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Rescues doing home visits

Sky-O

Wise Old Thumper
I do home visits for the RSPCA and know that all RSPCAs do that. From what I can work out most rescues do them too, but do all? What if a rescue didn't?
 
I think it very much depends on the rescue - some will ask for photos of the accommodation, others will ask for a vet reference (which may well tell you that the owner vaccinates and visits the vet, but doesn't tell you anything about their living accommodation), others will have a detailed chat with you, and others will do nothing. The rescue I got Harry from let me take him and a female bunny home, both unneutered, on the day I turned up, without checking anything about where they were going.

Having said that, my former neighbours had an RSPCA homecheck for a rabbit...they pointed over the fence and said they were going to keep it like I keep mine. The rabbit they subsequently adopted spent its entire life, alone, hormonal and miserable in a 3ft hutch because she was "a cow" and scratched them when they tried to pick her up and put her in a run. A homecheck is only as good as the person doing the checking!
 
I am currently looking for a mrs for my rabbit and the whole process has been very long and drawn out. I believe some centres make it so difficult and that really puts people off. Of course the rabbits best intrest should be always the main issue, but homechecks are not a sure way of checkng someone. having a ticklist doesnt make sure the rabbit will be looked after. I believe if a person has made the effort to want to take in a needy rabbit that should be a very big plus point. Afterall it is often cheaper and easier to just walk into a pet shop and pick one up. Most rescues charge "donations".
Often the best way of finding out if the rabbits new parents are genuine is to chat t them at some length and gently educate them aswell.
 
I sort of agree - but I have also spoken to some people who genuinely seem absolutely ideal, but when I've actually gone round to visit I've been like :shock:

The person who was going to adopt Chloe from me had several other rabbits, was an experienced owner, she had a good vet, she talked a good talk, she talked about her rabbits having large, clean accommodation and free time for running around. When I visited, she had a giant - and I mean a giant giant - in a 4ft hutch with 4ft run...

Also the fact that someone has sought out a rescue doesn't necessarily mean they are suitable. Rescues have learnt from years of experience that you can't make the assumption that someone looking out a rescue should be a big plus point. Some people go to rescues because they assume it will be cheaper. Yes some people need educating, and that's exactly why the process can take time. If someone wants an instant rabbit and isn't prepared to wait a reasonable amount of time for a rescue to be able to arrange a homecheck etc, then they're quite possibly not the right owner.

Ultimately, the rabbits can't speak for themselves so the rescues have to do whatever they are able, to ensure the bunnies go to a great home.
 
I do home visits for the RSPCA and know that all RSPCAs do that. From what I can work out most rescues do them too, but do all? What if a rescue didn't?

i have 3 buns from rspca in doncaster and all i had to do was fill in a questionaire,asking about living area size, and who looks after then then your away etc, they dont do home visits for buns, not enough staff:(
 
Often the best way of finding out if the rabbits new parents are genuine is to chat t them at some length and gently educate them aswell.


I do agree with this. Many times people have wanted to adopt a gerbil from us and their idea of a large tank isnt the same as ours. I think a lot of the time its just people dont realise what they actually need. We normally explain to them in a friendly way what the gerbils actually do require and how we can support and help them in order to achieve this. I find that most of the time they are grateful to learn and will be more likely to adopt one of our animals. I think this way they are less likely to go elsewhere. Even if they do go elsewhere we still offer them help and support as our interests lie with any gerbil - not just our own - health and wellbeing.
 
Also the fact that someone has sought out a rescue doesn't necessarily mean they are suitable. Rescues have learnt from years of experience that you can't make the assumption that someone looking out a rescue should be a big plus point. Some people go to rescues because they assume it will be cheaper. Yes some people need educating, and that's exactly why the process can take time. If someone wants an instant rabbit and isn't prepared to wait a reasonable amount of time for a rescue to be able to arrange a homecheck etc, then they're quite possibly not the right owner.

Ultimately, the rabbits can't speak for themselves so the rescues have to do whatever they are able, to ensure the bunnies go to a great home.

