We are not currently rescuing as we are relocating. The only pets we are able to take in are those previously adopted from us. We will always take back a pet who was adopted from this rescue.
We rescue unwanted domestic rabbits, rats, hamsters, chinchillas
and guinea pigs in Southern California. Once here, the rabbits are spayed or
neutered, litter trained, socialized and placed into permanent indoor homes with
people also in Southern California who understand rabbits.
After we quickly
realized that we could not save all or even a good portion of the unwanted pets
we were personally asked to help,
we decided that our main goal was going to be to help the pets and their owners
live quality lives together through education and guidance so that there would
be less unwanted pets. Rabbits and small pets are often unwanted because their
owners become overwhelmed and don't know how to solve behavior problems.
Some of the ways we help small pets is by educating people on proper
care via phone and e-mail, assisting people with finding experienced
veterinarians, helping trouble shoot behavior problems, and by giving
basic training advice so that small pets and people can live together happily.
There is a $65 adoption fee per rabbit or $95 per pair of rabbits to help cover the alteration costs. (Neuter costs $80 per male, Spay costs $80-100 per female) Adoption fees for small animals vary.
The rabbit adoption fee includes match-making services at the time of adoption if you are matching one of our rabbits with one of yours or if you want match up two of ours so you can adopt them both! (Sorry, but initial match-making must be done by one of our qualified match-makers for the safety of the rabbits and the handlers. You must bring your rabbit to meet the rabbits. Also, all rabbits involved in the match-making process must be spayed or neutered for at least one month first!) Click here to view our adoption polices.
Small animals are adopted out after they are socialized and have passed a health quarantine. Adoption fees vary depending on the type of pet. Guinea pig fees are $30 for a single guinea pig, and $45 for a pair. In most cases, cages are not included with adoptions of any of our rescues. In some cases when a cage is included, we ask that the adopter reimburse us for the cost of the cage. (This is so we are able to replace the cage. For instance, the cages we suggest for Syrian hamsters cost the rescue aprox $60. We are not able to afford giving you the cage for the $10-15 adoption fee! You have the choice of reimbursing us for the cost of the cage, or purchasing the cage directly from Quality Cage or providing another suitable living space.) We do not function as a pet store, and sell supplies which means we are not making a profit.
Please note, because we are not licensed rehabbers, we are not allowed to take in wild rabbits, wild mice or wild rats! We are not qualified to care for wildlife. We also do not take in or place illegal exotics such as hedgehogs, ferrets or sugar gliders. If you need help placing any of the above, we will be glad to assist you in finding them a new home with a licensed rehabilitator or a rescuer who is outside the State of California..
Can we take in all the pets we get calls for? Can your pet come into our rescue right NOW?
If you need to place your rabbit(s), please visit Need Help Placing My Rabbit! We can also help you place your rabbit or small pet on your own with suggestions on how to get the word out and how to screen potential adopters. We don't mind helping to screen potential adopters if you are unsure how to properly do so. We have generic contracts and applications available for your use.
In order to ensure that every pet taken in by this rescue is given proper care and attention, including top quality food and needed vet care, we must limit the number of pets who can be fostered at any one time. So, sadly, no, we don't have the space to take in every rabbit or pocket pet we are asked to help. There simply are not enough foster homes available for all the pets needing in. Each foster family is committed to a limited number of pets per home that they can care for in a proper manner.
The ratio of rabbits needing in to rabbits adopted out is far greater as shown on the unwanted statistics page. A pet coming in here stays in our foster program until he/she is either adopted into a permanent home, or until he/she dies naturally. (Or in sad cases, is euthanized because of a life-threatening illness that has no cure and is causing great suffering that can not be alleviated.) This is called a "no-kill" rescue.
No-kill is good and bad. It means that we are committed to the pets who are already in the foster program but are unable to take in more once our foster homes are full. Unlike a kill shelter where rabbits or small pets are euthanized to make room for others to enter, we must adopt out a rabbit or small pet into a good home to make room for another needing in.
We give top priority to animals in kill shelters first. They have first chance to come in when there is an open space. These pets have lost all other options, the pets still in their owners' houses are not usually hours away from dying.
Our goal is to adopt every pet rescued into a permanent home, not just another temporary home. Too many of the pets we take in have already gone through several homes on their way to the rescue so this is the reason we am so very careful when screening potential new homes.
