Permanent sanctuary or rehome? Dilemma

I sometimes take in sick rabbits who would otherwise die or be PTS. A number of these rabbits have made full recoveries and are in good health.

My dilemma is that if I keep all of these rabbits I'm going to reach a point where I can't take any more sick rabbits...OTOH I'm reluctant to rehome because they have often had bad lives previously and I'm not sure it's fair to keep moving them from home to home. And I'm aware that in the case of illnesses like URIs, problems are likely to crop up again further down the line...and I'm not sure it's fair to land new owners with this potential problem.

Any thoughts? :?

:wave:
We've got this dilemma. We have 11 permanent special needs buns and in effect they mean that we can't take in 11 rehomeable buns. We have an amazing lady who only takes on our high maintenance buns but she is full of our buns too and that sort of person is really hard to come by. It is tragic that so many people go to a pet shop and don't realise how many problems that bunnies can have.

We have just taken on another dental bun and I can't help feeling that his problems stem from the fact that he had little hay and lots of digestive biscuits!!:evil: I have had him indoors and he so needs to be a house bunny with a wifey as he is so lovely and placid but who is going to take him on and give him the life he deserves??

Obviously I can't empathize with the scale of the issue and number of rabbits with you guys, but my one foster bun is this type of bun (very wary of humans, fearful, many behavioural problems and a few potential ongoing health problems) I just think that he cannot be moved again and have to learn to trust a different human again as there are only so many times he can start again.

Would be interested in any thoughts people have.

We don't rehome any of our healthy bunnies, we do actually have a couple :lol:

We only take in healthy bunnies when they are bonded to sick or disabled partners as we would never break a bond. But obviously the sick one usually dies at some point leaving a healthy partner.

we did think about rehoming these but didn't for 2 reasons. Firstly they had generally come from neglected situations and we didn't feel it was fair for them to move on again once they were settled with a nice life here. And secondly there are already so many rabbits looking for homes in "proper rescues" that if we started rehoming too it would take away a space for a rabbit from a rescue

We did rehome Marnie, but it was obvious from day one that she was a healthy bunny and we had people ask about taking her from the day we collected her

Thanks for the input so far guys :wave:

Seems like we're stuck between a rock and hard place doesn't it :? I for one, never wanted to get into rehoming because I don't have time, and it's not ever been something that interested me...mainly because it involves interacting with people! :lol:

I really do enjoy the medical side of taking on sick rabbits...it's something that really interests me...and there's nothing quite like having practical experience as opposed to just theoretical knowledge...plus there is only a limited number of individuals/rescues/sanctuaries who are willing to take on the time and expense of a sick animal

Brinsley Bunnies...if you have a male rabbit with very severe dental problems...I may have a home here waiting with a girly bun with jaw abscesses and most of her teeth missing! :wave:

abbymarysmokey said:

Thanks for the input so far guys :wave:

Seems like we're stuck between a rock and hard place doesn't it :? I for one, never wanted to get into rehoming because I don't have time, and it's not ever been something that interested me...mainly because it involves interacting with people! :lol:

I really do enjoy the medical side of taking on sick rabbits...it's something that really interests me...and there's nothing quite like having practical experience as opposed to just theoretical knowledge...plus there is only a limited number of individuals/rescues/sanctuaries who are willing to take on the time and expense of a sick animal

Brinsley Bunnies...if you have a male rabbit with very severe dental problems...I may have a home here waiting with a girly bun with jaw abscesses and most of her teeth missing! :wave:

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That is another good reason why we aren't a rescue, can't be doing with people. :lol: Sometimes it can't be avoided though and that causes me more stress than any of the sick bunnies

We used to foster for a rescue and it is one of the things that made us become a sanctuary. We do have a number of healthy animals now but they are settled and live happily in their group. When we did rehome the foster animals there were a number of occasions where the animals ended up dying and it was devestating- 2 guineas taken by a fox the night they were rehomed, 3 rabbits not vaccinated and then contracting myxi- one survived but the other 2 died, a cat rehomed to what they said was a quiet road- not so. We did a few home visits to collect, homecheck and deliver animals and it was horrible, so we decided what comes here stays here, except in exceptional circumstances. I know we are pretty much full now and financially stretched, so have to stop, but still I couldn't rehome the ones we have.

We have over 60 buns in the sanctuary part of the rescue, that are not considered well enough to be rehomed. They have ailments ranging from snuffles and bad teeth to heart problems.

There are not many homes out there for buns that come with big vet bills attached, or with owners that have the necessary expertise to care for them. It's hard enough finding homes for healthy rabbits!

Lou has become an expert in rabbit care, and the majority of treatments can be carried out in the rescue at a much lower cost than if an individual was continually visiting the vets.

A lot of the rabbits have come from bad situations, but at the sanctuary they live with a partner or in a group,and they all have a shed or huge hutch with their own enclosures, so they can live the rest of their days properly cared for.