunnies are going but just because you go and visit someone and they show you their lovely new big hutch and agree with everything you say about feeding, vaccinations etc - it doesn't mean that they will actually bother to clean that lovely new hutch or take their rabbits to the vet......

When we homechecked for Paula and Trevor we came away saying 'that's the best home we've ever seen'. Two years later back come Paula and Trevor and two more neglected bunnies you have never seen. Nails that were curling back into their feet, eye infections, mites, Paula's teeth growing out of her head and she was so fat that she couldn't clean herself - she was caked in poo.

Then today I was told about another 'really lovely' home that two of our rabbits went to. She phoned our vet saying she was worried that her rabbits were dehydrated. She'd left them for four days alone and when she came back all the extra water she'd left them had gone! You can't leave rabbits alone that long - anything could have happened!
So it doesn't matter that they live in a super shed with an attached run and on the homevisit we talk about holiday care.

I despair, I really do, but what more can we do to safeguard that these poor little mites end up in a truely good home?
 
Gosh :? I have no ideas unless you start drawing up contracts about levels of care etc... but I don't know how that could/would work.

Sorry you are having troubles :( Such a shame that people don't understand the needs of animals.... water is hardly something that is difficult to sort out :roll:
 
Thats awful :(

At least I know that my animals get looked after here. I'm even careful about who looks after them while I'm away.
My friend left someone we know to look after her cat for 4 days and he forgot!! :)evil:) he lived 10 doors away and he forgot about the cat, the poor thing had no food or water all that time. :( My friend went mental when she came home.

I don't understand why people don't give up their animals before it gets out of control. :censored:
 
you cna sadly only do your best at least by homechecking then you have met the owners and have seen state of any exsisting animals and of accomodatino that you hope will be used so i think it is the best you can do for now sadly it seems in these 2 cases not to have been enough but you can only do what you can mayb stay in touch with owners have yearly updates by photos etc? as a promise of care?
 
Oh what a shame to hear things like that ...i do wonder how on earth people can neglet animals like that when its blatently obvious that they are totally dependant on humans.

I just think some people simply don't have common sense though goodness knows how you can make sure prospective 'adoptive parents' will carry on being caring......maybe a crystal ball?
 
I know we have to check where our bunnies are going but just because you go and visit someone and they show you their lovely new big hutch and agree with everything you say about feeding, vaccinations etc - it doesn't mean that they will actually bother to clean that lovely new hutch or take their rabbits to the vet......

When we homechecked for Paula and Trevor we came away saying 'that's the best home we've ever seen'. Two years later back come Paula and Trevor and two more neglected bunnies you have never seen. Nails that were curling back into their feet, eye infections, mites, Paula's teeth growing out of her head and she was so fat that she couldn't clean herself - she was caked in poo.

Then today I was told about another 'really lovely' home that two of our rabbits went to. She phoned our vet saying she was worried that her rabbits were dehydrated. She'd left them for four days alone and when she came back all the extra water she'd left them had gone! You can't leave rabbits alone that long - anything could have happened!
So it doesn't matter that they live in a super shed with an attached run and on the homevisit we talk about holiday care.

I despair, I really do, but what more can we do to safeguard that these poor little mites end up in a truely good home?

Oh god Donna :shock: :? :cry:

I am on such a short fuse at the mo' so its just aswell I am not on the frontline for ARC........ :? :oops:

I honestly think that some people start off with good intentions but then 'life' happens and Rabbits become 'just Rabbits'........ :cry: :evil:

I cant understand how anyone could allow a Bun to get into such a state.

:cry:

Janex
 
I think I have been lucky with the homes I have let fostered buns go to. I have been really lucky. Lets hope it is own a small proportion who go on to neglect their buns. :cry:
 
Sadly people are very good at lying and deceipt. Some people also have no idea of common sense. You can't foresee that, it's just an extremely sad fact of life :(
 
I think I have been lucky with the homes I have let fostered buns go to. I have been really lucky. Lets hope it is own a small proportion who go on to neglect their buns. :cry:

You are right - it is a small proportion who neglect the buns we home with them.
The majority of people keep in touch and send updates and photos for years to come - and then come back to us again when they are looking for another new bunny.
I mustn't feel I'm letting our rabbits down when I find out things like this - we home about 500 animals a year and must remember the majority are very loved and well cared for - I have to remember that (but it does make me feel bad!)
 
