Sweetie, English Butterfly Bunny & Tour Guide

Sweetie, English Butterfly Bunny & Tour Guide
Hi and welcome to "Fairy Castle Farm" I hope you enjoy your stay! I should introduce myself, my name is Sweetie and I am a resident of Fairy Castle Farm. Well it's not actually a farm, but a suburban home in the southern suburbs of South Australia. I am a rare Old English Spot Bunny, and absolutely love life here with all my family and some good friends too... let me take you on a tour ....

Fairy Castle Farm : Global Visitors

Guests

Monday, August 22, 2011

"So, what do you think? should we buy a bunny for the kids?" NO!!!! (Please read on ...)

Hi, it'sYollie here, I'm taking over the blog  for a bit.


Teegee: So Yollie what do you think?
I just wanted to share my thoughts 
regarding this question....
I don't like to offend and don't for a minute think people intentionally provide an inappropriate or inadequate environment for their pets, but sadly this is often the case.

Especially when the decision is made when  
unprepared or for the wrong reasons or on impulse 
or at the whim of a child or.... .... ....
It is ever so common for the 'first' pets ie, guinea pigs, mice, rats, bunnies, fish etc. to suffer from this decision. 
It is a sad fact that humans place these pets as the 'pocket' or 'easy' care, 'good for kids' category which is WRONG!!

I say a pet ROCK is a good first pet for a child.  My child had one. She had to show (by role-play) everyday that she was responsible for the blessed 
innate object before I would consider extending 
our fur-family.  And, should the 'rock' be forgotten, not interesting/cute/active/calm enough for the child, no matter, no harm done, IT'S A ROCK!

So I firmly say, don't buy a pet for the children choose a nice rock and decorate it.  If you do 
extend your family with a pet then it is the adults pet and responsibility.
Think of it as adding a 'sibling' to the household and you will understand what I mean.

"Sir Chester the Mouser" 2001 - 2012
Holly  2001- 2014
















Here is our story.....


My husband and I have always been blessed with furbabies since before my girl was born. Living this way is all she has ever know and thus she treats them as we taught her to, like her siblings and her elders.


My daughter was 4 when we adopted our first bunny 'Buddy' (R.I.P little poppet- still miss you dearly *sob*).
She wanted him, but he was MINE! This was made very clear from day one. She was allowed to assist in all responsibilities of owning a pet- the only difference, she was assisting as they were not 'her' but my responsibility and only ever under my close supervision.


Since then, our menagerie has grown considerably from Holly Dog to, as you probably know (because you are here reading this) The Fairy Castle with it's many residents; Angel, Teegee, Patches and none other than Miss Sweetie.



Lady Tinkerbelle with her chicks
Then there are the chooks, fishes and none other than our newest furbaby, Princess Willow: 

Princess Willow the Fearless Feline 
My daughter is very responsible 
and helpful in their care but knows ultimately they are Mummy's 


but, that she can love and share (she wants to be a vet when she grows up, and has said so since the ripe old age of 2). She makes me laugh when visiting children ask to pick one up, her reply;
'NO! We don't pick up our bunnies, they have 4 good feet of their own!!'

She then tells them to crouch down and have a 'cuddle' on the ground. To which they do and everyone and "bun" is happy!!

Miss Princess with L-R Teegee and Angel 
Watching my daughter on her Child's-bench seat with 4 contented bunnies in a row at her feet - they are listening to her do her school 'reader'. This, for me, is the best sight in all the world!!

L-R Patches, Angel, Teegee, Sweetie
 If anyone asks me if they should get a pet (any kind) for their kids I firmly reply NO, decorate a pet rock!!! But then I tell them my story.
Should you be in this situation and, after reading  
my story and think that an addition to your family 
is an option and that you can provide everything your pet needs for the life of your pet then I say, visit a shelter and save a life. Just ask Belle and Ariel (ex-battery cage hens) and they will tell you
 it is the best feeling in the world to be free and loved!

Please let me know your thoughts or share your story, I would love to hear them.                   

Till next time, Yollie signing off....keep well everyone and bun ;o) xoxox
Sorry everyone, nearly forgot and Sweetie would have my guts for garters - this weeks audience : welcome first timers in Pakistan and Brazil and thanks to everyone for stopping by -
 as Sweetie says, 'Don't be shy, and hop by to say hi!'

