Shelters near Riverview, FL (near Tampa) (semi emergency: neglect)

[Mikey]

My moms neighbor has an outdoor rabbit that is being neglected. She said he goes days without food and water, and his hutch 2x2x2 at the maximum size. They never let the bunny out. (edit) She said she doesnt ever see hay in his cage, only pellets (when hes actually fed). (/edit)

She doesnt know how to report it or what shelters to talk to in the area. If my mom cant find a shelter or figure out how to report these people, shes going to try to buy the bunny off of the neighbors. Any help or ideas?

[Wick & Fable]

If your mom is comfortable doing so, I believe letting the neighbors know about the poor conditions is important. Under the circumstance that, perhaps it’s a “child’s” pet, or it’s a pet they are truly uninformed about, they may accept an informational discussion well. If not, your mom tried her best to intervene personally, and it’s justifiable to call in better authorities.

I found the following from a web search: http://tbhrr.org/resources/rescues-shelters/

I hope this helps! Intervention ASAP is needed.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[tobyluv]

Some county humane societies/animal shelters take in rabbits, care about how they are being treated by their owners and send out Animal Control officers to investigate claims of mistreatment or neglect, while other county shelters don’t deal with rabbits at all. The thing is, all they go out to see is if an animal has food, water and shelter. The poor rabbit has shelter, although it’s horribly inadequate. If the Animal Control officers in your Mom’s county do deal with rabbits, and they went out and saw that it had no food, they would cite or speak with the owners. Although I suppose the owners could say that the rabbit had just finished the day’s portion and get away with it. Rabbits never get the consideration that a dog or cat would get, so who knows how much the A.C. officers would really care and what they would pursue with the owners.

Your Mom could contact the Tampa Bay House Rabbit Rescue that Wick linked to, and here is their Facebook page, where they can be messaged: https://www.facebook.com/TBHouseRabbitRescue. I don’t know if they would respond to that quicker than their regular email or not. They would know the laws of the county and if rabbits are included under animal protection.

Not knowing the neighbors, it’s hard to know how they would react to your Mom if she tried to speak with them and give them some advice on rabbit care and feeding, or how they would react to an A.C. officer coming out if they do so in that county. I would hope that they wouldn’t get mad and just let the rabbit go. Hopefully they would either care enough to start taking better care of the rabbit or they would relinquish it to a rescue, shelter or to your Mom.

I hope that the poor bunny can be helped and will have a better life.

[Mikey]

Thank you both! My mom plans on going over there the next time she sees them home to ask about the rabbit (name, age, breed, neutered/spayed, ect). She is more than happy to tell them what they are doing wrong and if she cant persuade them to take the bun to a shelter (Ill give her the link info; I dont live in Florida and she doesnt know how to look for a bunny shelter/rescue), shes going to offer to buy it off of them then either take him to a shelter, keep him, or bring him to me on her next visit.

The neighbors in general she says are very nice. She moved in early this year and has gotten to know them well, but only recently saw the treatment of the rabbit. She previously thought they were checking its water and food twice a day, and bringing it inside. But she said after watching them for a few weeks now, she realized they visit the rabbit once a day, at most. She mentioned this to me: “I saw them come home and I let them know their rabbit was out of water, the neighbor lady responded ‘Oh, I forget to feed and water him sometimes. Its ok.'” My mom said she watched for the next few hours and never saw the neighbor go back outside to feed and water the bun. She said sometimes she only sees them feed him once or twice a week. The majority of the time, his food and water are dry and empty.

My mom used to do rescues and currently rescues sugar gliders; the neighbors know this. If my mom brought up proper care, I think they would listen to her. Worst care, my mom is willing to offer a couple hundred to buy the bun off of them.

But, yes, thank you both. Ill send her both links so she can email or message, or both if she feels the need to.

[Fluffykins]

Mikey it’s so nice your mum cares and is actively getting involved to advocate better care for this poor little bun. You have an awesome mum!

[Deleted User]

Such a sad situation and it’s great that your mum wants to help. The only thing I want to suggest is that I don’t think it would be a good idea on the first instance for your mum to offer to buy the rabbit. I know she probably wants a greater chance of them giving the rabbit to her but I feel this will just reward their behaviour. Maybe if on her first approach she played it cool and just sort of mentioned that it appears the family don’t have much interest in the rabbit and if they would like someone to take it off their hands then she would be happy to do so. If she sort of explains that they need more care and attention and it seems like it’s proving too much for them to provide this she might actually find that they would be happy for someone to rehome it. Maybe they feel it’s a burden and just care for it because they have to. I just think going straight in with a money offer would mean they were gaining something when in my opinion they don’t deserve it. That’s just a thought anyway.

[Mikey]

Thank you, Fluffykins!

Oh, shes not going to offer to buy him on the first meet of the bun. She is going to get more information on him and inform them of proper care. Then after a few days if they dont go for proper care, or if they mention they dont want him, shes going to give them shelter information. If they dont want to bring him to a shelter, shes going to offer to take him. If they dont agree to that, shes going to offer to buy him. Buying him may be rewarding them to some people, but its so the rabbit gets a better, safer, healthier home.

Moms been rescueing and rehoming animals since I was a toddler (over 20 years). She always tries to persuade proper care first, persuade shelter/rehome second, and if that doesnt work out, she offers to buy the animal. Its sad, but most people are willing to give up an animal if you offer them money. Its how I got my first cat; we were at a garage sale and I liked this persons cat. My mom jokingly offered 20$ for the cat, and the person agreed. We went home with him because my mom could not believe someone would actually sell their pet and every animal deserves a home that loves it.

[Fluffykins]

Wow. I cannot fathom someone going out and so randomly selling their “beloved” pet to a complete stranger and for $20!!

Why do these people bring pets into their lives

I’m only glad the kitty ended up with owners like you guys!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Agreed. Your Mom is awesome. World needs more people like her.

[Mikey]

Thank you very much

Little update, my mom printed out some care sheets and gave it to them. Shes not sure if they will change their ways, but shes going to wait a few more days before bringing it up again, just in case.

[Mikey]

Just an update, the shelter my mom contacted ended up coming by yesterday and taking the bunny with them

[tobyluv]

Thanks for the update. I hope that the bunny finds a wonderful forever home soon.

[Bladesmith]

I spent 8 years as an SPCA investigator. Uninformed or not, this is a case of animal cruelty. Inform them if possible, and hope they’ll change their behavior, but it’s clear from your description they don’t care about this rabbit. People who care don’t forget to feed and water for days at a time. Best thing possible is to get this animal away from these people as quickly as possible.

[Author]

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