Agreed they should only have to wait a "reasonable" amount of time.
Your right the rescues must ensure the rabbits go to a great home after all thats the whole idea to "rehome" so the rabbit can live out its life in a happy surrounding.

I am only speaking from experience and from a personal point of view thats why i assumed people approaching rescues would mostly have the rabbits best intrest in mind.

Intresting topic :D
 
I also agree that home visits show up things that a chat won't do. I tend to try and sit and have a chat when I do the home visits. I often get told info that helps us make our decision, and I completely agree that a chat is really useful and very important. I also put together an adoption pack of the issues that crop up the most and give that to any prospective adopter.

We had a guy who appeared to be great, but then when it came to the home visit he wanted to put two buns (one small, one middle sized) in a 3ft by 2 ft hutch. Nope, no thank you.
 
I rescued one of Chloe's fatfluffs and it all happened amazing fast... one day i was thinking now Spice is speyed she may like a husbun..... next i see Ozzy on the FatFluffs website and get slightly tempted.... so i PM Chloe and a homecheck is arranged :D

I live too far away from Chloe but using the RU forum she found Sue and Katie who live a 5 min walk away from me! So got to meet some local RUers and had a great morning 'rabbit-chatting' haha and they got to see the house and meet the petting zoo that seems to be forming... A couple of hours later i got the message of Chloe saying i could come see Ozzy and bring Spice and see if they get on, whens the best time etc etc.

I was already over excited so when i said im free tomorrow and she said thats great i thought i was gonna die from excitement haha So we took Spice up for a little road trip on new years eve and came back with two! It must have only take a week at the most! hehe (i am slightly rabbit mad if no-ones picked up on this already!!)


I think home checks are great so you can meet the people, the housing is then a bit of a bonus if all is well. I had a (very :oops:) too small cage for Spice before I came to this forum and I was still using it when i was homechecked but I showed them the reciept for the cage i was waiting to arrive and luckily all was good! I'm glad Chloe and the fatfluffs team were so understanding and trusting coz im sure some homecheckers may have seen spices cage and give me a straight no :( then i would have missed out on worlds most bouncy-cheeky-lovable-annoying-clever-gorgeous-pain in the butt-amazing-2nd best bunny in the world! (sadly little Spice just pips him as best rabbit ever coz i had her first :p hehe but he's a whisker away from the title!!)
 
I rescued one of Chloe's fatfluffs and it all happened amazing fast... one day i was thinking now Spice is speyed she may like a husbun..... next i see Ozzy on the FatFluffs website and get slightly tempted.... so i PM Chloe and a homecheck is arranged :D

I live too far away from Chloe but using the RU forum she found Sue and Katie who live a 5 min walk away from me! So got to meet some local RUers and had a great morning 'rabbit-chatting' haha and they got to see the house and meet the petting zoo that seems to be forming... A couple of hours later i got the message of Chloe saying i could come see Ozzy and bring Spice and see if they get on, whens the best time etc etc.

I was already over excited so when i said im free tomorrow and she said thats great i thought i was gonna die from excitement haha So we took Spice up for a little road trip on new years eve and came back with two! It must have only take a week at the most! hehe (i am slightly rabbit mad if no-ones picked up on this already!!)


I think home checks are great so you can meet the people, the housing is then a bit of a bonus if all is well. I had a (very :oops:) too small cage for Spice before I came to this forum and I was still using it when i was homechecked but I showed them the reciept for the cage i was waiting to arrive and luckily all was good! I'm glad Chloe and the fatfluffs team were so understanding and trusting coz im sure some homecheckers may have seen spices cage and give me a straight no :( then i would have missed out on worlds most bouncy-cheeky-lovable-annoying-clever-gorgeous-pain in the butt-amazing-2nd best bunny in the world! (sadly little Spice just pips him as best rabbit ever coz i had her first :p hehe but he's a whisker away from the title!!)


Well done Fat Fluffs:D

Your so true I had my homecheck and got to meet a fantastic RU member !!
 
