Rescue centre rehoming policies and children?

is it fairly common for rescue centres not to allow rehomes to families with children under 4?
its just i was told today that i would have no luck in getting a rescue friend for Diego, but i dont want to have to wait another 3 years as i think Diego is quite lonely.

i think it depends on the family... what they may have meant is they will not rehome as a pet for the child... which is fair comment.

HAWT rehome to suitable families, but would never rehome if there was any inkling that the parent was not going to take responsibility for the pet x

I can see the sense in that policy, both children and animals take a lot of care, only children are louder lol so are less likely to be "left out" if life becomes a bit hectic.

I don't think it's usually a problem with most rabbit rescues as long as the adult/s take full responsibility for the care, and the children aren't allowed to handle the rabbit/s without supervision.

I can understand the policy, esp as i know what its like to have 4 noisy little monkeys, and agree with it in most cases, but i just hope Diego wont be left alone because of it.

I can remember being young and always wanting this pet and that, i loved animals around me and i could never understand why my parents said no... i do now! its taken me to grow up to realise just how much care and attention that a pet requires, and for that reason a child shouldnt be left full responsibility for any animal, its just not fair to the animal.
my children are all 'special helpers' so that they can learn and love whilst being fully under my supervision and guidance, and at the end of the day i am the main carer

I tried to rehome a cat from our local shelter right before I got Smirnoff, but we were rejected the second they found out my brothers and sister were under 16 so I got Smirnoff from an unwanted litter. If I remember rightly they said the cats we have in are not suited to homes with children and its not our policy to rehome families with children. Which I guess I understand

We contacted them again about two years ago after when there was an appeal in the local paper by them to find a home for a beautiful cat who had lost two legs But was told she couldnt be rehomed to a home with other cats, and that they didnt have any cats in suitable for rehoming with other cats. Tried again a few months later to see if they had any cats who would be ok to try with Smirnoff and was told no again We tried again last year and were told again we could not rehome a cat because my brother was only 13. So we got Hunter who was just a free to a good home that we heard about in the pub Then I was guilt tripped on here because I didnt go to a rescue :roll:

They let me rehome my bunny Beau though no problem, which I guess is because he isnt just running around the house like a cat would and even though my brother wasnt over 16 he would actually have to go out of his way to go outside and see Beau which he wouldnt do :lol:

All you can do is keep trying different places and explain the rabbit isnt going to be a childs pet and they will never be left with your child unspervised. I have two children and have recently taken on a new rabbit from a rescue center. My little boy has nothing to do with my rabbits except look at them because he is so young my dd however is very keen to help me clean out and loves sitting in with them while I clean them and letting Milo jump on her. (Hes my bravest and loves climbing on your back so you cant move :lol I totally understand places having a no child poilicy as it is a big worry it will end up an unwanted childs pet but if you expain and ask for a home check to back things up you should get somewhere. And remember bunny runs can be arranged if need be so you can go further a field. Good luck.

Edit:Both my children are under 5

Different rescues have different policies, so it might be worth "shopping around". Was it a blanket rule for all their adoptions - normally this is just aimed at dogs?

I worked for the RSPCA and they were happy to rehome to familiys with children - arent children meant to grow up knowing how to love and care for pets?:?

I don't have a problem rehoming with children as long as the parent is aware they have to do most of the care

elaine said:

I don't have a problem rehoming with children as long as the parent is aware they have to do most of the care

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thanks
its just that i was told by a 'friend' so thought i would ask on here

As long as the person in question doesnt suggest their child be the sole carer and does all, i havent got a problem with rehoming with children.

As others have said really.

All rescues are different.

