# I may aswell run my own rescue!! -Does this make me a bad person?-



## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

Okay 2 years ago my boyfriend (now ex) brought me a hamster...Gordon, I had gordon for a year until one of my friends was desperately trying to find a hamster for her autistic son, she needed one that was already tame, not a baby and a golden syrian....

Exactly like Gordon, Gordon was soo docile, would happily sit in your hands, loved nuts and mealworms.
This was last June, I was suffering with vertigo and could barely sit up let alone care for Gordon, so it came up that he would go and live with my friend and make her little boy a very happy boy indeed...

At this point I already had 2 gerbils at home: Ivy and Sybil.... They are now 2.5 years old.
They are not very well tame, I struggled with this from the begining, but have since started this process again, however they are very spoilt and very happy in theyre cage with 40litre filled tank add-on.

Last November my friend from school asked me to re-home her rabbit: 'Maya' because she wasnt looking after it and 'couldnt be bothered' Im not brilliant with rabbits but knew I could do a damn lot better than her, so Maya came to live with me, shes now in the garden in her hutch.

Then my cousin said to me in February can I have him hamster 'hammy' because he was 'bored' and his mum wouldnt clean it out for him anymore... so along came Hammy. Now called Noddy.
His a year old.

About 2 months ago I was in a pet shop when I saw two lonely rats in a tank with sawdust, I couldnt bare to leave them so i took them in.
Theyre now in a cage in my room.

Last week my friend who I had Maya off of, messaged me on facebook to say her friend had a rabbit she 'cba' with anymore so can I take it off her before she releases it... So now I am waiting for '-no name-' little boy rabbit to be dropped off.
She doesnt even know how old he is.

I know I cannot physically keep all these animals, but I have mental health issues, I cannot say no, I impulsively say yes to everything.
Dont get me wrong, I take care of these animals, I have a 'rodent day' of which I spend one day a week cleaning them all out, every evening I spend playing with all of them and feeding them/checking water.

But with;
one hamster
two gerbils
two rats
one outdoor rabbit
one indoor rabbit
one cat
one raw fed 'family' dog (mum has decided that now he is raw fed he is MY dog)

I feel like I have my own rescue going!!

The small animals are purely mine, the rabbits, hamster and gerbil came to me as 'rescues' and once tame and properly socialised are likely to be going to other homes, I mean hey, then I can help more right.

Im unable to work due to illhealth, animals keep me going, so this is what I do, I help my friend walk her dog in exchange for, substrate,food,toys, for the small animals.

Does this make me a bad person for taking them in then passing them on? I thought I was doing a good thing :/


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

Waiting for the owner of the rabbit to drop it off, got a phone call it goes like this;

'Do you have an indoor cage'
'No, I thought the rabbit was in one'
'It was but its full of poo and my brother wont clean it out!'
'Whats the rabbit in now? And how were you going to bring it '
'an old hutch but im selling that so you cant have it and a cat carrier'
'Okay, is the cage useable?'
'Yeah'
'Okay bring the rabbit in the carrier and the cage and ill clean it'

How can you have a cage full of poo, surely you clean the rabbit out :/


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## Nancy23 (Feb 7, 2012)

Its discrasfull how some people treat rodents! 
If your taking in miss treated and unwanted animals in and rehoming them with loving new owners then no that doesnt make you a bad person it makes you a very good one!
I ran a rodant rescue for 2years (I still have most them still) but had to stop at the end of last year because I had a nervous breakdown, Like you my animals keep me going and I realy miss being able to help the little fuzzys, so many people overlook the importance of rodant rescues and dont give them the suport and help the deserve and realy need,
Even if you only have a small rescue that is Fantastic because that means afew more little persious lives are getting a second chance and that is a wonderfull thing.
I realy hope you can continue and it works out for you


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## Snippet (Apr 14, 2011)

Some people just don't have a clue do they?

I don't think you're bad for taking in animals to rehome them. You're getting them out of a bad situation, caring for them and finding them loving new homes. I think what you are doing is amazing


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## Blue Moon (Dec 18, 2011)

i totally agree that animals do keep you going. i also had a break down due to mental and physical exhaustion. i have alot of pets, i love them all dearly.
they have surely helped in my recovery and healing process.

you taking these poor animals and finding them a decent home, is a wonderful thing.

you keep doing what you are doing you are a special lady with a big heart.
on behalf of those animals you are caring for i would like to say THANK YOU.


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## rattiedee (Jun 3, 2012)

Some people can be very judgemental hun. 

We ran a rescue home for reptiles for 5 years, even got registered as a charity but we still had people judge us because as a charity we accepted donations. We we were not taking payment for any rescued animal that came into this home, just accepting donations which we would ask for when rehoming a reptile, this kept the freebie hunters away, and stopped them then placing them up for more money etc. We never asked for a set amount but had a min limit depending on the type of reptile that is was. 
I have rescued animals of all shapes and sizes since I was 8 years old. I started with rabbits, hamsters, fish, dogs, a pony and carried on through out my life. I have never asked for payment of an animal as I feel this is selling them on and I made money for my animals by buying cheap cages etc and selling them. I would do carboots to raise money for feeds, vets bills etc. and loved it.
Because of my ill health I am home all day everyday. We still run our reptile rescue however we had to close the charity down and downsize hugely as I nearly passed away just after xmas so we felt it was better if we just calmed things down. 
I have 4 rats that I have rescue/adopted and I would love to take a couple maybe 3 more, but until I have the right cage to place them all in I am waiting. Mine will be here for life, however if I saw a rat in such a state that it needed help, I would do the same as you, and take it in and if for some reason I couldnt keep it I would find it the best home possible.

