Rabbits, by at least a few definitions I have read, are the third most abandoned animals (after cats and dogs). That number - if true - is not surprising to me. Rabbits are great pets, but they are not dogs and cats. They can be litter box trained, but it is never an exact science (their time and place of peeing is their choice; rabbit poops just seem to happen sometime). They test everything with their teeth first, thus cords, baseboards, and low hanging curtains are simply snacks waiting to happen. And while their food is not exotic - hay, pellets, and vegetables - it is not quite as convenient and going down to the grocery store and getting some. And, of course, rabbits are not cats and dogs: they show affection, but they are not necessarily great snugglers. Thus many people get rabbits thinking they are getting a cat or dog with long ears, only to be disappointed.
There has always been a steady stream of rabbits into the shelter (thankfully, there has been a steady stream of rabbits out of the shelter as well due to adoptions). Some are due to people who cannot keep them due to moves, some due to allergies, some due to tragic family events that make it impossible to keep them anymore. And some, of course, because people just got tired of them or decided after a week or a month that this was not the "right" pet.
This is the way. This has always been the way, since I have started.
Recently, our intake is up - and it is not just us. Every animal shelter in New Home is full to the brim to the point of not being able to accept new animals (although I suspect if, like us, the choice is "Either you take the animal or I will do something else (not good)", they will find a place for the animal). And it is not just us. It is national.
The surrenders come from the usual sources of course, but more and more people seem to be abandoning animals because they simple got tired of them and, post-Plague, they want to go out and "live their lives". And their lives, apparently, do not extend to a living being that they inherently made a commitment to when they brought it home.
The other place - sadly - we have seen an increase is in abandoned animals. Rabbits are especially prone to this - people see the wild hares and think "Rabbits eat grass and are like them. They can make it." Unfortunately, and contrary to every modern "animal trek" movie you have seen, they cannot. Domestic rabbits, like most domestic animals, are a far cry from their wild ancestors. Most will not make it in the modern urban environment - especially here in the Summer, where temperatures are well beyond the 80 F/27 C that is the max for a domestic rabbit.
But people still abandon their rabbits - in larger and larger numbers, if our intake is any example.
Why? I am not sure. Possibly for some it is embarrassment of having to go surrender an animal. For others, it may be that they do not know (although given the state of the connected world and the InterWeb now, if one does not not know there is a rescue organization out there, it is a bit surprising). The majority - I suspect - simply do not want to be bothered.
It frustrates me. It frustrates everyone that works at the shelter, and in the animal volunteer community. And not just frustrates - it burns people out.
I do not know there is a point necessarily to this post (other than my own frustration), other than three points:
1) It says something about us as a people that, like with everything else, abandoning our problems for someone else to deal with is an acceptable strategy.
2) If for some reason you or someone you know finds yourself in the position of having to abandon an animal, do not. Look on the Interweb. E-mail me (tbeucail@protonmail.com) with your general location and I will find somewhere for you.
3) Support your local shelter. Choose one - by organization or by animals (there is literally a shelter/animal rescue group for every species and animal type imaginable). My own opinion is, of course, local ones are better. If nothing else, they appreciate the money as much or more and are good stewards of it.
4) (Bonus Round): Adopt if you can. The animals will be grateful (They are, by the way. They seem to know they were rescued). And you will have done a good thing.
Good on you! Keep it up and I will try to do more.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. I cannot recommend local organizations enough - or if you have a special fondness for a particular animal or breed, start there.
DeleteExcellent post, TB. Having had house rabbits in the past, I know what wonderful pets they make. All of our cats except Riley were adopted from a shelter. No they aren't "free," but it's a bargain because they come neutered and up-to-date with shots.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if people are abandoning pets because of inflation and having to choose between pet food and feeding themselves. Feed prices have really jumped. Our county animal shelter charges a fee for dropping off animals. I understand why they do it, but I wonder if that doesn't increase dumping animals off somewhere.
We once had a neighbor who knew someone who was looking for a home for their adult potbelly pig. Neighbor knew we used to have pigs and asked us if we'd take it for them. We said no, but a couple of days later the pig showed up in our yard. Neighbor said he had nothing to do with it, but he was quite surprised to learn that Dan had called animal control and they came to get it.
Thank you Leigh. I did not know you had house rabbits at one time! Having had them for 14 years now, I suspect they will be around for a long time. They really are no more difficult that cats or dogs.
DeleteA The Cat was a rescue - literally from our street, so we ended up covering everything. The rabbits from the shelter, for example, come spayed/neutered and with their shots as well.
