With Christmas coming up, many families will be considering pets as a family gift at Christmas time.
Experience has taught us though that the giving of pets as a Christmas gift is one of the largest contributing factors to the volume of unwanted pets shortly after the holiday period, as the families face the reality of owning their pet and decide it’s not right for them.
We believe part of the reason is the “”gift”” process – particularly for children. Remember in particular that pets are not suitable for children: no child should be given the full responsibility for their pet, but should be supervised at all times, with the adult taking the full responsibility for the pet. However, receiving a pet amongst all their other gifts at Christmas creates the wrong level of emotional attachment, with the pet being likened to the toys and other “”disposable”” gifts that don’t need constant care & attention.
For this reason, we do not support the giving of rabbits at Christmas time, and we will not be able to accept adoption requests for any of our rabbits between Monday 17th December 2012 and Monday 7th January 2013, although we will be happy to accept enquiries and home check appointments to reserve rabbits for rehoming on either side of these dates.
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Our Christmas Adoption Pack
We do however appreciate that some families will still be able to adopt a rabbit at this time of year and be able to provide an excellent long-term home for their new pet. Considering the expense involved in setting up the right environment for your new pet we also appreciate many will like the “”excuse”” Christmas brings for spending all the necessary money on the hutch, run and equipment that will be required for adopting rabbits.
As an alternative, we are providing a “”Christmas Adoption Pack””, which allows you to include the adoption of your new pet within your Christmas experience, whilst disassociating the rabbit(s) themselves from the festivities of Christmas day. Our pack helps strengthen the message that rabbits are a lifelong commitment, and take a lot of care.
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Included within our Pack:
Rabbit hand-puppet which can be given as a gift on Christmas Day (additional toys can be purchased – ask for details)
- An Adoption Certificate featuring your chosen rabbit(s), which can be given as a gift on Christmas Day
“”For The Love Of Parsley”” book, containing rabbit behaviour advice & tips
- RWAF Hop-To-It information booklet, with additional rabbit welfare & care advice.
- Your chosen rabbit(s) reserved until an agreed date in January (no earlier than 7th January 2013).
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Cost:
- Single Rabbit, Fully Vaccinated & Neutered (to be adopted as a bunny buddy for an existing family rabbit). Minimum Donation of £60
- Pair of Rabbits, fully vaccinated, neutered & bonded. Minimum Donation of £100
- Understanding Cost & Minimum Donations
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Interested?
All other aspects of our adoption process continue to apply. A home check must be completed initially to qualify for our Christmas Adoption Pack. Donations must be made in advance of adoption in order to receive the pack in time for Christmas. (Understanding Cost & Minimum Donations).