You are a kind and wonderful person who gives her time and love to these poor animals that need our help. 
I say well done you :thumbup:


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## canine (Feb 23, 2012)

I think anyone who is willing to take an animal that might be at risk in order to give it a better life is as good as people who foster children, if not better. Don't mean to offend here but 'joe public' always has praise for those who help children (and rightly so) but can't seem to give the same consideration to those that help animals. Well I think YOU ARE ALL AMAZING! Keep up the wonderful job? thing? that you do! Actually, maybe what I should say is; keep using that wonderful 'talent' that you have. :thumbup:


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

I'm at a car boot sale today raising some funds for a mass shop this afternoon for supplies, brought a cage for £5 too.

Going to finish my website today and create some flyers, also going to ask my friend to help out as she is on a 2 year gap year.

I'm all up for this!!


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## Blue Moon (Dec 18, 2011)

good on you let me know when the web site is complete
wish i had the courage to start a rescue.
what we do for animals i find it to be special although time consuming it is rewarding.

when i rehome animals i ask for a contribution, which goes to, food, cages and vet bills etc

i was told that i should not ask for a contribution as these animals are rescues. i don't make money,by rehoming but, it helps towards their care.

i have my own pets all from rescues. the other animals which were given to me because the owners have got bored or due to personal circumstances are no longer able to care for them. so i take them in the vet checks all is well then i am on a mission to find decent homes for them,

what do you all think? should i ask for a contribution or not?


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2012)

5headh said:


> I'm at a car boot sale today raising some funds for a mass shop this afternoon for supplies, brought a cage for £5 too.
> 
> Going to finish my website today and create some flyers, also going to ask my friend to help out as she is on a 2 year gap year.
> 
> I'm all up for this!!


Will you be spaying/neutering and vaccinating anything that needs it before they are rehomed?


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## Crittery (May 2, 2011)

5headh said:


> I know I cannot physically keep all these animals, but I have mental health issues, I cannot say no


I don't want to discount all the good you are doing, but as I'm sure you know - you will need to be able to say No and draw a line somewhere. You are doing an admirable thing as long as you are keeping good standards of care for the animals you take in - and can assure they are going to good homes. I think it is very important you get in contact with rescues in your area so that you can ask for help if you need it.

I see a lot of people take animals in for free, and then rehome for free and I think sometimes that can just move an animal from one bad situation to another.

Ideally you'd homecheck, and where relevant neuter the animals and have a vet check them over. Asking for a contribution then is reasonable, and prevents freebie hunters from taking advantage.

Since you don't have the same resources as a rescue that can ask for donations, you really need to make sure you don't take in more than you can cope with otherwise it doesn't do you or the animals any good.

I don't officially rescue, I foster for Scritches on occasion and have taken some animals in privately but they have been ones that stay here for the remainder of their life - or I get help rehoming through proper rescues. I've had to learn to say no to things I can help, because if I took them in it would mean I comprimised on care for my other animals.

Recently there was a group of Spiny mice, mixed, in a small dirty cage. Couldn't find a rescue able to help and if I took them I could only do so by putting my gerbils in a smaller cage. Without rescue backup, I'd also need to be prepared for potentially big vet bills - but without any funding for this. My own pets, being exotic, have the potential to fill a credit card if things went wrong - so I couldn't do it. It was very hard.

If you are thinking of setting up officially, you definately need to make sure you know first what your limits are - what animals you can take in and what you can't, and get a good relationship with other rescues, and a good vet.


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

Crittery said:


> I don't want to discount all the good you are doing, but as I'm sure you know - you will need to be able to say No and draw a line somewhere. You are doing an admirable thing as long as you are keeping good standards of care for the animals you take in - and can assure they are going to good homes. I think it is very important you get in contact with rescues in your area so that you can ask for help if you need it.
> 
> I see a lot of people take animals in for free, and then rehome for free and I think sometimes that can just move an animal from one bad situation to another.
> 
> ...


I completely understand what you mean, I do know my limits, I know how much space I have, i know about budgets, and I know how much I can cope with, it will take alot of thought and planning to get everything up and running properly.


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

Blue Moon said:


> good on you let me know when the web site is complete
> wish i had the courage to start a rescue.
> what we do for animals i find it to be special although time consuming it is rewarding.
> 
> ...


I feel a contribution is a good idea, just to prevent the free hunters looking for free animals for god know what, however so are home checks.

I also feel maybe a phsycial donation as in 'substrate, food, toys' is sometimes better than the money side.


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Will you be spaying/neutering and vaccinating anything that needs it before they are rehomed?


animals will be neutered before rehoming where applicable


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## Blue Moon (Dec 18, 2011)

a contribution such as substrate etc is a good idea.
thanks
i wish you all the best.


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