Pageviews by Countries
United States
49
Australia
44
United Kingdom
7
Philippines
6
Canada
5
New Zealand
2
Pakistan
2
South Africa
2
Brazil
1
Spain
1



7 comments:

mimilove forever said...

I completely agree with you, fab post and big hugs to the furry gang! xx

Jade said...

Very well said--I volunteer with the local chapter of the House Rabbit Society and we get so many people who want to get a rabbit for their children. We explain to them that we do not adopt out to children, only to adults and that they would have to be the ones assuming responsibility for the rabbit and why. Some understand and take responsibility, but there are always some that end up giving the rabbit back because the child has lost interest. You ask them why they got the pet for the child and they say "Oh, I wanted to teach them how to take care of a pet/teach them some responsibility." Well, congratulations--all you've taught your child is that pets are disposable; if you don't feel like taking care of one, just give it away.

FairyCastleFarm said...

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.

I know many don't like to speak up regarding this and that is exactly why I thought it important to blog.

@mimilove, thanks and xoxoxox from everyone (fur, skin, feathered and scaled!!)

@Jade, I take my hat off to you ;o) - I totally agree that pet's do not teach children responsibility, as you say, only - heart ache and that it's 'ok' to let a living breathing creature suffer or be discarded or worse!! It makes me fume....

Pets do not teach children responsibility, the children's parents (or guardians) do, by example!!

Ok stepping off the soap box, I have already had my bit to say, sorry....

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and take care - give Mr Mick a kiss from all of us xx

Lisa said...

I'm glad I was finally able to get in to read your blog. My office computer doesn't liek to load your blog properly.

Couldn't have said it better. Your daughter sounds like the kind of child I would actually like :)

At my local rescue, some of the volunteers generally as a rule won't consider a home with a child for an adoptable bun. They instead put the impetus on the parent AND child to prove that this is the right kind of family setting. That means parents who supervise all interactions closely, who are the ones asking about care, who actually listen when you educate them, who don't say the pet is for the child, and a child who is patient with the bunny. You can sometimes tell immediately and can usually be sure after about 20 minutes or an hour.

FairyCastleFarm said...

@ Lisa, thanks for your comment and I am glad you got to read the post too as I love your work! That sounds like a great idea at your local shelter regarding children and pets. And yes my little human is a keeper - he he ;o)

Christina said...

Very good Thank You. We make it a practice of saying no to anyone with children under 10. Just works better that way for adopting.
It is refreshing to hear someone teaching their children this way.

FairyCastleFarm said...

This thread was taken from our Face book Page, but very powerful so we will also share it here :) Sweetie xoxo

Jesykah Kralik The examples we set for children have an effect on the way they see things for their entire lives, and not too many people think about that. MY story? When I was a little girl, maybe about 6, I woke up on easter morning to find a real, live bunny hopping around the living room. I was thrilled! For about two weeks, at which point I found that bunnies don't cuddle, but they DO poop. A lot. My nana was the one who thought an easter bunny would be a great idea for the little girl, so my nana stepped up and took the bun back. Nana and Samantha had many happy years together, and it wasn't until i was much older that I found out that most easter bunnies have much shorter, sadder lives. This one incident set a precedent for me - animals are for keeps!

The Residents of Fairy Castle Farm Oh that is such a powerful story Jesykah Kralik - (((hugs))) thank you so much for sharing - your Nana sounds like a wonderful lady and I am sure Samantha was most thankful of that ... It is sad that so many don't have a happy ending like yours . Would you mind if I cut and paste your comment to add it to our blog ?? some friends do not use facebook and I would love as many people as possible to read your story, if you don't mind of course ;o) Sweetie xoxo

Jesykah Kralik: left this message on our FaceBook Page, she was happy for me to also post her comment here : "Sweetie of course you may copy and paste to the blog! My nana is a wonderful lady, and she was so thrilled when, 23 years later, I rescued my own rabbits. She was able to refer me to her (rabbit savvy) vet, and she always asks about her great grand-buns. We had a long talk and I found out that actually, the reason the little girl got an easter bunny in the first place was because SHE wanted a bunny, but my grandfather wouldnt hear of it. He sort of had to though once the easter bunny came back."