I do home visits for the RSPCA and know that all RSPCAs do that. From what I can work out most rescues do them too, but do all? What if a rescue didn't?

Sorry, have to disagree with you, not all RSPCA's do home checks
 
Our local rescue centre doesn't home check, it also doesn't vaccinate or neuter its rabbits :( And this is a big rescue centre, that handles a really large amount of anumals
 
I got my male rabbit from a rescue centre (I rescued the female - my first -from a friend). The rescue centre made me fill out a very long questionnaire and send photos of my accommodation plus we had a talk over the phone and another one in person. I would imagine those people who aren't serious would get bored after the first 10 questions and find another place, not least because pet-shops are cheaper! :evil:

Having said that, there is no real substitute for a full home-check.
 
I rescued one of Chloe's fatfluffs and it all happened amazing fast... one day i was thinking now Spice is speyed she may like a husbun..... next i see Ozzy on the FatFluffs website and get slightly tempted.... so i PM Chloe and a homecheck is arranged :D

I live too far away from Chloe but using the RU forum she found Sue and Katie who live a 5 min walk away from me! So got to meet some local RUers and had a great morning 'rabbit-chatting' haha and they got to see the house and meet the petting zoo that seems to be forming... A couple of hours later i got the message of Chloe saying i could come see Ozzy and bring Spice and see if they get on, whens the best time etc etc.

I was already over excited so when i said im free tomorrow and she said thats great i thought i was gonna die from excitement haha So we took Spice up for a little road trip on new years eve and came back with two! It must have only take a week at the most! hehe (i am slightly rabbit mad if no-ones picked up on this already!!)


I think home checks are great so you can meet the people, the housing is then a bit of a bonus if all is well. I had a (very :oops:) too small cage for Spice before I came to this forum and I was still using it when i was homechecked but I showed them the reciept for the cage i was waiting to arrive and luckily all was good! I'm glad Chloe and the fatfluffs team were so understanding and trusting coz im sure some homecheckers may have seen spices cage and give me a straight no :( then i would have missed out on worlds most bouncy-cheeky-lovable-annoying-clever-gorgeous-pain in the butt-amazing-2nd best bunny in the world! (sadly little Spice just pips him as best rabbit ever coz i had her first :p hehe but he's a whisker away from the title!!)

can i add that being the one who did this homecheck that spice teh rabbit in question is a tiny tiny rabbit which is hard to see she is smaller than ayour average nethie adn actually the case wasnt as small for spice as it would have been for other rabbits tho it wasnt big enough spice is not actually in the cage for much of the time either as has free access to the living room..... also she had the reciept of the new cage to show me and esplained how they would be bieing joined if at all possible to make a new one. if i hadnt have gone to see the cages.. i woudl have said no... i also woudlnt have realised how passionate sam is about her rabbits or how they really live... as in how much play time they get how perfect the "rabbits living room" lol was for them no wires etc whcih can be hard to see on photos. so ideally a homecheck is needed so that things cna be explianed adn shown how they really are. x
 
I do home visits for the RSPCA and know that all RSPCAs do that. From what I can work out most rescues do them too, but do all? What if a rescue didn't?

The rescue that my bridge bun Munchie came from didn't ''home-check'' me. I didn't have to fill in any forms or sign anything. I was just asked if I had a hutch.
 
hehe you definatly got see how "bunny mad" me and Sarah have become hehe :D :D The living room is still the rabbit area but it is alot messier now with spare cages piled up after me and my friend (the one who has the g. pigs who wasn't here when u came round) have upgraded to larger set ups :D :D The pigs and hamster are back upstairs too, i miss them as I don't see them as much but they all defiantly are having way to much of our hard earned money spent on them :lol::lol::lol::lol: typical! hehe I keep going on ebay or going into pet shops and being like now I know they don't need this but...... nearly every time I come back with something else!! need to restrain myself.

((sorry ive moved off topic!!))

I think homechecks are vital, especially has ive been re-reminded about how some animals may go to homes to be food for other animals. :cry:
 
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