Do we have legal tax exempt nonprofit status?
No, we do not have that status at this time. In order to get the legal status of non-profit, we need to come up with around $800-1000. Not having this status means that we are unable to offer you tax-deductible donation options. We apologize for problems this might cause you and encourage you to donate money to agencies with the non-profit 501(c)3 status, we'll be happy to give you a list of our favorites.
The money funding this rescue comes mainly from Angela's wallet. We do ask owners to help cover the costs of spaying/neutering when we take in rabbits if the person turning the rabbit(s) over can afford to help. We also ask for help with food for other pets who are turned over. (All cages MUST be turned in with any animal, rabbit or otherwise that we take in.) Sometimes, the amount given is as little as $5, often, people do not give at all. Of course, any pet taken in from the shelter costs the rescue money for shelter fees. Rabbits cost $35-50 each to bail out of the animal shelter. Thankfully, this includes the spay/neuter costs if we bail a rabbit from the shelter.
If you figure that it costs $80 for each male rabbit to be neutered and $80-100 for every female rabbit to be spayed, plus an average of $22 a month each for food, pound bail out fees, vet care, toys, website fees, phone bills, etc, this certainly is NOT a money making venture we have embarked on! The $65 adoption fee we ask per rabbit covers the spaying and neutering but literally nothing else! Even if the owner helps with the cost of spaying or neutering, the food and other expenses quickly eat up the funds. Good care costs money. Most of the rabbits are here for 8+ months, small animals can stay over 6 months.
We do rescue work because we care about the animals, that's the bottom line. All of volunteers working are unpaid, including Angela. We keep the number of rabbits and small animals allowed into the foster program down to a low number so that we don't have to worry about any of them being hungry, lacking in attention or wanting for medical care or toys. While we can't take in as many rabbits or small animals as some of the larger rescues, we have peace of mind knowing that we are able to help several each year. Each person must do what they can. Even with 501(c)3 funding, we would not be able to save all of the pets we are asked to help. Rescuers who try to save them all are quickly overwhelmed, and wind up on the news giving the rest of us a bad name.
Why are there rabbits in need of rescue?
We are not sure how it started, but, rabbits are seasonal pets. They are "classroom pets" who are discarded at the start of summer or when they hit puberty, "Easter rabbits" and "Christmas gifts" who are not wanted when they grow up and don't act like cute little stuffed toys or the kids want a puppy instead, etc. These rabbits are purchased with little or no research done beforehand on what living with a rabbit is like. The rabbits are purchased just because they are "cute" or the "kids have been begging for one".
Many rabbits are given up because new rabbit owners often don't realize what great pets rabbits can be. It's hard to be a great pet if you are stuck in a hutch, only seeing humans for a few minutes each day. This is why we encourage owners to keep rabbits as indoor pets! Toys are also highly recommended for the rabbit to stimulate their minds.
How exciting would YOU be if the only thing you did all day was sit in a cage too small to stretch properly, staring out at the world with nothing to do except eat and drink? You would be even worse if you were not spayed or neutered because your hormones would leave you in a constant state of needing to be bred. Frustration, boredom and hormones contribute to the multitudes of rabbits who need rescue each year!
Did we mention that hormones, frustration and boredom can cause a rabbit to become aggressive and many of THOSE rabbits also end up needing rescue? Spaying/neutering, a few toys and more attention could help curb the aggressive behavior that leads to so many rabbits becoming unwanted. It's no fun owning a rabbit who bites, growls and lunges at you and it's no fun for the rabbit to be so grumpy all the time!
Sadly, many of the parents who purchase rabbits for their children think that the rabbits are going to teach "responsibility". When it doesn't happen, the rabbits are "gotten rid of" to punish the children! Why don't parent teach children that animals are not disposable toys, that they are living being who need to be treated with love and respect? In other words, get out there and help the kids care for the family pet! After all, as the adults in the family, isn't that who the "responsibility" really falls on? Parents teach responsibility. Pets don't. "Getting rid of" a pet because the child didn't learn responsibility teaches the child that you don't have to be responsible, instead, you can just give the responsibility to someone else if you get bored with it. (With this type of disregard for life, is it any wonder why so many of our teens are getting pregnant, then dumping their babies in trash cans? But that's a whole 'nother topic)