Ive owned rats for 11+ years and had a 6 month break when our last girl died. I decided as learnt on interent to adopt from a rescue and got turned down, reason "not enough experience" (at this time I had been rat keeping 9 years) :shock:

I got my rats from pet rescue forum in a homing section. Down the line I now rescue and foster myself :lol:

I know rescues have a strict policy when children have behavioural problems, but again I think that needs assesing and looking into as my eldest son is Aspbergers, ODD and LD. I have raised my children like mentioned above as "special helpers" and they have important roles in animal care in our house as to learn responsabilty. They also see alot of the rats, mice and dogs come in to me in horrendous conditions of neglect so they have learnt alot of proper care and how animals can suffer. They also help in rehabilitation and observe medical nursing care.

i honestly believe every family is different if the home is for a house rabbit and the children run around screaming constantly and are really wild and lunge at the rabbits then obviously this is not a suitable home...however if the children respect the animals..ie go up to them quietly or area always supervsed and of course the parent should be main care er then i dont see the problem? its all about learning we have to learn somewhere i learnt about looking after pets through many books tv shows but mostly from my mum letting me help take care of our rabbits she always called them my pets but she honestly did most of the work... i did feed them tho under supervision often and as i got older was allowed more responsibbility x

our Fat fluffs rehomed a few days ago to a family with kids (although both over 4). I think for us it would very much depend on the situation. If there was already a rabbit in the house which was well looked after then that would be a definate plus. If not but the parents were fully aware of the commitment they were taking on and were willing to put in the work if needed then we'd consider it. The only thing that might concern me is very small kid say of 3 or under when the rabbit is a house rabbit. I would worry a little because the kid might not understand the rules of giving the rabbit some space and could hurt themselves by trying to pick it up & also rabbits have very little respect for human space...for example I have just had a rabbit sitting on my head. Very amusing but if I was smaller his claws could damaged and/or he could cause difficulty breathing.

I'd definately say it's worth checking out the rescue on rabbit rehome and if you see a bun you like, drop them an e-mail or give them a ring & explain your situation, the home that the buns would be in & your experience with rabbit keeping. Hopefully they should give you a reasonable yey/neh over the phone before proceeding with homechecks and so on.

We have cats and rabbits and my son is 2. He is never with the rabbits unsupervised and he is very good with them and we (husband and I) do all the care for our rabbits - and if I do say so myself they are very spoiled little buns!

However I think things should be judged on a case by case basis rather than a blanket rule.

Something provocative I am compelled to say: Why is it not a requirement that you are veggie to adopt a rabbit? My family are veggie and PLEASE let me say I dont have a problem with meat eaters AT ALL. But it seems slightly incongruous that you can have an animal that you would in theory eat, but not if you have a child who you are raising to be an animal lover. Just my opinion but I dont want to cause offense to anyone.

senatorvass said:

Something provocative I am compelled to say: Why is it not a requirement that you are veggie to adopt a rabbit? My family are veggie and PLEASE let me say I dont have a problem with meat eaters AT ALL. But it seems slightly incongruous that you can have an animal that you would in theory eat, but not if you have a child who you are raising to be an animal lover. Just my opinion but I dont want to cause offense to anyone.

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Why are veggies/vegans allowed to have carnivorous animals as pets?

Because love is love, whatever you eat.

I have never ate a rabbit, never would but I am a meat eater. Don't see why those who love animals and do eat meat shouldn't be able to adopt. Imagine how many animals would be in shelters then?

I fought for Harvey, he is from the RSPCA my youngest is 4 in February and I got Harvey in June. They said that I couldn't have him at first but I said look, come and see my set up, how well behaved my daughter is with all the animals and I am the sole carer. They agreed thankfully.

I think every case is different. More animals could be rehomed to loving families, I understand about the child issue but not all children are unruly.

sorry I never said or meant meat eaters couldnt have pets! I know love is love - I also personally have MANY friends and family who are meat eaters and are wonderful pet owners (or slaves as it were)

I was making the point that there are a lot of criteria that you can judge a suitable home for an animal by. Making the blanket statement that families with young children cant have pets is as absurd as saying families who eat meat cant have pets. It should be judged on a case by case, sensible basis.

Although most of us on here probably do not eat rabbit whether they are veggie or not I do actually know people who have had rabbits for pets AND eaten rabbit and indeed ate a family pet when they no longer wanted it. (This happened back in the 60's - so things were different then - I know a member of the family)

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and our Rabbits are all from rescues, I simply tell them that the animals are mine not the childrens. I let my 4 year old put fresh food,water and bedding into a cleaned hutch so he learns from an early age how much time and effort is involved, he enjoys helping me but knows he can't pick them up.