All I want for Christmas

by **RWAF** Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:52 pm

Remember not to give pets as gifts at Christmas, or any other time. Adults should always be responsible for the family pets and should be able to commit to them for their lifetime, which could be long after the children have left home. Additionally, rabbits can be more expensive to care for properly than you would think, estimates are between £9,000 - £11,000 for their lifetime - and that is without unexpected vet bills!

Vet costs can mount up, Claire King told us, "Saxon's bill came to around £10,000, and consisted of 2 ureteral calculi (one each side), bilateral lateral ear resections, including 2 CT scans, 2 referral practices, liver cysts with 6-8 weekly ultrasound scans for 3 years, bucal salivary gland infection and removal and in the end an exlap when he was diagnosed with liver tumours which proved inoperable."

Not a cheap children's pet at all!

The RWAF's friend Phyllis O'Beollain in Ohio has written about exactly the same thing here http://www.examiner.com/small-pets-in-dayton/no-live-pets-for-christmas-gifts?CID=examiner_alerts_article