Baxter! has an ad on craigslist.. So sad..

[juliew19673]

Baxter! needs a true crazy bunny home. I love the little guy to death but truly feel he will be better off in home or at least large apt. I posted him on this site, however so many people looked at him but not 1 inquired. Hoping that the craigslist will be better. Any suggestions on how best to screen people who call? I'm thinking I'll require that I come to their house to check them out - afraid someone will use him to feed their snake or something. Should I charge - have them make a donation to a local rescue? Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Flashy]

Interview them. I can help you with questions if you like (I do home visits to assess people for adopting bunnies from the RSPCA).

What is it you think he will get from there that he can't get with you?

 

[juliew19673]

My best case scenario for Baxter! would be to go to a house where he can freely run around with perhaps even a bunny friend.. I feel so horrible for him having to sit outside on the patio all by himself all day - and then to be barricaded in a hallway in the evening. I probably (during the work week) spend about3 hours a day with him. If he can have a family that can let him run around the house all day- that would be fantastic! Better yet - if he could get someone with a yard - yee-gads!

I just want him to have the fullest, happiest life possible.

 

[Flashy]

To be honest, it sounds like you are doing a lot for Baxter! and he has a far better life with you than potentially with someone else. Could you consider, when he is neutered, taking him to have some bunny dates and choose a friend?

I just sort of think you think he is hard done by, but he isn't, not at all. Infact, he's a very lucky guy to have what you have been giving him.

 

[luvthempigs]

Be very careful with the people you are dealing with both for Baxter and yourself. It's hard to say that he will be in a better home with someone else. Chances are good he could be in a lot worse situation

Good luck!

 

[juliew19673]

Thats pretty sad for bunnies if what little attention he is getting from me is alot .

I've been watching and reading all the other lucky bunny blogs and video's and thought - poor Baxter! he doesn't get to have any of that kind of fun that they do - running loose through the house; havingtheir own room. I can't block off the living room equipment (big screen; 3 gaming system, cable box, stero, surrond sound, dvd player, etc..) as it sits on an open stand and wires litterally run everywhere; can't put him in the loft upstairs as that is my boyfriends office and again - electronic equipment everywhere (yes my BF is an electronic junkie) - so that leaves Baxter! the upstairs patio ora small area in my bedroom.

No one will probably call for him anyhow or they will and I will not like any of them, so in the interim I will keep tryingoutmoving furniture around and buying him more and morebunny condos until one works. Then my BF cannotcomplain that I didn'tTRY to get him a home.

 

[Flashy]

He gets a lot more from you than most places, he is in a loving, warm home with all the food, toys, water he needs, he is not confined to a small space, he is with someone who loves him and wants to do what is best for him.

I doubt you will find the perfect home. I've not come across the perfect home for a rabbit yet because there isnt one really, just lots of good homes, and I think yours is a good home.

 

[Flashy]

Just a thought, if he had a girlie friend, he wouldn't need as much of your time, and an NIC cage would suit the pair of them down to the ground, and they don't take up much space, depending how you arrange them.

 

[juliew19673]

Yeah, well tried to setup the NIC cage last night - and there is apparently a learning curve (lol).. 2 boxes are not enough for the tall bunny condo idea I have in my brain. will be going back to Target for more. And your right, if Baxter! had a friend than I would not feel as bad - but then I may become single myselfif I did that. Perhaps have to talk to the BF about it and see if I can sway him.. I will ponder this over the weekend - you have made some good points.

On a separate thought - why does that one bun in the "logo" above have he/her ears wrapped up? Been curious about that for sometime now..

 

[Flashy]

They've just got a toy on their head. I think it's slavetoabunny's Sparky or Scooter.

You can make an ace condo, but yes, it is a learning curve, but you could show your boyf that it doesn't take up much space and is convinient for everyone with a condo like that.

 

[gentle giants]

juliew19673 wrote:

And your right, if Baxter! had a friend than I would not feel as bad - but then I may become single myselfif I did that.

