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| KISMET, Now Rescued After Being Abandoned |
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| In The Woods When She Was About Six Weeks Old |
Click here to read about what you should consider before you abandon your rabbit.
FINDING A NEW HOME FOR YOUR RABBIT
Unfortunately, shelters and rescue organizations rarely have openings. There are a very limited number of people
willing to foster rabbits. There are always a lot more people wanting to give up their rabbits than people who want to adopt
one. For rescue organizations, rescuing rabbits who are running out of time at shelters always takes precedence. While there
is little immediate help in finding your rabbit a home, there are some helpful guidelines.
Do not take your rabbit
to the shelter because it is very likely that s/he will be killed. Once animals come in to the shelter, they only have a limited
time to get adopted before the shelter must make way for later-arriving or more adoptable animals. This means that your rabbit
will be killed to make a space for the new rabbit. Otherwise healthy and adoptable young rabbits are routinely killed simply
because shelters are overwhelmed by people dumping rabbits that they could no longer be bothered to care for. This is particularly
true several months after Easter and in August when young people are college bound and they and their parents no longer wish
to be responsible for their rabbit.
Besides being illegal in most states, abandoning a domestic rabbit outside is
a death sentence for the rabbit. Contrary to popular myth, they will NOT find a warren of wild rabbits and join them. They
are a different genus than our local wild rabbits. The wild rabbits will kill them. While domestic rabbits have some of the
instincts of their wild relatives, they have none of the skills to enable them to survive the many hazards that they would
face. They will be killed by predators or starve to death.
The best solution is for you to make some flyers, describing
your rabbit and highlighting his/her good qualities. If you can do so, include a photo of him/her on the flyers. Many rabbits
do not particularly like to be held, so if s/he does, that's a plus. Mention if s/he is in good health and if s/he enjoys
being petted. The fact that s/he is spayed or neutered, socialized, and litter-box trained are pluses and should be noted.
You can post the flyers in vet's offices, pet stores, and maybe on the community bulletin board at the local library. Unless
the adopter is a close friend or someone who you know very well, you should charge an adoption fee for him/her, $15-$25 would
be okay, to try to ensure that s/he is not being taken to be dinner for a pet snake or stew for the family. For the same reason,
you should NOT advertise in the newspaper, especially him/her as being "free to a good home." Many respondents to those ads
want rabbits for just that reason. If you haven't already done so, check with your friends and co-workers, and ask them to
talk to their friends. You may just find someone who would love to give your rabbit a new home. Prepare a list of interview
questions that you want to ask potential adopters.
Read more about why "free to a good home" is not a good idea.
Going through the process of finding your bunny another home will be time-consuming, and will probably be somewhat frustrating.
Many people unfortunately still tend to see rabbits as novelties rather than as companion animals. But rabbits are affectionate,
social creatures who are a lot more intelligent than most people realize. Through no fault of his/her own, your rabbit is
losing the only home and family that s/he has ever known. Dumping him/her at the shelter would be the easy thing to do. You
sign some papers, and it's all taken care of. Some shelters post the photos of their "guests" on their websites,
so you could even check to see him/her if you wanted to. Then, one day, the picture won't be there, and you will always wonder
if s/he found someone else to love him, or if s/he just ran out of time. Years from now, you will feel much better about this
situation and about yourself if you know that you did the right thing by him/her.
If you wish to list your rabbit's availability to go to a new home, RabbitWise will include your rabbit on our Homefinder/Adoption
Gallery page. To place your rabbit on the list, send a copy of your rabbit's spay/neuter certificate, a notarized letter swearing
that the certificate pertains to the rabbit that you are surrendering, and non-refundable $50 payable to "RabbitWise"
to:
RabbitWise, P.O. Box 2543, Kensington, MD 20891-2543
Even if your rabbit is adopted before your listing expires, the fee is not refundable. If your rabbit is not adopted after
3 months, you can renew your listing for the rest of the year for an additional $25.
In addition, e-mail RabbitWise a digital picture (jpeg format) of your rabbit as an attachment. Your rabbit's photo and
information will appear on the Homefinder/Adoption Gallery page for three months. RabbitWise will screen potential adopters
for you and make arrangements with you to show your rabbit.
Finally, RabbitWise will be happy to assist anyone who does adopt your rabbit. Just tell them to contact us through our
web site and we will be glad to offer them advice about housing, answer questions about diet, and make recommendations about
care. If they are in the Metropolitan DC area, RabbitWise will help them with setting up his/her new home and with rabbit
care like nail trims. If you have further questions, e-mail us with your telephone number and someone will get back to you.
Good luck with finding your friend a new home.
RabbitWise Home Page
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