After I paid off OSAP I haven’t really had anything exciting happening money wise. However, last Sunday my sister and my mom went to a flea market that I wanted to go to. I sent them with the request to find me broken clocks with cogs I could use for a costume. Instead Em came back with a bunny!!! Now I know that there are many people who love bunnies and keep them as pets. Our family has had cats traditionally, at least, and now dogs. The thing is Em lives with my Dad and my dad does not want any pets in the house except his dog Madie. He grudgingly put up with my step mom getting a bird for emotional reasons. When the bird died I’m sure he smiled a bit, as she cried in his arms.
I don’t know what possessed my mom to even let her get into the car with the cage and critter but she did. And to be honest I wish she hadn’t. Last night Em went to Dad’s to plead her case. At the end of the conversation she was given two options: 1) ditch the bunny and stay at his place or 2) move in with mom with the bunny. Dad is quite happy to take it to the Humane Society. The second part of this is that Mom doesn’t want Em home and for good reasons. For a very long time their relationship has been stained at best and since she has been at Dad’s things have moderately improved. Mom isn’t willing to jeopardize that by having her back full time. So why Mom even let the bunny into the car without consulting the issue with Dad in the first place is besides me!
Mom’s a bit more malleable in her decisions and squarely to blame for it coming home in the first place. So she told Em the bunny could stay but she was still to live with Dad and she had to 1) improve her grades 2) get in to college and 3) take the bunny with her when she moves out.
We are now officially at our max number for animals in the house 6 (3 cats, 2 dogs and 1 bunny).
I know this has nothing to do with money but this topic has consumed my mind for a couple of days. I am stating to very much look forward to moving out in August. My Pocket book will hate me but my Piece of Mind will thank me. I am so sick of being tangled up in this mad house.
I have a request. If you have had bunnies or currently have bunnies could you please pass on any advice on how to look after them? Also if you know what the annual cost in very bills is that would be greatly appreciated. My sister needs to start a vet bill account and budgeting the cost of a pet into her spending.
I don’t think you said this, but is this a free house bunny, or is this a bunny that stays in the cage? I can only imagine how much of a zoo it would look like if it’s one of the bunnies that is treated like a dog!
Thebunny is in a cage. I didn’t even know some people let their bunnies run around the house free range.
I think this issue has more to do with Mum and Dad than with your sister, obviously Mum knew exactly what she was doing when she let that bunny into the car……
Ya I agree Mom should have known better. But em needs to take responsibility for her actions as well.
It’s interesting that your Mom would buy a pet when she knows your sister doesn’t live with HER! I remember when I was about 7, somebody gave me a hamster as a Birthday gift. It took quite a bit of convincing for my parents to agree to keep it. But your sister is not 7, and if she lives with your Dad, she should know better that your Dad doesn’t want more pets in his house! I think both your Mom and sister were irresponsible about it!!
Sorry, no bunny experience here so I am no help at all. But I agree, this sounds like an issue between the parents. Kind of passive-aggressive to my mind!
Rabbits require just as much work as dogs or cats. A lot of people think they are like hamsters and guinea pigs and can just be left in a cage all day, but they actually need at minimum 4 hours of running around a day in a bunny-proofed room. Not sure what you want to know specifically about taking care of them. I can offer up my rabbit knowledge though. I have two rabbits right now.
Vet bills can be ridiculous at times. Rabbits need annual visits just to get a check-up, and mine costs $80. Bunnies also tend to be more fragile with their health than I previously thought. They can get gas which can turn into GI stasis which they can die from, so you really have to watch the rabbit and understand when it’s acting weird in order to prevent bad things from happening. We’ve had emergency vet bills in the $300-400 range and that was for treating GI stasis.
If there’s anything specific you want to know, just ask and I’ll be happy to help!! And should your sister decide she has to give up the rabbit, please make sure it goes to a Rabbit organization (if you let me know where you like I can locate one for your). Or at the very least a no-kill animal shelter. Best of luck!
Little Lamb has bunnies, she might be a good source of info.
Hey Sarah,
I do have bunnies and am willing to help in any way possible. Bunnies are way more care than having them in a cage and just feeding and watering them. They need veggies, hay daily and this is very important. And Krista brought up lots of good points too.
You can get her to go to bunspace.co or a local rabbit site in Ontario is rabbitrescue.ca
Please let me know if I can be of any help. I have 2 bunnies currently and have 8+ years of experience and have many friends with lots more knowledge.
PS. I’m finally adding your blog to my blogroll. I kept losing where you were. now I need to catch up!
Was just about to tell you to give Little Lamb a shout when it comes to bunnies but Louise beat me to it. Also Krista also seems to be an expert so you probably have more than enough advice.
You painted a vivid picture of your dad. Your description filled my imagination with such colour, I even had to laugh when you said he smiled at the birds passing. The situation with the bunny and your parents sounds like a common situation I hear about when it comes to living situations and pets. The solution is also quite common. I’ve actually done something similar before where my dog had to stay at my dad’s, more so because I didn’t have a proper place to keep him at my mom’s.