Adoption Policies
In order to protect the pets we place in new homes, we have certain policies that are followed. As stated other places on the website, our goal is to be certain the adopted pet finds a new home for life, not just another temporary home where he or she will be re-homed after a few months or a few years. We reserve the right to refuse to adopt to anyone for any reason without explanation.
These policies are in place for the safety and well being of the pets. The main points are listed first. To see the longer explanation of "why" we have that policy, they are explained in detail under this list.
1. The primary caregiver must be an adult, not a child. The primary caregiver must be a person, not a "place" such as a "classroom" or a "retirement home".
2. Indoor housing required.
3. A home check will be done to check the pet's living space.
4. All rabbits will be spayed or neutered before adoption. Other pets will be adopted in same sex pairs only.
5. The adoption is non-transferable. You may not sell, adopt, or give this pet to anyone else.
6. All rabbits must have been spayed or neutered for at least 30 days before matchmaking will be attempted.
7. Pets are adopted "as-is", no guarantees are made regarding health or temperament.
8. The adoption fees are non-refundable if the pet is kept by you for more than 14 days.
9. Age of pets is an estimate in most cases.
Now that you have read the policies, please continue to the adoption application. By filling out the Adoption Application, you agree to the policies you just read. If you have questions about the policies, please read the explanation on the policies below.
Policies explained fully.
1. The primary caregiver must be an adult, not a child. We feel that the adults are responsible for any pets in the family. The pet must be wanted by the entire family, adults included. If any member of the family does not want the pet, the pet will not be placed with that family.
1a. The primary caregiver must be a person, not a "place" such as a "classroom" or a "retirement home". The pet must live most of his or her time at the primary caregiver's house, not at the "place".
2. Indoor Housing required. Rabbits and small animals are not adopted to those who intend to keep them outdoors. (For example, allowing them to run the yard unsupervised or leaving them outdoors unprotected at night when predators are around.) Indoors is defined as the area of the house the family lives in. If your garage or basement is also your family room, that's considered a family area! If the pet is allowed to play in the yard, the pet must be provided an area with secure fencing, and adequate supervision at all times. There are dangers outdoors! A supervised romp in a puppy pen or supervised outdoor outings are not the same as keeping your pet primarily outdoors.
3. A home check is required to ensure that the pet will be living in a safe area. If there is a cage or pen it must be no less than 30" x 36" with a resting area for the rabbit to get off the wire bottom of the cage. Puppy pens, also known as x-pens, make excellent housing if you are not prepared to allow your rabbits 24 hours access to your house. The roaming area must be properly bunny proofed and safe from your other pets. A volunteer will check that you have the right type of food.
A home check is not a volunteer showing up unannounced! An appointment is made first, then the volunteer comes in and checks the pet's area, food, and accessories for safety. We are absolutely not there to nose around and invade your privacy or snoop in any fashion! No checking for "unmade beds" or "dirty dishes". It's just to make sure that your house is safe for a rabbit, chinchilla or guinea pig to go hopping around.
New pet owners don't always realize the dangers to the pet and to the person's "stuff". For instance, those lower shelf antique books? The bun will probably happily eat them. The cords "hidden" behind the couch? If we can see them, a bunny might be able to eat them. The volunteer can also help you set up your cage, and answer questions. The home check can often be done at the same time a rabbit is being dropped off.
4. All rabbits leaving this rescue must be spayed or neutered before adoption. If babies are adopted under 4 months of age, they must be spayed or neutered by 6 1/2 months old, or returned to the rescue. All small animals leaving as pairs must leave as same sex pairs only. Breeding is not allowed.
5. The adoption is non-transferable. You may not sell, adopt, or give away this pet to anyone else. If you want to find a new home for your pet, and your friend/family member wants to adopt, talk to us. We aren't unreasonable, we simply never want to see this pet in an animal shelter or abandoned in a park.
The pet must come back to us in the event that the pet is found to be unsuitable for your household, even if it is 5 years from the adoption date. While we are very careful to ensure that the rabbit or small animal you adopt matches up with your family, sometimes problems arise that are insurmountable. If you must return the pet for a non-emergency problem, we ask that you give advance notice of at least 2 weeks. (For instance, you know you are moving out of town, please do not call right before you move.)