I do think the economy has something to do with it - as well as the fact that (at least in urban areas), I think the ability to have pets is getting to be less and less, which is also creating pressure. We charge a fee for intake as well - not extensive and probably does not cover the medical side, but does cover the food.
That is a surprising - and not - surprising story about the pig. We have had people reach out occasionally to us in the past as well. Especially with rabbits, I tell them to take them to a local shelter - if it is a rabbit, it will make its way to our shelter eventually. We end up being the receiving end of rabbits for a two hour radius.
You have a good heart being a shelter volunteer. I think maybe a part of abandoned animals is the individual not considering how much of their personal time will be involved in caring for it. Dog require exercise (at least walking) and not everyone owns enough property to do that, especially urban dwellers.
ReplyDeleteSo they have to allot part of their off time to do this. Every day. Even when they don't feel like it, or other commitments intrude. Vacations - animals still require care, so arrangements with friends dropping by to feed or change the litter box will be needed. Indoor cats sometimes have a hair ball to remove and sometimes, it is done in a bad location.
It boils down to commitment. Before you decide you want to add a pet to your household, do due diligence in finding out what will be required.
We see that a lot, honestly: people who buy a rabbit thinking they require a minimum of care (like a cat, maybe, or perhaps a hamster), not realizing it is more than that.
DeleteYou are right. Pets are a commitment. Oddly enough as I was thinking about it (walking the dog in the morning, of course) of my 50+ years of life, all but maybe four years of that time have been spent with some form of animal in my life. So in a way, I have never "thought" about the the commitment other than it is something that I do.
Vacations are the hardest. We end up having to send everyone three different places: the rabbits and guinea pigs to one place, the dog to another, the cat to another. It is almost like procuring another plane ticket.
I have to mention the one benefit to rabbits you didn't mention... that they are tasty, at least the wild versions.
ReplyDeleteI think you are looking to deep for an answer to the question of why someone abandons a pet versus finding a shelter for them. My answer to that question is because people these days only think of themselves. I rarely see anybody who gives a single thought as to how their interactions in this world affect others nor do they care if they do. They are only concerned about themselves and I would be willing to bet, few give a pet a second thought as soon as it has been abandoned and their back turned.
Ed, I have had rabbit before - although to be honest, I do not have a memory of what they particularly tasted like (maybe chicken?)
DeleteI have certainly been accused multiple times of overthinking things, and you are probably right. I will say - and perhaps I worded it poorly - that I think the people that are abandoning their animals now that Plague restrictions are largely lifted are doing that thing exactly. The time is travel and live life and not be tied down by a responsibility that requires food, care, and money.
The hardest thing I had to overcome eating a rabbit was the small bones. Mentally difficult for me.
ReplyDeleteAbandoned dogs make dangerous packs. The stray cat scourge around here has destroyed most of the birds. This summer was particularly quiet. Snakes and lizards in Florida.... Yeah, all pets are work to maintain. And throwing them out causes problems.
Maybe this is why I still carry the farm mentality. Everything has a job to do. When the kids were little, dogs were lessons: how to care for a dependent, how to interact with them, responsibility. They also provided a bit of warning against trespassers.
True STxAR. Animals will do what they need to for survival.
DeleteUnfortunately, the concept of commitment and following through seems to be in short supply these days.
I have always believed God has a special place in hell reserved for the cretins that mistreat any animal. We have a disposable society so why not pets. Pandemic lead to a flurry of pet adoption but now those same people back to work don't know how to adjust nor do they want to. So shelters are overrun and as the recession tightens it will get worse. I lived 7 miles from primary highway + down a mile long road. Only 7 houses on our private mile and each of us had at least 4 to 9 drop offs.Sometimes we couldn't get to them in time. It would devastate all of us and we got to be good friends with shelters and vets. One save first vet bill was almost 8 hundred. But she became inseparable from hubby's for the 9 years we had her. Hubby was devastated when we lost her. Best money ever spent.
ReplyDeleteGL - One would hope so. No cause for mistreatment of an animal None.
DeleteWe had the same "Plague" bounce that many shelters had - bored, wanted to have someone at home with them, so adoption. Two years later and everything is open: well, I need to get on with my life.
Recession is, in my opinion, going to be an increasing factor. And, as indicated above, housing can be difficult to find that will allow pets. That is also a contributing factor.
From everything I have read and heard from semi-rural areas, it is worse because it is more "convenient" to just drop them there. Bless you for all you have done.