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Are you thinking of adopting a pet?
Attitude is the most important thing we look for in prospective pet owners.

We have recently had some problems with customers who have the wrong attitude. We would like to remind you of some very important things about pets and pet owning.

Animals are not toys. You should not expect to get an animal of a specific colour, gender or age from us. If you only want a baby animal, you should seriously consider why you want a pet. For most of its life, you will have an adult animal, and if you do not think you want to keep an adult animal, then under no circumstances should you get a pet.

If you only want an animal of a specific gender, then you should also consider your reasons for this. With animals like guinea pigs and hamsters, there is no real difference between the behaivour of male and female animals, and there is no real reason why you should want a female over a male (unless you already have a female or male and wish to pair up another female or male with her or him). There are some misconceptions about the behaivour of male guinea pigs, for instance that they cannot live together in harmony, but this is false, as male guinea pigs can co-exisist very happily, and as guinea-pigs, rats and rabbits are social animals, then we will only rehome them in pairs or groups. With rats and rabbits, there is a difference between both genders, but there is no reason why one would necessarily make a better pet than another, and you do not always get to choose which genders of animals are currently looking for homes.

The colour of a pet is completely immaterial to its temperament and personality, and should not be a consideration for you. If you only want a pet of a specific colour, then you should again consider why you want a pet. The fact that you cannot get a pet of a specific colour when you want is a good way of teaching children that pets are not toys and you cannot order them like you would a piece of furniture from a catalogue.

I have been promoted to write this by various incidents that have occurred recently. People have come in to the shop asking specifically for baby female guinea pigs of a certain colour and when we attempted to explain to them that choosing a guinea pig is not like that, and you cannot always have exactly what you want when you want, then they cut us off and stormed out. Someone else has called saying that their children wanted a specific colour of hamster and when we told them that this was not possible, and that hamsters are not toys and cannot come in the colour of you choice, they became rude and angry and hung up on us.

We have also had incidents of people wanting the smallest possible cage for their guinea pigs, because they do not have room for a bigger cage, or insisting that they want to keep guinea pigs or rabbits outdoors. It is cruel to keep any animal in a cage that is too small for it, or outside where they will be exposed to bad weather and predators – would you even force your cat or dog to live outside all the time? Rabbits and guinea pigs are smaller and far more delicate! The bottom line is, if you do not have space for an adequate cage indoors then you should not get a pet.

So we'd like to remind everyone that you do not have the right to a pet, and if you do not have the right attitude then we will not give you one. We do not operate as a business. Rachel, the owner, does not get a salary, and almost everyone else who works here does not get a salary either. If you are not going to be a responsible pet owner then we do not need or want your custom. Our main concern is that our pets go to the best possible homes, and if you have the wrong attitude, if you treat pets as a product rather than as an animal, we will not give them to you in any circumstances.

Written by Rosamund

Here's an episode of our weekly video diaries, which you can find on youtube, where we discuss the importance of attitude in prospective pet owners.

Lately we have had problems from prospective owners who become petulant and unreasonable when it is found that they do not meet our adoption criteria. If you find yourself in this situation please take a moment to consider why this decision might have been taken rather than instantly becoming angry and defensive with the volunteers here. Bear in mind that our rehoming policies and adoption criteria are all met with the highest approval from leading rabbit vets, experts and welfare groups so if you don't meet them then YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG. We're proud to be considered exceptional even among other animal shelters, especially when you consider that research by the Rabbit Welfare Association shows that rabbits are the most neglected pet in Britain.

That being said, we're always happy to work with people to get to the stage where the home you're offering a pet is of an acceptable standard, so please do take any advice we give as a positive thing - we want to help you be the best pet owner you can be. Just remember that having a pet isn't a God-given right, and if you can't provide the right home then you shouldn't get the pet - it's that simple.