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Pets at Home Adoption centre - very worried. Update - sorted :)

prettylupin

Wise Old Thumper
My local P@H is very good, good size high-sided pens and correct info being given out, but the adoption centre is often a worry :(

I really don't understand how it works.... can anyone explain?
I'm busy with exams at the moment but just popped in for some bird food and now feeling rather upset with my discovery. I caught sight of a beautiful silver lop in the adoption centre with her two companion guinea pigs :roll: Sign says... although we should not live together we are and would like to stay together.

Anyway, my immediate concern was her breathing (Assuming she was female.... huge dewlap) She was quite wasted in appearance despite her dewlap and was having difficulty breathing - there was a very audible wheeze even in a noisy shop and she was lifting her head and flaring her nostrils. I called a member of staff over who rather aggressively informed they already knew and she....er...um.... had a vet appointment this afternoon! (Of course she does! :roll:) I explained she appeared to have a respiratory infection and was in some distress and needed to see a vet urgently.
It is only since leaving it has dawned on me that....if she is female (and the 4 yrs it stated) then her wasting is more likely due to metastatic adenocarcinoma of the uterus in her lungs :( Poor bunny :cry:
I didn't get very far with the member of staff, she was very dismissive, so I told her I would email head office with my complaint. The issue of rabbit + 2 guineapigs fell on deaf ears.
I really don't understand how the adoption centres work? She kept saying they come from the adoption charity and nothing to do with us? Do they come from an outside rescue then? I can't imagine any rescue putting her up for adoption in that state.

I have had several emails with head office over this in the past - I still do not understand how it works. I wish I had insisted she see a vet immediately and refuse to leave until she did.
 
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Hi, I thought the adoption centre was just filled by pets they had sold that are returned, unable to be kept sort of thing, or sometimes others are given in to them/left on the doorstep. I don't know if any go there from "rescues" - it would appear unlikely.

I think if you are very worried and you don't think a vets appointment is on the cards for her maybe a call to the RSPCA could be in order - maybe an officer would be in the area and take a look.
 
Actually, just realised, doesn't Sue from Southampton Rabbit Rescue work as a vet nurse at the Companion Care at the back of the Southampton store? I know they are totally separate companies... but wondering if she could take an unethical sneaky peak at this bun as she walks through the store? Maybe she would know if she was seen as promised? Does anyone know her member name and if she is on RU? I hate to bother her... I know how busy she must be at this time of the year running her rescue.
 
The ones in the adoption centre are sometimes animals that have not been sold or have been fighting or have a certain problem etc. Also members of public may hand in unwanted animals and they go in the adoption section too.
I know that they DO take in rescue animals to rehome in the shop but thats only if the rescue agree as they offered to do this for me for my gerbil rehome to which i declined as no homechecks etc are done and i prefer to oversee this kind of thing myself. They said if i dont have space they would do it but i dont every not have space as i only take on what i can manage.

It may be the case that they ARE going to take the bun to the vet - but it may be a good idea like you say to check at head office or with the RSPCA etc that it is the truth.
 
It may be the case that they ARE going to take the bun to the vet - but it may be a good idea like you say to check at head office or with the RSPCA etc that it is the truth.

Yes I agree, they are in general a very good store and may of course take her. I was just so concerned about her state of health, and find the staff a bit dismissive and aggressive so it was hard to get a sense of what was going to happen. I find the manager particularly difficult to deal with from past experience so would avoid speaking to him in person. You'd think they'd be grateful that their customers are the sort to give a damn and say thank you! I tried to be as tactful and apologetic as possible.
 
our local one has the rats that were babies on the day it opened and didnt sell:cry:,they also have a bearded dragon which was returned.I doubt any proper rescues want their animals in such tiny glass cages??
 
Well it appears it is all sorted :)

I decided to ring the P@H main 0800 number and spoke to someone on the phone about it all. She was very good, rang the store for me and then called me back. Apparently a vet nurse has been to have a look at her and she has an appointment with the vet at 3pm. Vet nurse agrees it is a respiratory infection in appearance but needs vet to confirm. (If she is an uspayed doe my suspicions are that it is even more serious than this :()

She definitely phoned them - as when she called me back she also mentioned the guniea pig issue.... :oops: no doubt store staff been having a good rant about the 'difficult customer' :oops: I shall have to go in in disguise from now on to do my shopping! She stated that it is not P@H policy for them to be together but it seemed the best option in these circumstances (had always been together) but said they would look into an alternative for this group.

Frankly, I'm just pleased this bun is being seen by a vet in a few hours time. I hope she is ok. I have a feeling they hadn't spotted it but fortunately I did and she is now being seen. Honestly, they could save themselves so much trouble if they were as polite and helpful as the lady on the phone at customer services.... she was great. If the store staff had put my mind at rest like that I wouldn't have needed to phone up customer services at all!
Phew.... can relax now about poor silver bun. :)
 
I would go back in and if she is still in that state ask to speak to the manager :?

I spoke to two members of staff. Sadly the manager is just not approachable - if he was as approachable as the lady I just spoke to I would have done. :) I just didn't have the energy for confrontation today.
 
The good thing is you cared enough to check. It could easily have gone un treated so you were making sure that didnt happen. Well done :D
 
Well well done to you for taking the trouble to make an issue of it. If you hadn't, that poor little bun wouldn't be getting to see the vet for treatment.
 
I think it's great you made a fuss about the poor bunny. I have a bunny adopted from pets at home.. She was apparently from a breeder. She was so thin her entire rib cage stuck out and she had a severely twisted broken toe - which apparently none of the staff had noticed :roll: she also had a metal ring around her leg which was so tight it was nearly cutting into her flesh - also apparently not noticed by staff.

I'm not saying all pets at home stores are bad but my local one is apalling at times.
 
Both my buns are from the pets at home adoption center.

LOLA because they wouldn't sell her 'normally' due to the fact that she sneezes and the vet didn't know why (as far as I can tell it was a slight allergy to being shut up on sawdust all day)

RAMBO because no one had bought him whilst he was still small and cute and certainly no one wanted him when the next batch of small and cute were brought in.

I wasn't particularly looking for a bunny either time, but I love my babies to pieces, and can't imagine being without them. I know it's silly but I couldn't leave them there :(
 
Animals in adoption centre are ones that people have brought in, I have been in store a few times and people have brought animals in to rehome whilst I've been there, and the majority aren't babies. In some cases there are also older bunnies that they've tried to sell from young buns but had no success. :(
 
That is the store that had an overweight bun in with clumps of hard faeces hanging and stuck to her bottom. I complained and they said they'd sort it straight away :?
 
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