RSPCA Complaint

As some of you are aware, my bunny Sidley passed away on the 22nd July.
We took him to RSPCA to have his teeth trimmed as he was struggling to eat, and we were turned away without any help and told to find £200 and book an appointment.
I am on benefits and finding £200 in a few days is near impossible - I started selling all my belongings to try to make the money. (I only managed £45 in 2 weeks)
My nan told me about a private vets locally, i took Sid in to see them and was told it'd be £100 normally but because of how weak he'd become (Thanks to the RSCPA for not helping 2 weeks prior) That he would not make the operation (he need his back teeth doing too)
Instead they trimmed the front teeth for me, FOR FREE and i purchased some Oxbow (£7) to help bulk him back up to go back in for his operation.
Sadly he passed away 45 minutes later in my arms
I put in a complaint to the RSPCA as the private vets said, if they'd trimmed his front teeth on that day, he'd have likely survived as he wasn't too weak then
It's taken from the 23rd July until today 13th August for a response, and all it says is they're passing my complaint to the vet who looked at him.
Just wanted to write it on here, as i would hate for this to happen to another bunny

I know i'll probably be told i should've had insurance or i shouldn't have rabbits if i can't afford their vet bills, but i've owned rabbits all my life, so has my mother, when i was 11ish we actually had 28 rabbits - all rescues. People were breeding them or buying them and then attempting to put them out for fox dinner (we live opposite a massive nature field) so we took them all in, and never had we taken them to the vets, They never needed it, they were all healthy and happy and the 6 (now 5) i have owned on my own, have never see a vets (except for the boys to have their baby makers removed) so i don't feel the need to pay out a ton of money every month for no reason, when that money can be spent on them for toys and treats and new housing items etc... Sid was a rescue, he was actually found hopping around the fields, my dad and i brought him home, he was a bit odd from day 1, we obviously didnt know his past, we did some research and all the symptoms lead to spinal injury. I had him for over 6 years, it was only in July this year that he became unwell due to his teeth, we're still unsure as to why he stopped nibbling and let his teeth grow out

So sorry for your loss . Hope you get a satisfactory response to your letter.

Hopefully the Vet at the RSPCA will respond to your letter. I am very sorry that you lost Sidley

I hope you get a response.

I was so sorry about Sidley

So sorry for your loss

(It may be worth seeing if you're able to use the PDSA for treatment - you can only register up to 3 pets, but its a donation thing for treatment - pay what you can afford)

So sorry to hear about Sidley. x

So sorry x

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you get a response.

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. What exactly was the complaint in relation to? I'm not sure if I'm understanding it, but are you saying that the vets were in the wrong for not treating Sidney without payment? :?

I'm sorry that you lost Sidley. I'm not sure how the RSPCA works: I thought they could offer financial assistance (if you qualified) not treat for free.

It sounds as though he didn't need just his front teeth done, but also his back teeth, which would account for him not eating his hay and keeping them ground down; vicious circle. I assume he used to be a good hay eater. I assume, also, that accounted for the £200 estimate from the RSPCA: they didn't think just doing his front teeth would help.

Owning rabbits is an expensive business - and vet bills can be horrendous. Gone are the days when they would be stuck in a hutch at the bottom of the garden, with no thought of vaccinations, neutering. People thought they would make cheap pets for children.

I hope you get the response you are seeking from the RSPCA.

I'm so very sorry you lost Sidley. I'm not sure what to say about the RSPCA (they are my least favourite charity, anyway) but to me it reads you expected them to treat him without any payment?

As harsh as it sounds - vets do need to make a living too, and the costs of this needs to be paid for, like everything else. I'm certainly not going to tell you that you shouldn't have rabbits if you can't afford vet treatment, or to have rabbits insured etc. But I do think you know yourself the onus is legally on the owner of an animal to get the animals vet treatment where needed, and this does include paying for it, even if it's through a scheme (such as the PDSA) where you make a donation. As much as the RSPCA weren't helpful on this occasion, another argument could be that had you had the rabbit insured, or money put away for this, you could have afforded to pay for treatment then and there and this may not have happened. I guess I'm saying you could point fingers in every direction, but it's not going to help, nor bring Sidley back

I do think the RSPCA could have helped more, being a charity of course. That being said, I have to be honest honey, I don't think they're responsible for Sidley's death (that's just my personal opinion). I think you're very lucky a private vet treated your bun for free, but I do wonder if it's a case of it because it was that bad (rabbits do go downhill quick). No vet should need to treat for free to be fair - they are trying to earn a living like everybody else.

As has been suggested, the PDSA are really fab, and you can donate as little or as much as you can. They do give you an outline of costs so you know what it would of cost otherwise. In some cases, some vets will accept payment plans (I've never found one yet who does and it's not something I'd ever rely on, but I know others who do). I'm one in the boat of having money troubles at times - but solid plans need to be put in place for this. Whether it's saving a small amount that you don't touch except for vet bills, having insurance or whatever.

I have to be honest, blaming the RSPCA for this won't help, as you will just end up in this situation again in future. My best advice is to learn from it - and accept that paying vet bills would be your responsibility, even if it is just the PDSA with donations. I'd certainly never be harsh on anyone who has money difficulties being in that boat myself :wave: But, we do need to take responsibility for this ourselves I'm afraid sweetheart.

Hope it's not come across too harsh. I do hope you get a response from the RSPCA, even if it's just a better explanation of why they went the way about it that they did. X

Hey all,
Nah i'm not trying to say they should've done it for free, But the fact that they didn't offer me to buy any food to syringe, nor a syringe (i brought one from the pharmacy) and he went in and i was told by them that he had a brain parasite, they also did not offer any information or treatment advice for this, i had to go onto google and thats where i found out about Panacur - i was then told front teeth were £50 and back teeth could be done later at a cost of approx £150, They advised me to do the front teeth, bulk him up and then do back teeth, but again, No advice or option to purchase oxbow or similar foods for him, no mention of syringe feeding or anything
I felt completely alone, they didn't offer me any advice or information on how to deal with him, just Oh Yeh his teeth need doing and he has a brain parasite, goodbye.

I know if i'd had insurance or the money upfront he'd have been treated earlier - i hate myself everyday for that, but even if i did manage to book him in that day, i had no idea i needed Oxbow or Panacur from them, The private vets were the ones to suggest feeding him with Oxbow to help perk him up.

The private vets saw Sid for free as it was the first time meeting him (they said first viewing is free to get to know the animal) and he said hed do the front teeth and i could purchase the food, but it was unlikely he'd survive - which he didn't - I think the vet did it for free as he knew he wouldn't last, but at least he offered to do it, the RSPCA wouldn't even do his front teeth for me (my dad was willing to pay for the front only) I had to go away and book it at another time (From what i heard from people in there with dogs awaiting to be seen i was looking at just under a week)

I totally get that they need funds to perform the treatment, but i just wished they'd told me then about Oxbow, i could've atleast kept some weight on him, i was just syringing mashed nuggets, but the private vets said it wasn't enough nutritional content to keep him plodding as he was unwell