Keep Your Bunnies
“No kill” shelters are not necessarily no kill.
We’ve shared about this before and feel the need to do so again.
Taking your rabbit to a no-kill shelter because you’ve decided you can no longer bother to care for them is not ideal.
No-kill simply means that 90% of the animals leave alive. At all shelters, people are trying their absolute best but the safest thing for your pet is for them to stay with you (in most cases). Everyone is full and nobody can keep up with the demand for surrenders/dumps right now.
Often we get surrender requests because the kids were bored, I don’t have enough time for the bunnies, we are moving, etc.
Since we are poised to get over 4,000 surrender requests this year alone, we’re unable to accommodate them all. But in situations like the above, we try to help people keep their bunnies.
They’re acting up? We’ll help you get them fixed. The kids are bored? Let’s get you into our education course so you can start taking care of them yourself. You’re moving? Have you considered the following ways to bring your bunny with you…? You don’t have time for them anymore? Let us help take a load off your plate so you can reprioritize your schedule. They’re bored and seem lonely? Let’s get them out of the cage and into a proper enclosure with enrichment.
Surrendering your pet should be a last resort.
Surrendering to an overworked shelter should be a last resort.
Surrendering to a no-kill facility should be a last resort.
Giving up on your bunnies should be a last resort since oftentimes the safest place they can be is with you.
Also, we welcome anyone to attend our free, virtual, education presentations. Sign up link here: https://forms.gle/rNTYqNijXz9Qc65i8
We understand that sometimes, it’s in the bunnies best interest to go to a rescue, but most of the reasons we’ve gotten for surrenders recently would have been fixable with minor changes.
Is that part of the Dolly’s Difference? I don’t know. But what I do know is that one of our main goals has always been, and will always be, to help rabbits safely stay with their families.
We don’t publicize it often, but our team takes on at least 1 community bunny a month. Maybe we cover a spay, neuter, dental work, etc. but in every case the goal is to help the family keep their bunny or bunnies. Education and supplies are often provided along with this and we follow up regularly to make sure things are going smoothly.