APPLICATION TO ADOPT A PAIR OF RABBITS
from the Northeastern Satellite of the Colorado House Rabbit Society
* We place rabbits only with adults. Therefore, only an adult who holds the title or lease to the home should complete this application.
Before responding to the following questions, please read Requirements and Procedures for Adopting a Rabbit from the Northeastern Satellite of the Colorado House Rabbit Society
Please answer the following questions and submit the form to us. You can also e-mail your answers to debbysch@quixnet.net by copying and pasting them to an e-mail message. Or print the form, fill it out, and mail it via US Mail to:
|
Colorado HRS - Northeastern Satellite
2762 W. 24th St. Greeley, CO 80634 |
The following may seem excessively long and detailed but please understand when we place rabbits with you, we want to be sure you have considered as many as possible of the reasons which cause people to abandon rabbits to shelters or other homes. Rabbits are sensitive creatures and bond deeply to their homes and their people. We want to do everything humanly possible to guarantee rabbits we place will remain in their home permanently.
1. Personal Information
2. Do you own or rent your home? If you rent, do you have written permission to have a pair of rabbits in your home?
3. Are there any smokers in your home?
4. Who all is in the family (or shares your home)? Please give the names and ages of any children, and what part they are playing in getting rabbits (i.e., rabbits are primarily for this child, or this child wants to be able to carry the rabbits around, etc.)
5. Are all of the adults in the family in agreement about getting a pair of house rabbits?
Yes
No
Not Sure
6. If you have children, do you understand and agree children, even teen-agers, lack the maturity to take full responsibility for the well-being of a living animal and you will be primarily responsible for feeding, cleaning, grooming, and giving physical affection to the rabbits?
Yes
No
Not Sure
7. Have you had a rabbit before? Have you had any experience with rabbits?
8. Why do you want rabbits?
9. Describe what you expect rabbits in your home to be like, how you expect them to behave toward you, what problems you think you might have, etc. (We want to be sure to educate you if your expectations are unrealistic).
10. Do you have other animals? If so, who/what/how old/etc. (Rabbits do fine with many animals of other species, so this is not usually a problem. Some animals can be a threat to rabbits and, of course, we won't place rabbits where such animals live. If you do have other animals, we will work with you to teach you how to introduce them to each other).
11. Have you had other animals as an adult which you don't have now? If so, what? What happened to them?
12. Where in your home would you plan to keep your rabbits' own home ("cage")? We recommend it be in a family room or kitchen - somewhere the people in the home tend to spend most of their time, so even when the rabbits aren't out, they can be part of what's going on. By the way, don't buy a cage until after you've chosen your rabbits, or else get one which would house the largest of rabbits. Also, don't assume a cage you have used in the past will be considered adequate by us.
13. Do you know for certain no one in your home is allergic to rabbits or hay (the primary item in their diet)? Please have everyone in the family spend enough time with rabbits to verify this. You may come to our foster facilities for this purpose, if you wish or have everyone tested by an allergist before adopting.
14. Do you have the financial ability (and stability) to cover veterinary costs which could occur at any time and are all of the adults in the family willing to pay for veterinary care for illnessses and for annual check-ups? Vet care can be quite expensive ($60.00 to $600.00 for a single episode of illness), and you need to be financially secure enough to handle unexpected visits.
15. If you became so busy you felt it wasn't fair to your rabbits to keep them, what would you do? Think about this in the same terms as if the rabbits were children.
16. If you were to move across the country, what would you do with your rabbits?
17. If you were to start sharing your life with someone who was severely allergic to rabbits, or have someone in the family become allergic to them, how would you deal with the problem?
18. If you were to have a baby sometime in the future, would you be able to deal with keeping the rabbits in spite of the extra workload, and solving the problems associated with having both babies and rabbits in the house? We will help you with this if you need us.
19. Are you willing to limit any animals you get in the future to those who would not be a threat to the rabbits (no terriers, dachshunds, chows, pit-bulls, snakes, ferrets, etc.)? Are you willing to limit the number of animals you have so you could always afford vet care for the rabbits, should they need it?
20. Are there any circumstances in your life which would make it probable you would not be able to keep your rabbits for their entire lives (international moves, etc.)?
21. Are you committed to keeping the rabbits, solving any problems which come up, moving only where the rabbits are allowed, etc., for as long as they live (usually 8 to 12 years, but possibly as much as 16 yrs.)?
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Copyright 2006 | Colorado House Rabbit Society