Boyfriends may come and go, but bunnies are forever... Just kidding, I know what you mean, my DH is the same way. *sigh*

I agree with what Flashy said, I think your home is fine, and no matter how well you interview people you can never guarantee that they won't decide to rehome him somewhere bad, or jsut plain get tired of him and dump him in a shelter or something. PLus I always feel that anytime a bunny in a good situation gets rehomed, one in a shelter doesn't. I don't mean to be laying a guilt trip on you or anything, but I think really you are doing a fine job taking care of him. He has good food, plenty of space, and people who love him.

 

[JadeIcing]

:shock:2 boxes not enough???

What are you considering?

I have these made so far....

With Pen attached:

These could easily be made into a solo cage..

This one houses Elvis on top and Wyatt on the bottom.

This one houses the trio on the bottom and Chibi on top.

 

[slavetoabunny]

juliew19673 wrote:

On a separate thought - why does that one bun in the "logo" above have he/her ears wrapped up? Been curious about that for sometime now..

Hahaha......that is my Sparky. I stuck the remains of a willow ball on her ears. That's her diva princess crown!

BTW......It sounds as though Baxter! has a wonderful home with you. Sparky and Scooter only get around 4 hours of free roam time everyday. When they are under lockdown, they have a 5x8 exercise pen. If you could build a large NIC cage, I think Baxter! will be a perfectly content bunny, although I'm sure he is already.

I hope you can work things out.

 

[trailsend]

gentle giants wrote:

juliew19673 wrote:

And your right, if Baxter! had a friend than I would not feel as bad - but then I may become single myselfif I did that.

Boyfriends may come and go, but bunnies are forever...

That was funny! The thing is, you know you've found a keeper when they put up with bunnies running and peeing on their new floor - and taking over their house, farm, paycheck, and entire life lol.

All I can say is, I agree that it seems like you are providing a good life for Baxter! Many rabbits don't have homes at all, and lots of them are left in teeny tiny cages and are never handled at all. So I think you are doing a great job taking care of Baxter!


However, if you feel like you do need to rehome him and have an add on Craigslist, you need to be very careful. Sadly, there are a lot more irresponsible bunny guardians out there than their are responsible ones. It's wonderful being on RO where you are exposed to so many people who take such good care of their bunnies, but they are hard to come by. So you need to interview them, I would do a home visit, ask for reference checks, and as for a small adoption fee to help rule out people just looking for what they think is an *easy* pet or something to give their kids, or to just have, just because.

It's very hard to find a good home for a bunny, especially on craigslist or the like, there are so many bunnies people are offering for free because of their impulse buying, etc. Someone listed my website on one of those sites to see if people wanted to donate cages, etc. and I had hundreds of emails of people wanting to surrender rabbits to me immediently, and most of the rabbits were under 1 year old.

Anyway, just be careful, do what you think is best, but don't feel like you are not caring enough for Baxter! because I don't think that is the case.

love those NIC setups Jade! Giving me ideas!

Sorry for the LONG post!

 

[juliew19673]

Wow. Yeah, it seemed from all of you good people on this site that there would be tons of great, crazy bunny people... I think I'll remove Baxter! from the craigslist and have a long talk with the BF. I've rescued many animals in my day (mostly feral cats) and its not something that I would ever stop doing so better to know if he is the type of guy who would put up with this now (and I'm sure he will be).

Also, thanks for the great NIC cage ideas; in thinking about it I ran out of zip ties last night - but am going to deconstruct what I did and go for the the 3 tier bunny condo that will fit nicely into the corner of bedroom.

Thanks to all for the advice and for letting me know that Baxter! might be just fine where he is (yay! w/me :biggrin2..

 

[JadeIcing]

:biggrin2oesn't hurt to give it a chance.

 

[Flashy]

That's great to hear. Baxter! is one lucky guy!

 

[luvthempigs]

Great! I think he will be much better off with you Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[juliew19673]

I loveSparky's Diva Crown and NEVER would have figured out what that was - LOL!

Yes I'm going to move my bedroom furniture around and build that 3 tier condo using the NIC cubes and I think it will make Everyone at home a little less pissy (BF and cat both)..

Thanks to all again - appreicate the advice.

 

[trailsend]

Good news I hope the new setup works better and keeps everyone happy, including the BF & cat lol It's worth a try!