We have a long waiting list of pets needing in, so when a pet is adopted, that space is filled very quickly. If the space has already been filled and the rabbit needs to be returned, you might be asked to house the pet until space becomes available. We will work with you in emergency cases, but it can take up to a month for space to open or a foster home to be found or for a volunteer to get back into town. Please, please, please, give us as much advance notice as possible so that we can get a spot open for the pet to come back quickly.
We ask that you keep in close contact with us for the first month following the adoption so we can help work out any problems as they arise. Many problems can be worked out easily, so please let us help.
6. NO match-making or meeting of the rabbits will be attempted unless all rabbits involved have been spayed or neutered for at least 1 month prior to the attempt! If you want a rabbit to match with your rabbits, they must all meet before adoption. Any rabbits to be matched up together must be brought to us or another qualified match maker in order to minimize potential injury to any rabbit involved.
Because we are dealing with living beings with individual personalities, please be advised that all despite all reasonable precautions, sometimes injuries can occur during match making or meetings. Any volunteers helping with matching will not be held responsible for any injury caused to any of the rabbits or owners during a match making session where they were supervising. By consenting to match making by our volunteers, you are agreeing that you understand there is a risk of injury to one or both rabbits.
Vet costs for injuries to the potential adopter's original rabbit(s) will be the responsibility of the potential adopter, regardless of which rabbit started the fighting. After the rabbit has been adopted, the adopter will be legally responsible for the vet bills of all rabbits, regardless of which rabbit started the fighting.
Match-making will be stopped at the discretion of the volunteers if it is felt that the match-making is becoming unsafe for either rabbit. In some cases, after evaluating your rabbit's personality, the rabbit(s) you requested to be tried will not be tried. This is for the safety of all the rabbits involved. Because the foster parents know the personalities of the rabbits in the rescue, sometimes we can tell before trying a bonding session that there is going to be a problem. While it can be disappointing to be told a match is not going to work, please respect the decision not to try a certain match.
7. Pets are adopted "as is", no guarantees are made regarding health or temperament. All pets are adopted into new homes with any and all KNOWN behavior problems, illnesses, injuries and needed treatments disclosed. We are not responsible for any disease or illness that we were unaware of at the time of adoption such as, but not including; fur mites, ear mites, Pasteurella, worms, malocludded molars, etc.
Any and all veterinary bills resulting from illness or injury either to the pet(s) adopted from us or a pet you already own are to be paid by you. We are not responsible or liable for any part of them. These pets come from all walks of life that we had no control over. While we try our best to ensure that they are healthy before adoption, we are not responsible for medical bills if a pet becomes becomes ill after being adopted. We keep a close eye on them and work closely with a veterinarian if we do find a problem. All rabbits are given a brief exam at the time that they are spayed/neutered. You are encouraged to take your new pet to a vet for a check up upon adoption.
7a. We are not responsible for any bodily injury or property damage that this pet might cause. We do our best to determine the personality and habits of all the pets who are in the foster program. Because pets are living beings, we cannot guarantee that they are not going to chew something of yours, dig on the carpet or decide that your antique books are food. We also cannot guarantee that they do not bite or scratch, any animal can inflict bodily injury on a human or other animal. We will disclose all information we have about their personality as it was shown at a foster home and as a previous owner described them, if we made contact with a previous owner.
8. The adoption fees are non-refundable if the pet is kept by you for more than 14 days. This means that the adoption fee is not refunded if the pet doesn't work out after the initial 2 weeks at your house. Under certain circumstances, such trying to bond a pair and it's not working, we will make an exchange but it's at our discretion. Speaking of the adoption fee, we do not have non-profit status yet, so the fee is not tax deductible.
9. Age of pets is an estimate in most cases. We do our best to give an accurate age based on any information given to us by the person who gives the rabbit up. Be aware that many pets are found as strays, it is simply not always possible to know for sure how old they are if they are not found as babies. So, our age estimates are just that, estimates. We will tell you if we are guessing or positive on the age we give you.
Now that you have read the policies, please continue to the adoption application. By filling out the Adoption Application, you agree to the policies you just read.
Written 1/15/00 Updated 12/22/09