Donna I am so sorry to hear this. What can you do if you have told folks everything you know and done your best to weed out the unsuitable candidates?

Seems it's not that unusual either. We had a pair returned to GF that Lorna distinctly remembered having the 'situations changing when you get pregnant' conversation with this particular couple and they agreed to everything. A year or so later, the two delicious ladies ended up being brought back in - because the girl got pregnant and she'd been told it would be too much for her to have to do the rabbits. They came back in with a completely useless hutch, shavings, muesli etal. Everything that they had been told wasn't suitable. Sadly both of the ladies had also had EC.

I despair. But, you can only do your best can't you and as the saying goes, you can take a horse to water but you can't.....blah blah.

I wish I could have Paula and Trevor!
 
Aww this saddened me :( I'm thinking the only way that this could stop happening would be to either follow up with another home check after a length of time-which I know is unreasonable...esp as you have to homecheck for the 500+ you rehome initially a year!Or stricter laws for the protection of rabbits be introduced where by the contract between rescue and adoptee is a legally binding contract meaning that,by law,the rabbit has to be cared for appropriately etc xx
 
I mustn't feel I'm letting our rabbits down when I find out things like this - we home about 500 animals a year and must remember the majority are very loved and well cared for - I have to remember that (but it does make me feel bad!)

You definitely mustn't feel bad, you rescues do a fab job and your success rates because of homechecks must far exceed those of all other places who supply animals.
I think it would be very difficult, nigh impossible to remain in touch with every person you re-home to, especially as rescues are underfunded and staffed and therefore stretched at the best of times. Sadly once the reality of owning rabbits kicks in (and the novelty of buying a hutch and all the paraphernalia has worn off) some people will lose interest.
If you ever have enough staff, perhaps a repeat home-visit at 6 months or so into the adoption might help?
Claire x
 
thats just shocking.. :cry::cry::cry::cry:

the only way to stop it would be to stop rehoming which isnt an option.. i hope that these people are the minority..

i guess you could specify spot visits no warning just turning up for the rest of the rabbits life (landlords do it for houses).. even if you never carry them out the people cant adopt unless they agree...

id love for Lou to come to my home (or even the homechecker) just to see how happy pearl is with us, the threat of a check may make the small minority stop and think before they neglect the little angels theyve promised to love forever
 
It must be frustrating and disappointing Donna. Because rescue rabbits have already had previous homes, one hopes that the next will be so wonderful for them. At least they found their way back to you after it being unsuitable.
 
I'm so sorry you've had such awful experiences. Please don't blame yourself though. To cheer you up, I just took a couple of pictures of the lovely Rocket as we were cleaning them out (so sorry it looks a little grubby - we were halfway through! :oops:).

fourbuns1.jpg


fourbuns3.jpg


AMETHYST
 
unfortunatly we have also learnt the hard way once or twice that people DO lie .....Hutch size certainly isnt everything :(

re homing is based on a HUGE amount of trust and judgement on our part ...and sometimes we are bound to get it wrong :( :(
 
That must be upsetting and very frustrating, but I don't think you can do any more than you already do - you do a great job, and as has been said already, luckily it's only a very small proportion of new homes which will prove problematic :(
 
I have to say, this is one of the reasons we stopped fostering, even though the charity did homechecks, 2 rabbits caught myxi (because the owners didn't vaccinate ( 2 different homes) and 2 guinea pigs were taken by a fox the night they were rehomed. I was the final straw for us and we decided to stop and the animals that now come here- stay.
I don't think you can ever win because people will always lie, often I think they want to do something good and rescue an animal, but can't cope when the animals has "issues" and so neglect it.
I applaude the people who rescue and put in the time to do homechecks, at least this way you weed out the obvious baddies. We have said we want any of our fosters, if they come back to the charity, to come and stay with us forever. We now take in animals who cannot be rehomed elsewhere.
 
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