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Dilemma - need the wisdom of RU

GrahamL

Wise Old Thumper
I have a friend, well, more of an acquaintance.

She knows i know a decent amount re rabbits and has come to me for advice.

She currently doesnt have a rabbit, but really wants a pair after seeing B&G running round our house.

She's been perfectly honest with me and is only really earning just over NMW, and has worked out a budget of how much things would cost her on a monthly basis and added rabbit things onto this and has shown me said budget, and its actually pretty correct. I've added a few things on with her, such as costs of hay/pellets etc as she was a bit naive to the costs of things, but thats okay, she's doing it all the right way.

I've persuaded her to get a pair from the local RSPCA rescue centre, who have several 'long term' pairs in.

Problem is, with only minimal money, she has asked what she would do with vet bills etc and if it would be cruel to adopt them, as she doesnt think she could afford big bills. She doesnt have a CC as has had a bad debt experience in the past, and with only little extra money left over, would really struggle to save for a 'bunny vet fund'.

I know she'd be a great owner, but should i tell her not to, for now, until she is in a more stable/better financial situation?

I'm really torn :(
 
It is a tough one, cos she could end up getting a pair with no health problems and they could have a great life with her.

What about PDSA? Is that only for people that are on benefits, or do they support low earners too?
 
The thing is, I know everyone might not agree, but if she can afford everything else she'd find the money from somewhere if there was an emergency. I know it's slightly different as when I first got them I could afford the rabbits, but at one point a few months ago I was eating one meal a day so I could still afford to get the rabbits food and hay and vet treatment, as OH had lost his job. Things are better now obvs, but what I'm saying is if she loves them as much as you think she will she'll go without something e.g. buying clothes or just tightening her belt for a month, to get them the treatment they need.

Sorry I'm rambling and everyone will probably disagree with me
 
Could she afford £20 a month for insurance? I know she'd still have to pay the excess but it would mean no looming huge bill.
 
The thing is, I know everyone might not agree, but if she can afford everything else she'd find the money from somewhere if there was an emergency. I know it's slightly different as when I first got them I could afford the rabbits, but at one point a few months ago I was eating one meal a day so I could still afford to get the rabbits food and hay and vet treatment, as OH had lost his job. Things are better now obvs, but what I'm saying is if she loves them as much as you think she will she'll go without something e.g. buying clothes or just tightening her belt for a month, to get them the treatment they need.

Sorry I'm rambling and everyone will probably disagree with me

i agree with you. :wave:

i hate people telling others they cant have a pet because of bloody money :evil: theres always a way to pay for vets fees even for those on minimum wage.

ive said before having cash don't mean people automatically pay for vets treatment when its required and many who are skint will go without food to protect their family, animal or human.
 
i agree with you. :wave:

i hate people telling others they cant have a pet because of bloody money :evil: theres always a way to pay for vets fees even for those on minimum wage.

ive said before having cash don't mean people automatically pay for vets treatment when its required and many who are skint will go without food to protect their family, animal or human.

I wouldnt tell her she 'CANT' have a pet, but she asked my advice, knowing i've had these two for a while and asked how much it could cost.

I mentioned insurance to her, and she thinks it could be viable but needed to go away and recheck her finances.

I think she could afford the £20/mo for the rabbits insruance with PetPlan so that could be the way to go.

I'm so chuffed she didnt just pop up to the garden centre and buy one, as she would of had to pay for vaccs/neuter/spay etc and probably have found it harder.

I'm even prepared to help out with hutch/run or indoor accomodation - im sure i could give some fairly decent advice and give a pair a really good home :love:
 
I think she should go for it. Sounds like she is doing all the preparation which is the biggest battle. Those pairs are cute, tough decision.
 
Its surprising how much you can cut back on if you have to to save. I havent bought clothes for myself for years, I get vouchers for my birthday etc. instead. Maybe advise saving up for 3 months to see if they can just put a little aside, also, change pots to put your 1p's and 2p's in are awesome for saving, and you dont even realise you're doing it really. I must save £5 a month in unwanted change which goes straight into savings. She sounds like she would be a great bunny mummy.
 
