10/22/2026
We're tired of the shelter hate.
Shelters and rescues are different, but we all have the same goal of helping as many animals as we can within our means.
While we, a rescue, can control how many bunnies we have at any given time and who gets to adopt from us, shelters don't always have that choice. They are obligated to take stray animals in, try to find their owners, and ultimately take responsibility for them if an owner is not found.
Animal shelters are typically government run facilities with a physical location to house pets. Many rescues are foster based and do not have physical locations, but some do.
With so many animals coming in, shelters can't be too picky or require too many restrictions or they'd be overrun. We know of many who require some type of home check or requirements for certain pets, but ultimately adoption has to be very easy to keep pets moving!
Here in our area of East Tennessee, we don't see many of the problems we're about to talk about but unfortunately it is a reality for many areas, especially more rural areas who don't even have a shelter, just a small animal control team.
We have many no kill shelters who always spay/neuter pets, so unless you have experience elsewhere, you may not even know what we're talking about. Seriously, when we've told people of shelters who don't spay/neuter dogs and cats, it seems impossible to them, but it's not. Lots of areas just don't have the funding.
In areas with little to no funding for animal control and shelter services, it is not uncommon for pets to be held for 3 days and then euthanized if not adopted because they just don't have the space to keep them longer than that. As a result, they are begging ANYONE to come help these pets and save them from certain death only days away. This applies to bunnies too.
So now comes the shelter hate we're constantly seeing.
To adopt a pet from anywhere is taking responsibility for their health, happiness, and quality of life. Adopting a pet from some shelters means you are also now responsible for their vaccines, spay/neuter, training, and any unknown health issues that arise because their past is not known.
"I can't believe they didn't at least neuter him before adoption!" They don't have the funding and the pet doesn't have that kind of time.
"This shelter didn't know or tell me ANYTHING about this pet and now I'm stuck with behavioral issues and training costs!" Being anywhere for only a few days is not enough to make an accurate behavioral assessment.
"This was a $40 pet. Now I'm spending hundreds to finish the vet care they should've done!" They're all just doing their best. Pets are not cheap.
So how can you prevent this issue?
Adopt from a rescue who knows the personality, needs, and habits of the pets in their care!! I don't know of a single rescue who is not pulling animals from shelters when they have space. We just need the space first, so adopt!!
That's literally why we are here. To make a difference in the lives of pets and their families and assist the shelters in the constant overpopulation crisis. We DO have the time to spend on getting to know them, getting their vet care done, and ensuring that you go home with the perfect fit for you!
Then, we have space to get to know the next bunny!!
We're proud to partner with all area shelters and pull from them regularly when we can! We regularly assist shelters out of town when needed too because we're all in this together and just want what's best for the animals!
We're not saying not to adopt from shelters, you definitely should still continue to do so!!
But if you're upset and find yourself partaking in this shelter hate, try out a rescue who has the time to do the hard parts and you're still helping a shelter pet in need by allowing us the space to pull!!
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We just raised a ton of money for a past adopter to get the medical care they needed to keep the bunny in the home!! Now, we need help with our own bunnies who need rechecks and follow up care! Any amount helps!!
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