My advice would be to be very careful about the buns she chooses to adopt. Make sure she gets a pair who have a very solid bond, and who have no prexisting health concerns. As you well know Gray some rabbits cost significant amounts of money in vet fees, particularly snuffly buns! Whereas others might not see a vet in four years for anything other than vaccinations(like my last two).
 
if she gets any benefit, even if its just reduced council tax, she qualifies for help from the pdsa...the problem people have with this is they wait until something major happens before they try to get help...you must register your pet with a vet, they will give you the form, you then send your form with a £5 postal order to the pdsa,they will then send you a certificate, you then qualify to give donations for pets treatment rather than the full bill

sorry for rambling but hope this helps, if you go on the pdsa website and put in your postcode they will give a list of nearby vets that run the pdsa scheme x
 
My advice would be to be very careful about the buns she chooses to adopt. Make sure she gets a pair who have a very solid bond, and who have no prexisting health concerns. As you well know Gray some rabbits cost significant amounts of money in vet fees, particularly snuffly buns! Whereas others might not see a vet in four years for anything other than vaccinations(like my last two).

I was just going to say this. My concern about the ones mentioned is that they're lops and although it's no guarantee, with a tight financial situation, I'd be advising to get proper bunny shaped ones e.g. dutches as they are less prone to costly health issues. Hope that makes sense :oops:
 
The thing is, I know everyone might not agree, but if she can afford everything else she'd find the money from somewhere if there was an emergency. I know it's slightly different as when I first got them I could afford the rabbits, but at one point a few months ago I was eating one meal a day so I could still afford to get the rabbits food and hay and vet treatment, as OH had lost his job. Things are better now obvs, but what I'm saying is if she loves them as much as you think she will she'll go without something e.g. buying clothes or just tightening her belt for a month, to get them the treatment they need.

Sorry I'm rambling and everyone will probably disagree with me

I totally agree too.

Ok - so she's not well off but she could give a fantastic home to a pair of rabbits - and if vet bills do crop up - well, we all find a way if we havent budgeted dont we?

Sounds like she's done far more research than most people did (including me - i went into this rabbit malarky with my eyes wide shut! )

I think she probably has her heart set on it and rather than discourage, discuss ways in which would be best all round (i.e. rescue and not pet shop/breeder) :)
 
Maybe she could reserve them and save for 2-3 weeks? See if she could sell things on ebay -save as much as possible-even a small pot of money -say 35 pounds would cover a vet consult.
Does she have any family who might help her if needed? (They may not give directly to the rabbits but if she had spent money on vet fees and had no food I'm sure they would help her out?)
I don't know if these pet plans will pay out straight away? or do you have to wait x number of months? If she tries to initially save 20 pounds a months for a while- hopefully the bunnies will be well for the first few months if checked by rspca and she will feel more comfortable if she has a vet pot.... also she wouldnt have to worry if she could only put in say 15pounds one month. At least she would have some finances put by. she could still start a petplan if she felt she could afford it - if not, keep putting the 12-15 pounds a month by instead.

she has your support with rabbit care and has been much more careful than some others in working things out.
I hope she decides to get the bunnies.
sue:wave:
 
if she gets any benefit, even if its just reduced council tax, she qualifies for help from the pdsa...the problem people have with this is they wait until something major happens before they try to get help...you must register your pet with a vet, they will give you the form, you then send your form with a £5 postal order to the pdsa,they will then send you a certificate, you then qualify to give donations for pets treatment rather than the full bill

sorry for rambling but hope this helps, if you go on the pdsa website and put in your postcode they will give a list of nearby vets that run the pdsa scheme x

I think you have to be in a catchment area. I'm on income support but when we checked I don't qualify cos I'm outside the catchment area.
 
Just searched on their website and did the postcode check and got this;

Unfortunately there are no PDSA PetAid hospitals or practices in your local area.

Thats with and without council tax / housing benefit ticked.

:roll:
 
I think she should get the rabbits too :D

I don't earn much money but I manage to pay vets bills for my rabbits by living very frugally in other ways.

Vets will sometimes let you pay large bills off in stages if your explain your situation. I think a member of RU just pays a certain amount to her vet by DD every month, so sometimes she's slightly in credit and sometimes slightly in debt, but it all works itself out in the long run.
 
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